The 14 Laws of Prospecting

Running a business can be hectic but the real nerve-wrecker is getting clients. Getting and keeping clients can sometimes feel like a dead-end but it doesn’t have to be. As a seasoned sales coach who has worked with numerous businesses to build and strengthen their sales teams; I have learnt a few laws of sales which I have used in my business and helped my clients implement as well. The results are phenomenal. Here are 14 powerful and unbreakable laws you should follow diligently if you also want to breakthrough in sales:

1. The Law of Possibility – This law states that, if you’re relentless to win, life will make a way for you. For your prospecting to be effective, it is imperative you have a goal and you’re absolutely relentless to meeting that goal. What’s the sales goal for your product, in terms of units to be sold and income to be generated? Decide what the goal is then go for it. You must believe in yourself and in your abilities to perform. You must believe you have the ability to get any goal you set (because you can!!). You must make a commitment to do all it takes to win, giving no room for excuses. Excuses are simply good reasons for poor results. Unless this audacity to win is settled within you then your prospecting journey won’t be sweet.

2. The Law of Purpose – This law states that, understanding that your product can change the world is the key to unlimited sales. We all want to be a part of something that’s bigger than us, something that makes us feel we are impacting the lives of others; making the world better than we met it. Your product has the capacity to achieve this great feat. This is because products don’t have a life of their own, we are the ones who give our products substance, value, relevance and of course the opportunity for impact.

   Let me give you an example of what I mean by impact. Let me give you an example of what I mean by impact. You sell real estate and you sold a property to a man. In a few years the value of the property appreciated by 100%, this gave the man an opportunity to sell it and reinvest the money. Hence, wealth came into his family. The man handed it over to his son and the cycle of wealth continued, creating a generation of wealth all through their lineage; with this money they were able to do a lot of good things for themselves and for a lot of other people e.g. opened an orphanage to help homeless children.

3. The Law of the First Statement – This law states that, in a busy world, your first statement must grab the prospect’s attention, then elicit the response, “tell me more.” Your first statement should be a summary of the value you offer. When I meet clients I used to say, “Hello my name is Iyore and I train businesses on how to sell when no one wants to buy so they can make more money.” This should elicit a response, “tell me more.”

Finding your value statement- which is your attention grabbing statement- is gotten by identifying the end result of the value you give then walking backwards to craft the value process. For example what is the end result of people buying your furniture, comfort? With comfort comes what? Happiness. So the end result is happiness. Now walk backwards as I mentioned earlier by identifying the value process used to produce this happiness. For furniture it could be bespoke furniture or readymade furniture then having identified the value process, choose your niche. For example your niche could be salaried individuals.

With all these your value statement will then be, “I help salaried individuals through bespoke furniture achieve happiness.” Your first statement could also be a question, for example, “a lot of clients have called me lately to thank me for making their lives easier, would you want to know why?” The prospect can then say, “okay, tell me why.” Then you begin selling from there.The strength of your attention grabbing statement is not in its complexity but in the response it provokes from the prospect.

4. The Law of Existing Clients – This law states that, prospects associate the quality of your product to the quality of existing clients you serve. At one of my sales seminars a participant complained that he hadn’t been able to get high paying clients to buy his product. I then asked him a question, “How many high paying clients do you currently do business with?” He replied, “None.” That was his problem. I’m sure you’re wondering, “How do you expect him to get high paying clients?” The answer is, do some jobs for free and let it be known that you do business with those clients. No one cares if they paid you or not all they know is you do business with them. So, using the furniture value statement mentioned earlier you can say, “I help salaried individuals through bespoke furniture achieve happiness. I have done this for staff of Google, Oracle and Standard Chartered Bank.”

5. The Law of the Testimonial – This law states that, what clients say about your product will greatly influence the prospect’s expectation of your product. Become eager to get as many testimonials as you can. Get testimonials in all formats including written, video and audio. Sometimes you may have to write testimonial letters yourself with the client’s permission (if they’re too busy) so they can just sign. If you’re new to selling, test the market with your product, get feedback and testimonials based on the results people got from your product. So again, using the furniture value statement mentioned earlier you can say, “I help salaried individuals through bespoke furniture achieve happiness. I have done this for staff of Google, Oracle and Standard Chartered Bank.

