5 Ways to Prospect Like a Journalist…A Roadmap to Engage Prospects for Successful Outcomes
If you want a successful career in sales.. ever consider Graduate Journalism School? The journalist and the sales rep have more in common than you think — okay, so minus the salary potential.
Journalism school teaches how think like a journalist and applying those skill sets makes for a successful career in sales.
As a journalist day in and day out you are finding yourself in a few awkward moments.
Asking “How do you feel” while a person just finds out the fate of a loved one. These awkward moments can be quiet extreme when you think about it and, most people I know would gladly take a pass.
Here the 5 “must have” traits to break the story/close the deal.
Tenacity and Persistence (“Patiently Persistent”). The journalist and the rep are motivated by goals — land the story — above the fold/close that lucrative deal. Stay the course. The daily news grind of productivity is a churn rate all on its own. A prospecting strategy is never pitched at 9 am, completed, presented and closed won status by 5pm.
Right there — that is the life in a newsroom — every. single. day.
Persistence in the face of insurmountable odds is the trait that will win the day and meet the deadline/close the big sale. Being patiently persistent in sales can mean sending x amount of emails, leaving x amount of voicemails and pushing x amount of relevant content.
Communication. Write well, read well, and ask probing questions. As a journalist studies the source, the rep studies their prospects/companies (what are their pain points and challenges)?
Pay attention to the details. If you think you can shortcut your presentation because you’ve done it so many times before that you’re bored with it, you’ll lose the sale/lose the source — heck, you may never even get out of the gate. Respect the prospect enough to do the necessary homework before you present to give themselves every chance to sell/talk to the prospect, and to also give the prospect every chance to buy/tell the story.
Be curious about people without judgment. Being curious helps us better understand our prospects and our sources. But more often than not, judgment keeps us from understanding something important, even necessary, about a situation or another person — even about ourselves.
“Be curious, not judgmental” — Walt Whitman.
Must be able to handle rejection. Be comfortable with the uncomfortable. Being a journalist has certainly pushed my limits of embarrassment, feeling awkward, and asking some very hard questions. Covering a story takes you down paths you’d never otherwise walk. Just as in sales, the same two words seem to carry over — “No Thanks.”
Get over it and move on…easier said than done of course. I lost a very big deal to a competitor a few years ago, and took about two weeks to shake off the loss. But I immediately dusted myself off and looked for the next story/the next sale. A few years later, I landed a deal that made that heartbreak look like peanuts!
I will leave you with this — Persistence and resilience will win out. Land the story. Close the deal. People will reject you over and over. But there is one constant — the deadline/the quota — those never change. Neither should your goals.
