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Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount

My Thoughts

A well-rounded book on prospecting and sales. I like the advice on leveraging text messaging and social media for prospecting. The section in chapter 9 on building familiarity and the number of touches required was helpful and a good mental model to be aware of.

My Favorite Quotes

• When you decide not to read; you are making the conscious choice to limit your growth and income.
• Easy is the mother of mediocrity.
• Inaction breeds doubt and fear; action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it, go out and get busy.
• Poor people choose now; rich people choose balance.
• Failure is the cumulative impact of many poor decisions, slips in self-discipline, and things put off until it is too late.
• If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up some place else. -Yogi Berra
• To be effective you’ve got to know what you want and ask for it.
• Powerful lists get powerful results.
• Nobody cares about you or what you have to say, they want to talk about themselves. (specifically when networking)
• Your prospecting message must be quick, simple, direct and relevant.
• When sales people demonstrate confidence and ask assertively for what they want, prospects say yes about 70% of the time.
• When you choose weak, passive words, it sends a message that you lack confidence.
• Courage is developed in the presence of fear; not in spite of it.
• Awareness without action is useless.
• If you don’t know what you want, you won’t get what you want.
• Success is paid for by hard work.
• Sometimes you need to slow down to speed up.
• The cultivation of the mind is as necessary as food to the body. -Cicero
• Out-learn = Out-earn. In sales and in life; when you out-learn your competitors and your peers, you will out-earn them.
• People who invest in learning are more motivated, develop a stronger belief system, and are invariably more successful than their peers.

Best Questions

• How many of you asked for at least one referral in the last week?
• How many of you send a LinkedIn connection request each time you meet a new customer or potential prospect?
• Why do my customers choose to do business with me?
• Can I have 15 minutes of your time because I would like to learn more about your company?
• Why don’t we schedule a short call to help me learn more about your unique challenges?
• What do you want?
• How do you plan to get what you want?
• How bad do you want it?
• Where are you bogging down or expending lots of effort but getting nowhere? When was the last time you sharpened your own saw? When was the last time you slowed down and invested in yourself?
• How badly do you want it?

Chapter 1: The Case for Prospecting

Types of sales people

• Bad
• Mediocre
• Good
• Consistent
• Superstars

The Real Secret to Sustained Sales Success
The path is brutally simple but not easy. The answer is fanatical prospecting.
Superstars are relentless, unstoppable prospectors.
Fanatical: motivated or characterized by an extreme, uncritical enthusiasm.
Superstars view prospecting as a way of life.

• Telephone prospecting
• Email prospecting
• Cold calls
• Networking
• Asking for referrals
• Knocking on doors
• Following up on leads
• Attending trade shows
• Striking up conversations with strangers

Superstars don’t make excuses, complain, whine, live in fear or procrastinate.
Carry around a pocket full of business cards.
The enduring mantra of a fanatical prospector is: one more call.
The #1 reason for failure in sales is an empty pipeline.
The root cause of an empty pipeline is the failure to prospect.

In Search of the Easy Button
Book Reference: Spartan Up
The first step in building an endless pipeline of customers is acknowledging the truth and stepping back from your emotional need to find easy street.
Easy is the mother of mediocrity.
In sales and life there are only three things you can control:

1. Your actions
2. Your reactions
3. Your mindset

Focus your energy on what you can control.
Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.

Stop Wishing That Things Were Easier and Start Working to Become Better
Prospecting is not easy.
To get what you want you must prospect consistently.

Chapter 2: Seven Mindsets of Fanatical Prospectors

Mindset is within your control. It drives both the actions you take and your reactions to the environment and people around you.

Success Leaves Clues
There is little need to re-invent the wheel.
If you study what successful people do, you will find patterns.
Develop and maintain a fanatical prospecting mindset.

Seven core mindsets that define fanatical prospectors:

1. Optimistic and enthusiastic
2. Competitive
3. Confident
4. Relentless
5. Thirsty for knowledge
6. Systematic and efficient
7. Adaptive and flexible (adopt, adapt, adept)

Chapter 3: To Cold Call or Not to Cold Call?

The Fine Art of Interrupting
If you want sustained success in your sales career, you will have to interrupt prospects.
Phone call, email, text message, LinkedIn, etc.

Stop Seeking the Easy Way Out and Start Interrupting and Engaging
Know the difference between cold calls, warm calls and hot calls.