Here is what some of them have to say………” In some cases you can close the sale after this statement by asking, “would you like this to be your experience too?”

For video testimonials you can simply use your phone to record the testimonials

6. The Law of Presence – This law states that, it is easier to get rid of a phone call than it is to get rid of a human body. When using the telephone, remember it is not to close a sale especially if you don’t receive payments or deliver your product to prospects over the telephone. Rather the aim of the telephone is to book an appointment. This is why you shouldn’t yield to pressure from prospects that try to press you into telling them about your product over the phone. A lot of times they do that because they are looking for a reason to disqualify you. Rather, be pleasant and insistent asking for just 3 minutes of their time to show them what you have to offer. Great prospects are busy, poor prospects have all the time to give you, so the greater the resistance in getting the appointment, the happier you should be.

Here is a sample phone conversation to book an appointment on the telephone:

YOU: “Good afternoon Mr. Prospect, I….(introduce yourself applying the law of the first statement here). Can I meet with you for 3 minutes; there is something I would like to show you? (When you meet the prospect you can show them your brochures, product, testimonial letters, videos or just get a sheet of paper and describe in financial terms what they stand to benefit especially if you sell intangible products like services)

MR PROSPECT: “What is it?”

YOU: “I wish I could say it over the phone but it’s really important I show you, I promise I won’t use more than 3 minutes of your time because I know you’re really busy”

*The reason you want to meet with the prospect is because the moment you’re face to face with a prospect and you’re well dressed, confident in yourself and in your product, you become far more persuasive and difficult to resist. Unlike a phone call where all the prospect has to do is turn it off.

7. The Law of one Client: There is a principle of life which states that, “what you look for, you’ll find”. A lot of times our beliefs about what is possible is where our limitations are. Another principle is, “whatever you’ve come to believe and accept as possible will be your reality”. One client can turn around your business; one client might be the missing link between where you are and where you want to be. The question is, will you recognize this client when you see him or her? Big things can come in small packages.

   I was at a seminar a few months ago where a real estate business mogul said his business turned around because of one client. He walked up to her at the airport and introduced himself. He said he admired what she was doing for our nation and gave her his business card. A few months later she called him asking to purchase four luxury properties that day. Within a few years several of such transactions came from this client and many referrals. Any client you see may be that ‘one client’. Just be watchful so you don’t miss them.

   It happened to Ralph Lauren; Ralph Lauren (formerly Ralph Lifshitz) is today worth $5.7billion by Forbes Magazine. As a young entrepreneur he started his business selling ties to retail stores, these ties were the first of their kind due to their unique cut and was branded in his name. Everything turned around when he was able to persuade Bloomingdale’s (an American chain of luxury department stores) to buy his ties. They refused at first because they wanted him to remove his name from the labels, of which Ralph Lauren refused. They later called him a few months later and gave him a space in their store to sell his ties. This they had done for no one before then. After this, his sales took a quantum leap and he even moved from selling ties to other clothing. This single client was a game changer for Ralph Lauren and his business.

   A few years ago while in banking, a colleague of mine was leaving the bank and handed over two of her clients to me. Trust me, I wasn’t excited, it just seemed to be more work. Besides, they seemed demanding and preferred to work with ladies. Nevertheless, I gave my best to serve them. A day came when they had a ‘stubborn’ transaction. I had to get approvals from several bosses to get the transaction through. It was eventually successful. We were expecting some money to hit their accounts from Lebanon. Guess how much came in? Two Million Dollars!!! This client was a game changer for me because I met my target for the year. Watch out for that client who may be a game changer for you so you don’t miss them because big things sometimes come in small packages.

