The seventh Sandler Rule to sales is, “You don’t have to like prospecting, you just have to do it.” I saw this rule in action during my sales internship two summers ago. I spent some time shadowing the company’s top sales rep, Randy, and I had the opportunity to travel with him on several cold calls. The company I worked for sold textbooks, so cold calling entailed paying visits to instructors who may or may not have had previous contact with reps. Sometimes, these visits were completely spontaneous. We simply hoped that the instructors would happen to be in office hours during the time of our visits.
Although my role during cold calling was primarily as an observer, I always felt nervous as we walked onto college campuses and into office suites without a previous appointment. Randy always remained cool and collected, just as the Sandler Rule suggests that a salesman should not put too much pressure on himself. When I expressed my surprise at the ease with which he performed these cold calls, Randy explained his approach in a way that reminds me of the “prospecting for gold” concept we discussed in class. He told me, “You’re not going to sell to everybody. These visits are just to ask a few questions, gauge interest, and then leave my card on the way out.”
As the Sandler Rule emphasizes, cold calling is truly a numbers game. After each meeting with each potential prospect, Randy qualified him based on the likelihood of a future deal. If we stayed for a while and the instructor seemed interested in our products, Randy might say, “I’m giving him a 70%. He was really unhappy with his current books.” He subsequently revised and recorded these numbers after each encounter with each prospect.
If I ever find myself in a sales position, I hope to emulate Randy’s ability to follow Sandler Rule number seven. Some of the best sales reps don’t love cold calling, but they do it anyway, because they know if they do it enough, they’ll find prospects who it makes sense to do business with.
BoweryJE22
That is a great experience you were able to have to be on some cold calls with a salesperson! It is great that Randy had the experience and was able to stay calm throughout the entire process. He is relaxed and knows that not every conversation will work out, and he is okay with that. There is not really a need to worry about it. If the product can help the client, that is what matters.