Just Afraid to Make the Call – Not Cold Call
If you don’t interrupt relentlessly, your pipeline will be anemic.

Chapter 4: Adopt a Balanced Prospecting Methodology

Poor people choose now; rich people choose balance. – Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

The Fallacy of Putting All Your Eggs in One Basket
In sales, consistently relying on a single prospecting methodology consistently generates mediocre results.
Balance your approach based on your industry, product, company, territory and tenure in your territory.

Avoid the lunacy of one size fits all.
Drop the “I’m better at…” excuse.
If you are new in your territory, be prepared to do a lot of work developing prospects.
Find out what the top people in your organization are doing to develop qualified prospects, then do what they do.

Chapter 5: The More You Prospect, the Luckier You get

Inaction breeds doubt and fear; action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it, go out and get busy. -Dale Carnegie

Three core laws of prospecting:

1. The Universal Law of Need
2. The 30-Day Rule
3. The Law of Replacement

The universal law of need.
The more you need something, the less likely it is that you will get it.
Desperation magnifies and accelerates failure.
You are most likely to get what you focus your thoughts on. When you are desperate, you focus on what will happen if you don’t get what you need, thereby attracting failure.
Prospects and customers naturally repel sales people who are needy, desperate and pathetic.

The 30-Day Rule
Activity gap in sales activity in December led to low sales in March.
The rule states: the prospecting you do in this 30-day period will pay off for the next 90 days.

The Law of Replacement
You must constantly put new prospects into your pipeline to replace those that naturally fall out. Replacement must be at a rate that matches or exceeds your closing ratio.

The anatomy of a sales slump.
99% of sales slumps can be linked directly to a failure to prospect.

1. You ignore the 30-day rule and stop prospecting
2. Because you stopped prospecting you ignored the law of replacement and your pipeline stalls
3. You stop closing deals because the prospects in your pipeline are dead
4. Erosion of confidence
5. Negative self-talk
6. Degraded confidence, low energy, feeling like a loser
7. Lost energy and motivation to prospect
8. You call the same dead-end prospects because you don’t feel like prospecting
9. Already stale pipeline gets worse
10. Desperation and universal law of need

We blame everyone and everything, except ourselves. The universal law of need punishes you for your failures in executing the daily disciplines required for success.
Once you accept your own culpability, and take responsibility, you have a chance to change your future.

The first rule of sales slumps.
The first rule of holes is: when you are in one, stop digging.
When you are in a sales slump, start prospecting.
Worry will not change the future.
Your future does not lie in the past.
Put all of your emotion and energy into actions you control.
It is far more important that you prospect consistently than that you use the best techniques.
You will connect with the right people at the right time.
The cumulative impact of daily prospecting is massive.
Most sales people never ‘get lucky’ because they only do the minimal amount of prospecting to just get by.

Chapter 6: Know Your Numbers: Managing Your Ratios

Everything around you is mathematics; everything around you is numbers. -Shakuntala Devi
What you put into the pipe (quality) and how much you put into the pipe (quantity) determines what you get out of the pipe.
Numbers are the science of sales, the what (size, quality, qualification levels, decision makers, etc) is a little bit of science and art.

Elite Athletes Know Their Numbers
Ask your favorite elite athlete about their stats and they will be able to name off dozens of stats.
At any given moment you should know: how many calls, contacts, emails, responses, appointments, and sales you have made. Track social prospecting on LinkedIn, text messages, etc.
Do an honest assessment of both the efficiency and effectiveness of your sales activities.
Efficiency + Effectiveness = Performance (E + E = P)

You cannot be delusional and successful at the same time
Illustration of sales person working for the author that insisted he made close to 50 calls; upon checking phone logs he had only  made 12 calls. He was not using the manual tracking sheet.
One commonality the author observes among top sales people is manual tracking of activity.
Reality is the realm of superstars.

Chapter 7: The Three Ps That Are Holding You Back

Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible. Francis of Assisi

Three mindsets that hold people back from prospecting

1. Procrastination
2. Perfectionism
3. Paralysis from Analysis

Procrastination
You cannot do all your prospecting for the month in one day.
Failure is the cumulative impact of many poor decisions, slips in self-discipline, and things put off until it is too late.
Failure to do the little things every day will cripple your efforts to achieve your goals.
Procrastinating is easy but the cost is great.

