Confessions of a closet slug

But on the upside, I’ve learned how to compensate for my slothful behavior by increasing my sales effectiveness. Here are two strategies that have worked for me:

1. Pinpoint prospecting. Instead of dialing for dollars, I have learned to target companies that offer a higher likelihood of success. And, I look for specific trigger events, such as stagnant sales or new strategic initiatives, which create a greater need for my services. The result? Fewer calls but a lot more hot prospects.
2. High quality meetings. I spend tons of time prepping for every single call, meeting, presentation or proposal. I research, I plan, I write out questions and agendas. Because of this, fewer prospects are required to get more and bigger sales.

Being a closet slug has taught me to be more efficient and work smarter. But I still think it would be nice to have a few more hours in the day!

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Jill Konrath is the author of SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies. If you’re struggling to set up meetings, click here to get a free Prospecting Tool Kit.