You don’t have to be a hockey fan to know who Wayne Gretzky is aka “The Great One.” Wayne Gretzky set numerous records and inspired many of today’s athletes but his legacy was more than just a game, it was an attitude. Let’s translate some of these valuable lessons into a few sales prospecting tips.
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
This is my personal favorite and could apply to many aspects of a company. When it comes to sales prospecting tips, this refers to making the calls, sending the emails, and putting in the social media activity. Sometimes not every call, email or social media update is pretty, but if you don’t have the discipline to put in the baseline activity you will certainly miss 100% of the time.
“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.”
Prospecting is a necessary evil whether you’re building up relationships for the next black tie event or simply setting up appointments for your executive sales team. The toughest part is getting started and procrastination is your worst enemy…finding excuses to work on “more important things” will slowly empty out your sales funnel and it’s never comfortable to be at an event when you don’t know anyone.
“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”
Amen Wayne! Out of all the sales prospecting tips, this one takes the cake for sales intelligence. It’s important to make your shots (emails, calls, etc) but this tip is about working smart. Prioritize your prospect leads by key accounts and setup social media monitoring to identify timely engagements such as company expansion news or new company initiatives. If social media seems a bit overwhelming, setup Google Alerts for your top 5 prospects.
“Hockey is a unique sport in the sense that you need each and every guy helping each other and pulling in the same direction to be successful.”
“The Great One” meets “The Great Team.” When you think of your team think beyond sales and join marketing. Marketing can support your lead generation goals and provide tools to make your prospecting more effective. Visual tools like white papers, case studies, and explainer video’s can save you significant prospecting time, not to mention qualify opportunities better. Marketing and sales are on the same team working towards the same goals. Align the game plan!
Who would have known “The Great One” would be sharing sales prospecting tips! We hope his legacy will amplify your growth efforts!
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