Perfectionism
Perfectionism is highly correlated with fear of failure.

Paralysis from Analysis
Revealed by sales person asking a lot of “what if?” questions.
What if they say no? etc.

Disrupting the 3 Ps
Get focused on making just one call.

Chapter 8: Time: The Great Equalizer of Sales

To succeed in sales, simply talk to lots of people every day. Jim Rohn

Develop outside and inside sales plans.
Maximize time for selling, minimize distractions.

Adopt a CEO Mindset
See yourself as the CEO of You, Inc.
The true test of a CEO is the ability to find creative solutions to inevitable roadblocks.
Take ownership. Do not make excuses, place blame, etc.

Protect the Golden Hours
When prospecting levels are high, you will naturally generate a lot of follow-up tasks.
Start by getting your priorities straight.

Parkinson’s Law: work tends to expand to fill the time allotted for it.
Horstman’s Corollary: work contracts to fit the time allowed.
Time blocking is transformational.
Schedule time blocks on your calendar and protect them.

Do not attempt to multi-task, concentrate your focus on the single task at hand.
Beware of the ding.
The biggest distractions for sales professionals are email and mobile devices.
Do not check email first thing in the morning.

Leverage the platinum hours. The hours before and after the golden hours.
Measure your hourly worth to help make decisions about how to use your time.

Chapter 9: The Four Objectives of Prospecting

If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up some place else. -Yogi Berra

Balance quantity with quality.
Develop a defined objective before each prospecting touch.
The objective is the primary outcome you expect from your prospecting touch.

Four Core Prospecting Objectives

1. Set an appointment.
2. Gather information and qualify.
3. Close a sale.
4. Build familiarity.

To be effective you’ve got to know what you want and ask for it.

Build Familiarity
It takes on average:

• 1-3 touches to re-engage an inactive customer.
• 1-5 touches to engage a prospect who is in the buying window and is familiar with you and your brand.
• 3-10 touches to engage a prospect who has a high degree of familiarity with you and your brand but is not in the buying window.
• 5-12 touches to engage a warm inbound lead.
• 5-20 touches to engage a prospect who has some familiarity with you and your brand.
• 20-50 touches to engage a cold prospect who does not know you or your brand.

See chapter 12 for a deeper dive into the law of familiarity.

Chapter 10: Leveraging the Prospecting Pyramid

The only difference between a mob and a trained army is organization. – Calvin Coolidge

Walk like an Egyptian, Managing the Prospecting Pyramid
Segment prospects by potential, size of opportunity, or probability of converting to a sale.
Treat your prospect list like a pyramid, not a square.

Bottom of Pyramid (Level 1)
Thousands of prospects you know little about.
Action steps: move them up the pyramid by gathering information, correct and confirm data, fill in missing pieces, and begin the qualifying process.

Middle of Pyramid (Level 2)
Improved information. Solid contact info including email addresses, maybe information on competitors, buying frequency, size of budget, and other demographic info.
Action step goal: identify the buying window and all potential stakeholders.

Higher Up Pyramid (Level 3)
Potential buying windows have been identified. Complete contact records for influencers and decision makers, including social profiles.
Focus at this level: implement nurturing campaigns to stay in front of decision makers.

Highest Up (Level 4)
Conquest prospects. Best or largest opportunities in your territory.
Focus: nurturing and regular touches, stakeholder identification, buying window qualification, monitoring for trigger events, building familiarity.

Closer to Top (Level 5)
Hot in-bound leads and referrals.
Require immediate follow-up to qualify and/or move them into the pipeline.

Tip Top (Level 6)
Highly qualified prospects who are moving into the buying window, due to an immediate need, contract expiration, trigger event, or budgetary period.
These are the highest priority and should be at the top of your daily prospecting list.

Powerful lists get powerful results.

Chapter 11: Own Your Database: Why the CRM is Your Most Important Sales Tool

The most expensive thing you can do in sales is spend your time with the wrong prospect. -Jeb Blount

If you don’t own your CRM you will never reach your full earning potential.
Fanatical prospectors believe they are the CEO of their own territory.

