Fanatical Prospecting

About the Author

Jeb Blount is a renowned sales specialist, founder, and CEO of SalesGravy, a professional sales training company. He has extensive experience in fine-tuning sales techniques across various industries. As the author of several bestselling books, including Sales EQ and People Buy You, Blount distills complicated sales techniques into straightforward tips accessible to salespeople of all levels.

Main Idea

In Fanatical Prospecting, Blount argues that relentless prospecting is essential to reaching the pinnacle of sales success. Despite some opinions suggesting that traditional prospecting methods are outdated, Blount maintains that proactive prospecting remains crucial. The book provides a comprehensive guide to effective prospecting strategies, from overcoming hesitations to utilizing multiple channels, ensuring a steady stream of potential customers.

Table of Contents

1. The Importance of Prospecting
2. General Guidelines for Prospecting
3. Specific Prospecting Channels
4. How to Prospect In-Person
5. How to Prospect Via Telephone
6. How to Prospect Via Email
7. How to Prospect Via Social Media

The Importance of Prospecting

Many salespeople dismiss prospecting as unpleasant and unnecessary, but Blount emphasizes that it remains a crucial part of success in sales. Without proactive prospecting, salespeople risk having an empty pipeline of potential customers, which is the primary reason for failure in sales. Blount contends that the most successful salespeople distinguish themselves by constantly prospecting, ensuring a full pipeline and consistently high commission checks.

“Prospecting relentlessly is essential to reaching the pinnacle of sales.” — Jeb Blount

General Guidelines for Prospecting

Blount offers several strategies to make prospecting more effective. Overcoming hesitations, maximizing time, and building name recognition with prospects are key components of successful prospecting.

Overcome Your Hesitations

Many salespeople hesitate to prospect due to over-analyzing each prospect and striving for a foolproof strategy. Blount advises against perfectionism, suggesting instead that salespeople force themselves to make prospecting calls without extensive preparation. This approach helps build comfort with uncertainty and increases efficiency.

“Force yourself to make prospecting calls without preparing ahead of time.” — Jeb Blount

Maximize Your Time

Blount recommends blocking off specific windows of time during the "golden hours" when prospects are most likely to answer calls. This method, based on Parkinson's Law, ensures that salespeople make a high number of calls efficiently within a short timeframe.

According to Blount, Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Thus, allocating less time to prospecting tasks forces efficiency. For example, if you set a one-hour window for making calls, you are likely to make more calls quickly and effectively within that time.

Build Name Recognition

To increase the likelihood of successful prospecting, Blount suggests building name recognition through relentless prospecting, leveraging referrals, and networking constantly.