When it comes to prospecting most sales people have several ways of getting in front of new opportunities such as:
- Networking events
- Cold dialing
- Social media
- Informational talks
- Generating referrals
Most use a combination of the five, but have no strategy or method for tracking and measuring behind it. This is where a good “cook book” will come in handy. A cookbook for sales are the “ingredients” or sales activities you should be doing to achieve optimum results.
All of these behaviors and selling activities that are in your cook book, should be tracked and measured to show you exactly where, how, and what to expect from your time spent prospecting. In order to achieve your number you must work backwards from your ultimate goal.
Here is an example:
- If your monthly goal of new revenue is $25,000
- An average deal brings in $5,000
- You typically close 5 out of every 15 appointments
You will need to get 15 appointments per month in order to achieve your goal.
How do you get those appointments? These numbers will be based on your past results.
For example:
- Every networking event attended books 1 appointment
- Every 20 cold dials books 1 appointment
- Every informational talk books 2 appointments
- Every 3 referral asks to current clients you book 1 appointment
- Every 30 social media messages you send books 1 appointment
If those are your typical numbers this is what your monthly cook book may look like:
Networking events to attend | Cold Dials made | Informational talks held | Referral asks | Social Media messages |
4 | 80 | 1 | 9 | 60 |
If these particular behaviors are executed monthly, you can expect fairly consistent results .Find the perfect recipe for your cook book and enjoy the taste of success!