Chapter 12: The Law of Familiarity

The Five Levers of Familiarity

1. Persistent and consistent daily prospecting
2. Referrals
3. Networking
4. Company and brand familiarity
5. Personal Branding

Persistent and consistent daily prospecting.
Call, email, voice mail, leave a card, etc to build familiarity.
The most powerful and direct path to familiarity is a referral or introduction.

Referrals
Three basic types of referrals

• Customer Referrals
• Personal Referrals
• Professional Referrals

Develop a disciplined systematic process for asking for referrals.
The secret to generating referrals:

1. Give a legendary customer experience.
2. Ask

Networking
When networking always remember this.
Nobody cares about you or what you have to say, they want to talk about themselves.
Following-up after networking events is the key to anchoring your new relationships and familiarity.

Personal Branding
People buy you.
Public speaking is powerful method for meeting people and prospects.
You can easily get speaking engagements.
Organizations like the chamber of commerce, rotary club, trade organizations and other business and civic groups are always looking for guest speakers. All you have to do is volunteer.

Chapter 13: Social Selling

Sales is a blend of art and science. -Jeb Blount

Five Objectives of Social Prospecting

1. Personal branding and building familiarity
2. Inbound prospecting via education and insights
3. Trigger event and buying cycle awareness
4. Research and information gathering
5. Outbound prospecting via direct engagement

Social prospecting tools used to get these outcomes

• Engagement tools
• Creation tools
• Curation tools
• Distribution tools
• Intelligence and data tools

The Five Cs of Social Prospecting

1. Connecting
2. Content creation
3. Content curation
4. Conversion
5. Consistency

Social selling is time consuming and intellectually draining.
Social selling is not selling.

Activities of Social Selling

• Social research
• Social networking
• Social lead generation
• Social inbound marketing
• Social prospecting
• Social trigger event monitoring
• Social competitive intelligence
• Social customer relationship management
• Social account management

Core Objectives of Strategic Prospecting

• Decision maker and influencer mapping
• Warming up and nurturing the right contacts
• Identifying and developing relationships with potential coaches
• Creating personal and brand familiarity
• Generating goodwill
• Tapping into the law of reciprocity by offering value first
• Getting invited in by the prospect when the buying window opens

Book Recommendation: Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling by Sam Richter

Connecting
Send a social media connection request immediately after meeting a new prospect.
Use LinkedIn.

Categories of Social Prospecting Tools

• Content Curation
• Content Creation
• Distribution
• Engagement
• Intelligence (Google alerts is the author’s favorite)

Chapter 14: Message Matters

No one wants to be pitched.
Prospects meet with you for their reasons, not yours.
Prospecting messages are not complex, do not over complicate.
Fanatical prospectors exude confidence. (Which is why they are so successful at opening doors others believe are nailed shut.)
Confidence and enthusiasm are the two most powerful and persuasive non-verbal messages you send to prospects.
References to Presence by Amy Cuddy on how to improve confidence.

Don’t craft elaborate pitches or complicated scripts.
Be quick and get to the point.
Be clear and transparent about your intentions.
Your prospecting message must be quick, simple, direct and relevant.
Answer the WIIFM question. What’s in it for me?
Book Reference: Smart Calling by Art Sobczak
Book Reference: Snap Selling by Jill Konrath
Being able to deliver a powerful value proposition is the way to pique curiosity and open doors.
A value proposition: a clear statement of tangible results a customer gets from using your products or services.

Three key parts to a winning value proposition

1. Focuses on a business objective that is measured.
2. Disrupts the status quo.
3. Offers proof or evidence.

Small business owners like to talk about themselves. Ask for a few minutes to learn more about their business. This can work like a charm.

Example pitch: “I’m helping several restaurants in town with significant savings on supplies. I thought we could meet so I can spend time learning about you and your restaurant to see if what we offer might be a fit.“

Book Reference: New Sales. Simplified. by Mike Weinberg
Likes the use of power statements in this book.
Your power statement must answer:

• Your prospects issues.
• Your offerings that address these issues.
• Competitive differentiators.

You need to answer the question: why do my customers choose to do business with me?

WIIFM – The Power of Because
Book Reference: Influence by Robert Cialdini
When we ask someone to do us a favor, we will be more successful if we provide a reason.
Give your prospect a good enough reason to meet with you and they will say yes.
Example, try saying: “Can I have 15 minutes of your time because I would like to learn more about your company?” Use of the word because is important to provide a reason.