8. The Law of the Niche – This law states that, you were not sent to everyone, so don’t try to get everyone’s attention. When prospecting, you need to identify who you’ve been sent to. I use the word ‘sent’ because there must be an element of purpose in what you do. I explained this previously in the law of purpose. Identify your niche by developing an avatar of who your ideal client is.
9. The Law of Rejection – This law states that, being comfortable with rejection is the beginning of success in selling. The selling business is a business of rejection. Rejection is part of the package. If you sell long enough you will develop a thick skin overtime to withstand the fear of rejection. However, from now you can handle rejection by realizing that it is your advantage. Everyday expect sales rejections because your opportunities are there if you look for them (if you seek you shall find); opportunities to grow, opportunities to identify your conversion rate- which refers to the percentage of people that buy from you compared to those you speak to.
10. The law of research – This law states that, you must understand your prospect so you can understand where your product can be of value to the prospect. Research about your prospect especially if you’re not selling mass market products or if you are selling a large quantity to a single client. This applies especially when you have very few people in your niche market. For example if you sell to only banks and there are maybe 20 banks in the county where you live, you will need to study each bank carefully so you can maximize every opportunity you have with them. Study the vocabulary of the industry you may be prospecting to penetrate. This will create a feeling of rapport as you use sophisticated vocabulary when prospecting to get an appointment.
11. The law of first impressions-  This law states that, the aim of a first impression is to create a mental interruption. Do you sell offline, online or both? The first impression you create to a prospect will go a long way to determine if they will do business with you or not. If you sell offline, ensure that your personal appearance in terms of hygiene and clothing are apt. Check to make sure that your business appearance in terms of your business cards, brochures and other marketing collateral are neat. If you sell online, ensure your pictures are clear, your fonts are easy to read and colours used intentionally. Just make sure it’s memorable for the prospect so it can cause a mental interruption. Prospecting is a long-term thing. It’s not something you can do for a few days and few months. You have to make a commitment to prospect everyday for the rest of your life if you have to. I say that because when you buy from people and they don’t buy from you today, it doesn’t mean they won’t buy from you tomorrow. Sometimes you may say something that created a very positive impression. Sometimes, it may be weeks, months and maybe years then they remember you. That’s how first impressions work sometimes if it’s not instant. So don’t be discouraged if they don’t buy from you Instantly.
12. The Law of Qualifying – this law states that there is no use heading in the right direction with the wrong prospect. Have you spoken to a prospect before and giving a presentation only to find out the person had no money or couldn’t make a buying decision because he needs to seek for approval or maybe discuss with their spouse first. you can avoid this by qualifying the prospect early in the sales process. you can qualify simply by asking questions. For example, if you saw what you wanted are you in a position to make a buying decision now? Will you need to discuss this with anyone before you can make a purchase? Questions like these help you save time by clearly identifying who can pay for your service and who the final decision makers are.

13. The Law of Routine -This law states that, if you consistently seek prospects daily, the time comes when prospects will start seeking you. Life is in phases, this is why success can be measured at different phases of life. When you begin the early phase of selling you will have to hunt for prospects daily. This must be a routine for you, probably even at a fixed time and duration daily just to ensure you’re consistent. You start from;
    I) The people you know: As simple as the contacts on your phone, social media, school, church or any where you contact people.
    II) The people who you know know: This is where you need to ‘ASK’ (please ask! Ask! Ask! Don’t think they will refer you just because they like you; ask and you shall receive) for those you know to refer you to those they know.
    III) The people you don’t know: This is the third phase where you graduate to cold calling on people you don’t know. Keep a notebook of potential prospects for the month then start calling them daily
    to get appointments. Constantly plan and seek for your prospects in a methodical way (within your niche market) e.g. Across industries, profession, age groups or location. Your aim is to satisfy all your prospects with excellent service and product delivery then they will start to give you leads and referrals such that other prospects will start looking for you. This is the most rewarding phase of professional selling.
14. The Law of Tracking. This law states that not every prospect will buy immediately but that doesn’t mean they don’t want your product; rather, they just want to be persuaded a little more. 80% of sales are lost due to poor follow-up. You must be able to follow-up effectively because the average person doesn’t know how to follow-up. You can take advantage of this oversight of your competitors, strengthen yourself in the art of follow-up and win the clients. This can be achieved with the use of effective tracking records and methods. This will ensure your subsequent conversations with your prospects are continuations of previous discussions and not you repeating the same questions over again. It will also help you ensure every unfinished engagement with a prospect will end with permission from you to contact them at a later date and time.

These laws if applied diligently will help you sell even when no one wants to buy.