Steve was very upset when he called me a couple of months ago. "I did exactly what you taught me. I made 1424 dials and presented 171 prospecting offers. I got two appointments and I only made one sale. Am I doing something wrong, or doesn’t High Probability Prospecting work in the insurance industry?"
How long did it take Steve to make those 1400+ calls?
"About thirty hours, over a period of three weeks."
How much time did he spend with the two appointments that resulted from all that dialing?
"About 7 hours."
How much commission did Steve make on the sale that he closed?
"About $1,600," he reported.
Therefore, Steve made $1,600 for about a weeks’ work- not too bad for a beginner. He averaged about $43/hour.
"It’s not very good, either," was his response, still quite upset. "What am I doing wrong?"
"Nothing that a little more experience won’t fix," I told him. I suggested that he continue calling his list for another couple of weeks. Then, when he reached the end of the list, he should call the people at the beginning of the list again, this time with a different prospecting offer for the same product.
Steve calmed down and agreed to do that.
A month later Steve called again. "Well, I made 1537 calls in the past month, and presented 174 offers, mostly to the same people that I had called a month earlier. I made appointments with 5 High Probability Prospects, and closed 2 of them."
Steve was not complaining: He made $3,300 for about 50 hours of work- averaging about $66/hour. Then, he quit his other job! "Did I get that much better in one month?" he wondered.
Steve did not get that much better in one month- although there is no question that he improved considerably. The Power of Good Timing also contributed to the dramatic improvement in his results. Now that he can work at his insurance business full-time, he should be able to triple last months income.
"Being in the right place at the right time" is NOT just luck when you use High Probability Prospecting. It’s vital to remember that people become High Probability Prospects in their own time, for their own reason.
When you are calling a good, targeted list, most of the prospects WILL become High Probability Prospects eventually- Prospects that are ready to buy what you’re selling- now. That’s why we train salespeople to repeatedly contact their prospects, usually about once a month. You want to ensure that you are there when they’re ready to buy.
Steve sells insurance. In the month that lapsed between his first and second calls to prospects, it’s likely that some of them experienced life-changing events, such as weddings, births, raises and promotions, business ownership, job changes, new homes, college tuition, deaths, etc. Any of those occurrences may have compelled some of them to want what he was offering- right now. That’s the Power of Good Timing.
In High Probability Prospecting, Good Timing is a factor in successful selling. Here’s another: The Difference between Cold-Calling and Warm Calling.
The first time Steve contacted his list with a High Probability Prospecting Offer, he was a stranger making a cold-call. When they said "I’m not interested," he said "Okay, good bye." He heard them, accepted their answer, and immediately disqualified them. That left the prospects with a good experience.
The second time Steve called he was no longer a stranger, he was making a warm-call. And, he presented a new offer, with two additional features. In the month between calls, some of the people he had originally made offers to had been considering that maybe they did want insurance: The combination of the ’warm’ call,’ a life-changing occurrence, and the new offer compelled some of them to meet with him.
In High Probability Prospecting, Good Timing IS a powerful factor - but it is rarely due to luck. Salespeople who methodically and systematically apply the principles of High Probability Prospecting routinely find themselves in the "Right Place at the Right Time".
Jacques Werth, author of "High Probability Selling," is an internationally respected Sales Trainer and Sales Consultant. HPS graduates are excelling as top Sales Performers in over 70 industries. Visit High Probability Sales Training to discover how to make fewer appointments yet close significantly more sales. Exclusive CDs and MP3s teach you to turn the "Numbers Game" Upside-Down at High Probability Sales Training.
