Consultant, as a busy business owner how do ensure your prospecting time is spent efficiently?
When you take a meeting with someone you’ve been referred to, you want to make sure they have buying intent.
You want to be speaking with potential clients who are seriously looking to hire someone with your expertise now or in the near future.
I get that sometimes B2B sales cycles are long but as much as possible, you want to increase the number of conversations you have with people with immediate buying intent.
Research says that in any given market 3-5% of potential buyers are looking to buy now. The others fall into one of these categories:
🔶 They’re in information-gathering mode but not actively looking to solve their problem now
🔶 They know they have a problem but aren’t actively researching solutions
🔶 They don’t know they have a problem
To reach potential buyers with buying intent (the 3-5%) you could blast cold messages to thousands of people and hope you land meetings.
But you’d risk ruining your reputation. Moreover, even if you land meetings, you’re still new to your prospects. There’s not enough trust built yet, and selling high-value professional services requires trust.
Alternatively, you could choose to educate your market (especially the 95-97% not ready to buy now) with quality content focused on their problems, desires, opportunity costs, options and what’s possible.
Over time they begin to trust you and when they’re ready to buy, they reach out.
Yes, it can take longer but it’s a more sustainable approach and more in line with your standing as a trusted advisor.
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Ready to Land $100k+ clients consistently without burning out? Schedule a call and let me show you how.
Image credit: VintagePrints13 Salvador Deli
