| As part of my marketing campaign, I decided to call | | | | Instead of seeing just another "tombstone" |
| on the chiropractor located next to the post office. | | | | description of your prospect on a computer screen, |
| Purposely, I hadn't phoned in advance. | | | | you can gaze into the parking lot at that |
| On that particular day I was literally knocking on | | | | distributorship and see that there are some very |
| doors. | | | | upscale sports cars parked in the executives' spaces. |
| What the chiropractor didn't know was that I had | | | | This company is doing fine, its people are prospering. |
| sold him some training cassettes over a dozen years | | | | Likewise, you can see how large the buildings are |
| ago, by phone. But now, my idea was to test his | | | | that your prospects occupy, and above all, you can |
| openness to becoming one of my new coaching | | | | evaluate the mood of the place by assessing the |
| clients. | | | | reception you receive. Obvious employee |
| As I entered his dimly lit office, he greeted me. | | | | contentment and broad smiles tell you this is probably |
| Instantly, I felt a sense of emptiness, partly | | | | not a place that's headed for imminent disaster. |
| conveyed by missing receptionists, assistants, and | | | | Of course, you may be hunting for failure, for |
| above all, clients. | | | | dourness, especially if you're seeking new digs for a |
| "Hello, Dr. Frisbee," I said brightly. "I'd like to get one | | | | real estate client and you want to get in on the |
| of your business cards and then set an appointment | | | | ground floor with a motivated seller. Then, you might |
| with you to see how we might establish a consulting | | | | be hunting for a marginal enterprise that's more than |
| relationship." | | | | willing to move on, and to move out. |
| "Okay," he replied in a subdued, but not disinterested | | | | But you get the idea. Prospecting in person, while it |
| tone. | | | | may seem inefficient and archaic, is anything but. It |
| And with that, I decided NOT to pitch him on the | | | | can be the most enlightened way of seeing what's |
| spot, which would have been my preference had I | | | | going on in the real world. |
| not sensed such a vacuum in his quarters. | | | | The top salesperson at an international shipping |
| In fact, I never pitched him. His name went to the | | | | company, one of my clients, used to get in his car |
| bottom of my prospecting list because I felt his | | | | and follow the competition's trucks to see where |
| career wasn't soaring. It was going the other way. | | | | they were making pickups. He'd count how many |
| This perception turned out to be correct. A few | | | | boxes were loaded, and how much time was spent |
| days ago, as I was driving up his street, I noticed | | | | at each dock. |
| some sheets or towels had been hung awkwardly | | | | Then, he'd customize a proposal before even |
| over the broad storefront window with his name still | | | | contacting those prospects, who of course were |
| etched on the glass. | | | | amazed that he seemed to know so much about |
| He was out of business. | | | | them! |
| This sounds like a sad story, but it isn't; not if you're | | | | Try this, at least every now and then. It will make |
| a marketer or a salesman. In fact, it represents a | | | | prospecting a lot more fun, like detective work, and |
| breakthrough in a retro sense. | | | | you'll breathe new life into what can otherwise be a |
| By doing your prospecting on foot, or by car, you | | | | highly impersonal and abstract marketing process. |
| can gauge what's really going on in a business. | | | | |