Sales cycles are often multi-step processes. After interviewing a large number of sales professionals it has become clear that the start of the sales cycle also known as “prospecting” or “lead generation” is often the biggest challenge. One of the main reasons we attribute to this is that prospecting is a simple numbers game, and that sales nets more rejection than successes. It is very common for salespeople to come up with hundreds of things they would prefer to do over prospecting and lead generation. It’s much easier to respond to an email or chat with a co-worker then pick up the phone and dial for dollars.
“A good salesperson should be good at overcoming objections but perhaps even more important is being able to deal with rejection. Dealing with rejection on a continuous basis can be taxing on one’s psyche and the bulk of the rejection happens in the crucial prospecting phase of the sales cycle.” – Steven Osinski, San Diego State University, Marketing and Sales Guru
This mind-set is a big issue because the act of lead generation is often the most critical element to long-term sales success. One thing in sales that is always a given, you will either close a prospect or lose the deal, either way that prospect is falling out of your sales funnel and you need to find NEW prospects to replenish the prospect universe.