Research your prospect. Setup google alerts to have information about the company or individual to your inbox.
People make decisions based on emotion first, then justify it with logic.
Prospects will only give up time to meet with you because you offer them:

• Emotional value
• Insight value
• Tangible value

To provide emotional value, consider how your prospects might feel.
Start by answering these questions from your prospect’s perspective.

• What would cause you stress?
• When do you feel stress?
• What makes you worry?
• When do you worry?
• Why do you worry?
• What creates anxiety?
• When do you feel anxiety?
• How do you feel when you run out of time for important things?
• How do you feel when you don’t have enough money to accomplish your goals?
• When does this happen?
• How do you feel when you don’t have enough resources to accomplish your goals?
• When does this happen?
• How do you feel when you don’t have the knowledge to accomplish your goals?
• When does this happen?
• How do you feel when you fail to accomplish your goals?
• When do you get overwhelmed and how does it feel?
• What impacts your peace of mind or sense of security?
• How would it feel to have limited options?
• What is causing you to feel frustrated or stuck?
• What makes you mad?
• What causes you to feel distrust?
• What causes you fear?
• What might you want to know?
• What unknown would make you worry?
• What information would you fear getting into your competitors hands?
• What might a competitor be doing that would make you want to do it to?
• What information would you believe might give you a winning edge?
• What would cause you to be curious?
• What might be stealing your time, money or resources?

Ask for What You Want
The real secret to getting what you want on a sales call: ASK.
Nine times out of ten, if you are not getting what you want it is because you are not asking.

Three steps to asking:

1. Ask with confidence and assume you will get what you want.
2. Shut up.
3. Be prepared to deal with RBOs (reflex responses, brush-offs, and objections).

When sales people demonstrate confidence and ask assertively for what they want, prospects say yes about 70% of the time.
When you pair the assertive request with a because, the probability of a yes goes even higher.

Book Reference: The Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer
The “assumptive-position” is the single best sales strategy in the world.
Assuming you’ll get what you want begins with your belief system and self-talk.

Lists several examples of the difference between passive statement and assumptive statements.

Passive: Is this a good time?
Assumptive: The reason I’m calling is…

Passive: What do you think?
Assumptive: Why don’t we go ahead and get that setup.

When you choose weak, passive words, it sends a message that you lack confidence.
Asking directly for what you want makes it easy for your prospect to say yes.

Chapter 15: Telephone Prospecting Excellence

Nobody answers a phone that doesn’t ring.
Response rates to phone prospecting are much better than email. 25-40% answer rate.
Response rates to phone prospecting are increasing.
Prospects are getting burned out on impersonal, irrelevant and automated prospecting emails.
The phone is your most powerful sales tool.
Sales people who ignore the phone fail.
Try a one hour time block on the phone with a list of targeted prospects.
Have an easy to execute telephone prospecting process.
Nobody likes it; get over it.
Your goal is to make your call quick and to the point.
Get to the point in 10 seconds or less.

The 5 Step Telephone Prospecting Framework

1. Get their attention by using their name. [see my How to Win Friends & Influence People Summary for more about using a person’s name]
2. Identify yourself.
3. Tell them why you are calling.
4. Give them a ‘because.’
5. Ask for what you want and shut up.

Use phrases like “learn more about you and your business.” Stay away from talking about yourself.
Your goal is to get to yes, no or maybe as fast as possible.
Only leave a voice mail if you already know the prospect and when it matters. When you leave a voice mail, it has to count. Otherwise don’t leave a voicemail.

Three kinds of voicemail that drive the author crazy

1. No contact information included.
2. Long winded. Droning on and on.
3. Garbled contact information.

Five-Step Voicemail Framework to Double Callbacks

1. Identify yourself. Say who you are and the company you work for.
2. Say your phone number twice.
3. Tell them the reason for your call.
4. Give them a reason to call you back.
5. Repeat your name and say your phone number twice.

You must make it easier for your prospects to call you back.
Transparency is both respectful and professional.
Curiosity is a powerful driver of behavior.
Keep your voicemail messages to 30 seconds or less.

Chapter 16: Turning Around RBOs: Reflex Responses, Brush-Offs, and Objections

Book Reference: The Power of Vulnerability by Brené Brown
Vulnerability is created in the presence of uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure.
Have a script ready for addressing RBOs.
Scripts are what make politicians and public figures compelling personalities.
You must write and practice them. Rehearse.

