PPB March 2015

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Instead of adopting the common haphaz-
ard approach to prospecting, it’s time to think
of every outreach effort as part of a larger
campaign to engage prospects.
Meet Laura. Before implementing the
campaign approach, she employed a strategy
similar to Bill’s, usually attempting to reach
prospects seven or so times before giving up.
Now, she uses the campaign approach to
reach prospects. Here is what her new process
looks like:
Identify: Once she identifies a prospect,
she adds him or her to her CRM system
along with all the relevant information she
can find.
Outreach 1: She attempts to call the
prospect. In the likely event that she doesn’t
reach the prospect, she leaves a message say-
ing that she is going to send over a letter
with best practice case studies that highlight
how she could add value to the prospect’s
organization. She reiterates this information
in an email.
Send Letter 1: She sends a letter contain-
ing best practice case studies.
Follow up on Letter 1: She now attempts
to contact the prospect at different times of
the day over the course of a week or two
without leaving a voicemail.
Announce Package: She leaves a voicemail
and email explaining that the prospect will be
receiving a package with some ideas for a
new program.
Send Package: She sends a big package
with more high-value ideas to help the
prospect.
Follow Up on Package …
Send Letter 2 …
Follow Up on Letter 2 …
And then continue the steps as needed.
Laura uses this same campaign for each
new prospect. Yes, it is more labor-intensive
than the haphazard approach, but it slowly
builds a connection with the prospect even in
the likely event that she can’t get through. Of
course, if she does connect with the prospect,
she simply references the most recent letter or
package sent and then goes into her call script.
Here are a few key techniques from Laura’s
process that can translate into a successful
prospecting campaign for any salesperson:
1. Create multiple steps. Plan out ahead of
time what your campaign will look like
and what you will send to the prospect at
each step. Make sure that everything you
send over is of actual value to the
prospect. Brochures don’t cut it. Instead,
create three to five different pieces to send
the prospect, which can each serve as
legitimate reasons to connect. Even in the
event that you don’t hear back after step
two, you are still slowly making yourself
known to the prospect, which makes him
or her that much more likely to take your
call the next time.
2. Call and email between steps. Since
you’ve sent something of value to the
prospect, you now want to follow up to
learn what matters most to the prospect.
The goal of any campaign is to simply get
through to the potential buyer. By having a
consistent process, you simply follow direc-
tions and let the campaign do the real
work. As soon as you actually reach the
prospect, you start the selling process.
3. Warm them up with personal touches.
People still open mail, especially when it’s
personal, so don’t just send boilerplate let-
ters and packages to prospects. Make them
personal with handwritten notes and indi-
vidualized gestures. One step in your cam-
paign could be to send a letter with a busi-
ness article that may be highly relevant to
the prospect based on his or her current
situation. The key is to show that you’ve
done your homework and see the prospect
as more than just a number.
Remember, developing a prospecting
campaign can be a bit of work up front, but
once you have it laid out, all you have to do is
follow the steps. By taking every prospect
through this same campaign, you slowly build
connections in a world where it is increasing-
ly difficult to get through the barrage of
voicemail, gatekeepers, and other barriers. So
give it a shot. Lay out your campaign, and
take your next series of prospects through the
steps. The more prospects you have in a par-
ticular campaign, the easier it is to implement
a systematic approach.
Marc Wayshak is the bestselling author of two books on sales and leadership,
Game Plan Selling and Breaking All Barriers, as well as a regular contributor for
Fast Company, Entrepreneur magazine and the Huffington Post Business sec-
tion. As a sales strategist, Wayshak created the Game Plan Selling System to
revolutionize the way salespeople, entrepreneurs and companies approach
selling. His sales strategy is based upon his experiences as an All-American
athlete, Ivy League graduate, startup entrepreneur and years of research, train-
ing and selling. He holds an MBA from the University of Oxford and a BA from
Harvard University. Get his free eBook, 25 Tips to Crush Your Sales Goal, at
GamePlanSelling.com. Reach him at 617-203-2171,
marcwayshak.com or on Twitter: @MarcWayshak.
Plan out ahead of time what your campaign will look like and what you will
send to the prospect at each step. Make sure that everything you send over is
of actual value to the prospect. Brochures don’t cut it. Instead, create three to
five different pieces to send the prospect, which can each serve as legitimate
reasons to connect. ”
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MARCH 2015 • PPB • 53