Fanatical Prospecting Book Summary

Book Summary

15 min

Audio available

Brief Summary

The most successful salespeople spend 80 percent of their time on prospecting, because they understand building a pipeline of prospective clients is the key to success. Fanatical prospectors do not let rejection, procrastination, perfectionism or paralysis hold them back. Instead, they use all the tools at their disposal to reach out to potential clients. They are not afraid of cold calling, which is the most effective method of connecting with clients. Fanatical prospectors track their performance and analyze the numbers in order to see where they can improve, and they strategically prioritize their prospecting efforts based on the quality and size of their potential leads.

About the Author

Jeb Blount is a bestselling author, executive advisor, keynote speaker, and CEO of Sale Gravy, Inc. He was listed as one of Crunch Base’s Top 25 Sales Leaders to Follow in 2020 and listed as a Forbes Top 30 Social Selling Influencer. He lives in Georgia.

Topics

Marketing & Sales

Fanatical Prospecting Book Summary Preview

What You’ll Learn

The importance of consistent prospecting in order to build up a pipeline of potential clients
Why telephone calling is still the best method to reach out to new clients
How fear of rejection, procrastination, perfectionism and paralysis can lead to failure

Who Is This For

Salespeople who want to build their pipeline, generate leads, and exceed in their careers
Individuals looking to increase their confidence with cold calling and reaching out to potential new clients
Business leaders who are seeking to grow their client base

Key Insights

Prospecting is the most important part of sales, but it can also be difficult and uncomfortable, so many salespeople avoid it. Many people feel awkward and anxious interrupting prospects out of the blue, but it is key to generating leads. Salespeople who do not seek out prospects almost always underperform. The most effective way to achieve success is by building up a strong pipeline of prospects.

There are many different methods and tools when it comes to prospecting, including in-person networking, email, social media, and phone calls. Top-performing salespeople utilize all the tools at their disposal, but they are also aware that there is no substitute to reaching out via the telephone. Even in the digital age of social media, succinctly and straightforwardly making a persuasive pitch to prospective clients over the phone has a higher rate of success than any other sales alternative. Therefore, the most effective salespeople prioritize cold calling and arrange their contact lists according to the prospective pyramid, which helps them determine which contacts are the highest priority.

Prospecting Is An Essential Activity

Sales is an essential part of the business. No matter the industry, no business can be successful without sales. However, sales is not easy, and it is often misunderstood. Even experts, who claim to have all the answers, all too often are selling ineffective shortcuts that will not lead to long-term success. While the “easy” solution sells, because people are drawn to the idea of achieving their goals without putting in long hours of work, it is unfortunately often not the case in real life. Salespeople who try to find shortcuts and take the easy way out will find that they will ultimately fall short of their goals. No success will happen overnight, and salespeople who want to achieve success will have to be ready to put in the work.

While some raw talent can be beneficial, ultimately nothing makes up for simply putting in hard work. Salespeople have to put in long hours and be dedicated to closing deals. Any number of talented and charismatic salespeople will eventually fall flat if they only rely on their talent, not their work ethic, to achieve success. Truly successful salespeople work harder, especially when it comes to prospecting, or proactively seeking out potential new clients.

Prospecting means chasing down leads, which will turn into future sales, by any means necessary. This could mean working overtime making extra calls, sending out more emails, or even knocking on doors. Successful prospectors use all avenues at their disposal to discover and network...