Three elements of the RBO turnaround are:

1. Anchor
2. Disrupt
3. Ask

Use turnaround scripts that make you sound authentic, real and confident.
Keep them simple so they are easy to remember and repeat.
Example when calling a person that says “I am busy.” Respond with, “That is exactly why I called [anchor]. I figured you would be, so I want to find a time that is more convenient for you [disrupting the pattern]. How about we get together next Wednesday at 3 pm instead? [ask]”

When the horse is dead, dismount. Don’t beat a dead horse. Move on.
Courage is developed in the presence of fear; not in spite of it.
One of the enduring qualities of highly successful people is the ability to turn disappointment, defeat and anger into unmovable determination.

Chapter 17: The Secret Lives of Gatekeepers

Your success in getting through the gate depends on a combination of good manners, like-ability and people savvy.

Seven Keys for Dealing with Gatekeepers

1. Be like-able
2. Use please, please
3. Be transparent
4. Connect (gatekeepers like people who are interested in them)
5. Hold the cheese (never use cheesy schemes or tricks)
6. Ask for help (an honest and authentic plea for help can work)
7. Change the game (call early or late, social media, etc)

If none of those work, try these three hacks:

1. The Calling-Other-Extensions Hack
2. The Salespeople-Help-Salespeople Hack
3. The Go-Around-Back Hack

Why the salespeople-help-salespeople hack is effective

1. Most sales organizations answer the phone, a high probability you will speak to a live human being.
2. Sales people tend to know who’s who in their organizations and how to get in contact with those people.
3. Salespeople help other salespeople because they have been in your shoes.

Chapter 18: In-Person Prospecting (IPP)

Nothing replaces being in the same room, face to face. –Peter Guber

An IPP call should only be used to supplement and compliment other forms of prospecting.

The Five-Step Hub-and-Spoke Technique

1. Plan IPPs around preset appointments.
2. Leverage your CRM for prospects nearby, zip-code search is ideal.
3. Plot 3-5 prospects on the map around your preset appointments.
4. Develop the most efficient route to call on these prospects with the least amount of windshield time.
5. Give enough time between appointments to call on them before or after.

Develop your objective for each call in advance.

The 6 Key Objectives of In-Person Prospecting

1. Qualifying
2. Making appointments
3. Sales conversations
4. Building familiarity
5. Maximizing your sales day
6. Learning your territory

Five Steps to Planning for Effective IPPs

1. Research. Check the website, get names, learn the history of the business, look for press releases, etc.
2. Personalize your approach
3. Develop an objective for every call
4. Be prepared to close
5. Log calls, notes and set follow-up tasks in your CRM

Five-Step In-Person Prospecting Call Process

1. Approach with confidence (plan questions in advance)
2. Identify yourself and say why you are there
3. Gather information
4. Ask for what you want
5. Turn around RBOs

Awareness without action is useless.

Chapter 19: E-Mail Prospecting

Three cardinal rules of e-mail prospecting

1. Your e-mail must get delivered
2. Your e-mail must get opened
3. Your e-mail must convert

Don’t send bulk e-mail.
Avoid attaching images.
Avoid using hyperlinks.
Avoid using attachments.
Skip spamming words and phrases.
Don’t send email to too many people in the same company at one time.
Don’t send too many emails to the same person.

Long subject lines are a bad idea.
Keep your prospecting subject to 4-6 words, 40-50 characters.
Use action words and directive statements.
Use tools to test e-mail open and response rates.

Your e-mail must compel the recipient to take action.

A good prospecting email begins with a great plan.
The plan helps define:

• Who will be getting your e-mail
• The method or technique you will use to get their attention
• The message you will craft to connect with them and compel them to take action
• The action you want the recipient to take

AMMO Acronym

• Audience
• Method
• Message
• Outcome

Ask yourself questions about your prospect.
What will get their attention?
What is important to them?
What will cause them to give you what you are asking for?

If you don’t know what you want, you won’t get what you want.

Four Step Framework of an Effective Prospecting E-mail

1. Hook
2. Relate
3. Bridge
4. Ask

Make your subject line relevant and the opening sentence about them.
Don’t use “Hi” or “Hello” at the start of your e-mail.

