Fishing for Prospects

I don’t expect that I will ever be invited to participate in any upcoming bassmaster fishing tournaments, but I have fished enough to know that before you set off on a fishing trip you need to make a few decisions.  These decisions are same decisions that a small business owner or sales professional must make before they begin prospecting for new clients.

The first decision I typically make when I go fishing is where I am going to go.  In other words, what ocean, lake, river, stream or pond am I going to fish in?  When prospecting for business clients, we have to decide on what industry and what type of company are we going to pursue.

The next decision I make when fishing is the kind of fish I plan to catch.  Am I angling for salmon, or trout, or bass, or blue gill?  Similarly, when prospecting for new clients I am often thinking about whom the decision-makers are that I am trying to interest in my product or service.  Do I need to contact the top executive, a plant manager, the CFO, purchasing—or all four of them?

The reason this decision is so crucial is that it helps me make my third decision – what kind of bait I should use.  If I want to catch bass, I know from past experience that minnows are my best bet.  Occasionally, night crawlers will also work but it depends on the time of year and just how hungry the fish are that day.

Similarly, the bait that I would use to attract a CEO is very different from the bait that I would use to attract a plant manager or someone from purchasing.  In the context of prospecting for new business, the bait that I use is what I typically refer to as my prospect’s common complaints.

Common Complaints are the needs and concerns of the people you call on.  Think of your Common Complaints” in the following terms:  Imagine your best customer before he met you.  It is the end of the day, and he or she is having a cup of coffee with his or her best friend who does the same thing they do in another part of the company.  They are discussing the challenges and frustrations they face at work in relation to the products and services you sell.  The one says to the other, “I wish I could find a way to ___________________.  How are you handling it?” or “I am frustrated by _________________.  Have you ever looked at this before?”  What are they saying to one another within the blanks? Those are your Common Complaints.

If you can’t answer this question yourself, try asking your existing customers why they were receptive to talking with you about your products or services in the first place.  What was the catalyst that caused them to look for the solution you eventually provided?  The answers to these questions are your Common Complaints.

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