The What and When of Prospecting By Zig Ziglar

What is a prospect? A prospect is an individual or a group capable of making the decision on the product or service the salesperson is selling. There is obviously a difference between a “prospect” and a “suspect.” A “suspect” is a name that could be a prospect, so the name offers hope. But unless that hope has a solid foundation, you have only a suspect. A “prospect” has a need for the product, a possible desire to own that product, and the financial capacity to implement that decision. You “spend” time with suspects; you “invest” time with prospects.

So the question becomes, when do people prospect? The answer is, all the time! Prospecting is not an eight-to-five job. Prospecting, when done graciously, can be done in virtually any environment—in social situations, on an airplane, in an airport, at a lunch or a club meeting, or whenever people are present.

Once again, the best-paying hard work in the world is selling, and the poorest-paying work in the world is selling! Your chosen field is not an industry that allows you to “coast.” When you get in the business of professional selling—or more important, when the business gets in you—you will discover that prospecting is not a chore; it is truly an exciting opportunity for success!

My late friend Cavett Robert had a little saying: “You’ve got to circulate before you can percolate.” How true it is! There’s no denying that ACTIVITY (making contacts and calls) in the world of sales is critical. Alert salespeople are constantly in the state of “awareness,” with eyes and ears open for business. This doesn’t necessarily mean they approach everybody at a social function or corner the people on the driving range or golf course; nor does it mean they approach every person at the post office or supermarket. The successful prospecting attitude does mean, however, that when great prospectors pick up the newspaper, there is a sensitivity to local events or news stories that contain leads or prospects for the business. The successful prospecting attitude means tuning in to conversations that would directly or indirectly involve the use of the goods or services the salespeople offer.

Becoming successful at finding buyers means knowing when a new business opens or a new family moves to the neighborhood, practicing good neighborliness and being a good citizen by welcoming them. Oftentimes business is born from such relationships. As the old saying goes, “You never trip over anything while you’re seated.”

This article is adapted from Ziglar on Selling by Zig Ziglar.  Zig is known as America’s Motivator.  He authored 32 books and produced numerous training programs.  He will be remembered as a man who lived out his faith daily.