Example of a good e-mail subject line.
To a COO of a bank.
Subject: COO – The Toughest Job in the Bank

Good way to ask for the next contact:
Why don’t we schedule a short call to help me learn more about your unique challenges?

The best time to send e-mail is when your customers will open them. You can use software to test open rates at different times.

Proof read your prospecting emails before you press send. Do it once, twice, wait 10 minutes and check again. For really important e-mails print them out and check the hard copy.

Chapter 20: Text Messaging

Texting is becoming the go-to medium for communication.
Texting as a business tool is accelerating.
Familiarity is everything with text.
Text following a call, email or in-person interaction.
Use text to anchor conversations at networking events.
When someone says let’s get together, mention that you will text them.

Seven Rules for Structuring Effective Text Prospecting Messages

1. Identify yourself
2. Message matters. What you say and how you say it carries impact.
3. Be direct, be brief
4. Avoid abbreviations
5. Use transparent links
6. Pause and read it again before clicking send
7. Know your numbers (track the number you send each day and response rates)

Chapter 21: Developing Mental Toughness

When the going gets tough, the mentally tough get going.

Seven Core Dimensions of Mental Toughness by James Loehr

1. Self-confidence
2. Attention control
3. Minimizing negative energy
4. Increasing positive energy
5. Maintaining motivational levels
6. Attitude control
7. Visual and imagery control

You can control your actions, your re-actions and your mindset.
Mediocrity is a choice. Losing is a choice.
Success is paid for by hard work.
Accept pain and sacrifice today for a win in the future.

Book Reference: Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again
Three Dimensions of Mental Toughness in Sales People

1. Optimism
2. Competitiveness
3. Need for achievement

Four Pillars of Mental Toughness in Sales

1. Desire
2. Mental Resilience
3. Physical Resilience

Desire is just the beginning, you must have a clear definition of what you want and where you are going. This requires answering three questions:

1. What do you want?
2. How do you plan to get what you want?
3. How bad do you want it?

Jeb offers a free goal planning guide at freegoalsheet.com [I have not downloaded or used it, linking for reference only]

Mental Resilience

The author gives a story of needing to sharpen a chainsaw while cutting a tree down. Thought about his own life needing sharpening and invested in a seminar, books and subscribed to related blogs.

Where are you bogging down or expending lots of effort but getting nowhere? When was the last time you sharpened your own saw? When was the last time you slowed down and invested in yourself?

Sometimes you need to slow down to speed up.

Out-learn = Out-earn
The cultivation of the mind is as necessary as food to the body. -Cicero
In sales and in life; when you out-learn your competitors and your peers, you will out-earn them.
People who invest in learning are more motivated, develop a stronger belief system, and are invariably more successful than their peers.
One of the keys to being an elite sales athlete is to have more knowledge about the sales profession, your industry and your products and services than any of your competitors.
Learners invest their own money in books, seminars and workshops.

When you decide not to read; you are making the conscious choice to limit your growth and income.

Benefits of Reading

• Reading helps you think more thoroughly.
• Helps you see the world differently.
• Makes you a better resource to your customers and company.
• Helps you become a better conversationalist.
• Gives you insight.
• Improves your writing skills and vocabulary.
• Can help you become an expert whom people who don’t read seek out for advice.
• Programs the subconscious mind to find answers when you need them.

15 minutes of professional reading a day adds up fast.
250 days of professional reading at 15 minutes = 3,750 minutes (62.5 hours)

Physical Resilience

Your mental energy will be limited by your physical resilience.
You won’t win consistently if you lack the endurance to outwork and out-hustle your competitors.

Benefits of Physical Resilience

• Improved creative thinking, mental clarity and optimism
• More nimble and adaptive
• Boosts confidence and enthusiasm

Three Pillars of Physical Resilience
[see my summary of Eat, Move Sleep for an in-depth book on the three concepts below]

1. Regular exercise
2. Sleep
3. Eat healthy

Chapter 22: Eleven Words That Changed My Life

When it is time to go home, make one more call.
Do more than is required.

Chapter 23: The Only Question That Really Matters

How badly do you want it?

Related Book Summaries

• Everyone Communicates Few Connect Book Summary
• How to Win Friends & Influence People Summary
• Eat Move Sleep Summary

Hope you enjoyed this and got value from my notes.
The 14th book read in my 2019 reading list.
Here is a list of my book summaries.

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