There are levels to what people call “prospecting”.
Level 1: Spray and pray
When I was 13, I got a job selling chocolate bars door to door.
5-8 hours of grinding in the hot sun.Lots of no answers. Lots of rejection.
But eventually, you get your needs met and sell a few chocolate bars.
This is largely what’s being taught in our space.
A digital version of door-to-door sales.
When I say “prospecting”, this is what most people envision. They picture Level 1 of chasing people in their inbox.
Cold pitch 1000’s of people in their DMs. Try to book calls. AKA digital door knocking.
It‘s also the least efficient way.
And it requires convincing people, as they don’t see you as the “expert”. They have no idea who you are.
Level 2: Focus on the buyers
I remember a little chat I had with Josh.
There are something like 2.5 million plumbers and HVAC contractors in America.
But he’s not after just anyone.
His target client spends money on ads, has at least 3 trucks on the road, and is a million-dollar biz already. There are maybe 30,000 of those guys.
At this level, you’ve recognized that if you talk to 10 dentists, 8 of them would never buy your shit. They’re just not buyers.
So you double down your efforts and focus on the people who are the best fit.
You only market to the 2 in 10 who are buyers.
Doesn’t matter your niche. Most of them aren’t buyers of marketing services.
It‘s about eliminating non-buyers without even wasting effort speaking to them.
This also helps with retention since you get the right people in the door.
Plus, it actually costs less.
You are more aggressive to a smaller group of people.
Level 3: 1-to-many prospecting
This is when you stop chasing anybody 1 at a time.
You focus on creating a solid pitch. A pitch that can be delivered to an audience of your buyers.
You find where your buyers already. You go where they are.
They already have conferences, masterminds, events, podcasts, communities, etc they are part of.
You craft value for them in a way that can speak to everyone at once.Webinars. Paid ads. Podcasts. Speaking on stage. Etc.
These are all examples of 1-to-many prospecting.
In fact, when I “prospect” these days……I’m usually only sending 1-5 messages a week. I’m writing to people who have audiences of my buyers.
Super personalized. Super targeted.
With messages, a 3rd grader could write.
It allows me to open 1 door that opens 10,000 doors.
You can cold message 10,000 strangers.
Or you can message the guy who has a conference of 10,000 people in your niche. Far less effort.
Choice is yours.
Level 4: You get other people to 1-to-many prospect for you
This is the level we’re starting to play the game.
I wouldn’t say we have it dialed in yet but we’re getting there.
We have good VAs and good processes. They create 1-to-many opportunities for us.
In a couple of weeks, I start speaking on stage in the restoration space.
Pretty easy gig if you can handle the stage fright.
Talk for an hour. People come to you. Presold. Cash in hand.
I’ve never NOT had 5-15 people reach out after. Sometimes a lot more.
Level 5: You have other people prospect 1-to-many for you and you close sales with video
To be honest, since I’ve had 3 kids…
…and time is in short supply…
…I’ve had to think about efficiency in levels I’ve never imagined possible.
Seriously, I do most of my work while the kiddos nap for 2 hours. That’s it.
I used to be able to “outwork” every problem.
Nowadays, I have to out-create and out-imagine every problem.
We have many inbound opportunities from our 1-to-many systems.
When people say, “Can we jump on a call?
“We say, “Sure but first let me send you a video that will answer most of the questions you may have.
“If you do videos right, you’ve answered 95% of the questions they would want to know.
And they get the information they want immediately without having to wait 3 days to cool off and talk to someone.
After doing close to 2000 sales calls, this all people want to know.
“What can you guys do?”
“Will it work for me?”
“How does it work?”
“How much is it?”
So we just answer the questions they’re going to ask before they ask.
In a very visual and impactful way.
Usually, all that’s left is, “Here’s my situation. Do you think it will work for me?
“Followed by either, “Yes, no, or I’m not sure, but we can try.”
Then send a payment link.
Folks we’ve never met regularly message us with “I’m in” and a Stripe payment.
And by the way, asshole clients reveal themselves in text. You don’t need to speak on the phone to know someone will drive you crazy.
We actually end up with higher caliber clients this way.
It‘s conducive to busy, successful people with money that don’t want to jump through hoops to buy from us.
So what’s the point of this rant?
If you’re prospecting…
…and like most people…
…you don’t enjoy the grind of it.
Well then…
…graduate at least one level.
Your life and biz will get easier.
Random thoughts on a Tuesday in Mexico.
May the force be with you.
If you run a digital marketing agency… Get these FREE BONUSES:
Bonus 1: My copy and paste $100k client 4-day cash machine campaign.
Bonus 2: How we sign $1k-10k/month agency clients without phone calls using 5-minute Loom videos.
Bonus 3: Script to get a new client conversation in your inbox in under 10 minutes without ads, SEO, funnels, Google, or Facebook.
Download Here: https://bit.ly/2KzJ6sS