What Teleprospecting Means To Me
Posted by
Liz Wilson on Fri, May 25, 2024 @ 12:46 PM
Every year on Memorial Day weekend it's tradition for my family to go to the town parade and every year it concludes with the top three elementary school winners reading their “What Memorial Day Means to Me” essays. Most of them reveal that it's not just the candy and cookouts that make Memorial Day special to them. With this event fast approaching, I’ve figured out what Memorial Day means to me, so what does teleprospecting mean to me? Something that is very much a work in progress… so here goes!
What teleprospecting means to me is more than showing up to a list of names at sunrise and dialing down monotonously until sunset. That person is NOT me (or my colleagues). My personal goal is to locate the appropriate contact in the most efficient way possible. Contrary to popular belief, I do not want to endlessly bother every single person in the company. With each new prospect I investigate, I go to their website and with any luck, identify the decision maker, make the call, and discover an opportunity (ideally). That’s like saying candy is the best part of Memorial Day!
So to reveal the reality of teleprospecting, it means being an investigator. You have to find as many appropriate avenues as possible to get the information you need to either qualify or disqualify a prospect. This takes finesse, persistence and a great deal of due diligence. A lot of times you have to puzzle together bits and pieces of information that various contacts give you to get an overall picture of the environment before you get to the decision maker.
Finally teleprospecting means being well versed in your product so that when your “contact identified” answers the phone you are able to represent your organization well, and get the information that you need out of them. I've had my fair share of difficult moments on the phone and I’m sure I’ll have many more, but I do keep current with my client's business so that I'm as educated and informative as possible.
Although I do enjoy the candy and hotdogs on Memorial Day, I'm aware of the toll it took for me to have those enjoyments on this coming Monday. Likewise, I hope I’ve expressed what it means to be a teleprospector; not blindly dialing, but investigative work that is a huge part of providing quality opportunities to our clients. Now, go eat a Snickers!
Have a fun and safe Memorial Day!!