TOP OF MIND
In Chapter 1 of Thrive, I make the case that cold calling is essentially dead. Either you don’t do it, or you don’t do it well. It’s not fun. The sales cycle is so long (the time from the first call until the day you collect a check) is so long, that the call is completely disassociated with the outcome.
The prescription I present in the book is to flip the script – make continuous deposits in the “trust bank” (the confidence that you build in the mind of the prospect) so that when the day arrives in which the prospect needs an expert, they call you. This “top of mind” concept is used in every major consumer marketing process, but we rarely make it work for us.
My suggestion is to create a roster of 125 prospects that meet three criteria:
- They are the decision maker and control a deal that you would want to do.
- They are respectful of you, and willing to engage with you.
- The deal they control is likely to happen in the next five years.
It takes time to assemble this list. You may have to interact with 1,000 prospects to find 125 that meet all three criteria. Ah, but when you do! Think of it this way: if you had a list of 125 deals that were going to make at some point over the next five years, and you had a relationship with the decision maker, what proportion of those deals would you control?
Almost all our one-on-one coaching clients work on their Top 125 list every week. Some have turned it into a game with a partner – scoring more points for an in-person meeting than a phone conversation. Some have already seen their capture rate soar. Some never got to 125 because they got so busy serving the first 75 on the list. All keep close track of their continuous effort to make “trust deposits.”
Since Thrive was published, the subscription data (CoStar, Reonomy, etc.) that includes contact information about prospects has gotten even better. My favorite response by a top producing client: “I live in a post-CoStar world now; my data is so good for the prospects that I care most about that I could never revert back to a subscription.” What’s the balance in your trust accounts?
To receive a copy of the Revisited Edition of Thrive at the end of this 14-part series please click here.
