I’ve spent a lot of time mixing it up on Twitter recently with other sales professionals, and trainers, and there seems to be an overarching trend amongst them:
“My way is the best, and if you just do this 1 thing, you will make millions.”
What gives?
You wouldn’t go through life eating only one food, or invest in only one stock, or have only one friend, so why would you restrict your prospecting efforts to just one technique.
It’s all about balance, my friends.
The whole concept behind the “Third Way” is that salespeople need to break out of their black and white thinking, and adopt new ways of looking at situations. A big part of that, is bringing balance into your life and your business.
“Cold Calling Doesn’t Work!” I hear them cry.
Let’s make one thing perfectly clear. I have generated thousands of dollars in commission in the past few months strictly from cold calling. Just because you don’t like it, or in the words of one Twitter follower “It’s evil!” doesn’t mean it doesnt work.
Just because you don’t like the taste of Orange Juice, doesn’t mean that it isn’t loaded with vitamins, and does a pretty darned good job of fighting a head cold.
And what’s more, if you do it properly, and build value early on, and move quickly into qualifying questions, far fewer people are going to hate you.
“Social Media/Pull Techniques are the only way to prospect!”
Maybe if you’re a hermit, who is afraid to pick up the phone, or leave your house to go to a networking meeting, but if that’s the case, I submit you are going to have a whole different challenge when the sales call comes.
I agree, Social Media, and pull techniques are very powerful, I have also generated several thousand in commission in the last few months using these tactics. When done consistently and engagingly, it is a valuable tool for keeping your pipeline full.
Now, fortunately, nobody seems to be saying that Networking is the only way to prospect, but quite a few insist it’s the best. That’s fine, but if you’re not willing to sit around and wait for networking events to start, you are either going to have to pick up the phone, or fire up your social media tools to book lunches and appointments.
So now we’re back to square one.
What, I humbly submit, is the problem with integrating all three into your prospecting campaign?
Use Cold Calling to fill your pipeline with appointments quickly and inexpensively.
Use Networking to establish a personal brand, and keep your pipeline full.
Use Social Media to build that brand, and keep a steady stream of ‘lookers’ that you can convert into buyers.
Now, on the other hand, if you only ever eat Brown Rice, only drink orange Tang, only ever invest in IBM, only do Cardio when you exercise, and only have one friend…then maybe a balanced approach isn’t for you.
