Prospecting: The Excuses We Make (And How to Overcome Them)

Why does prospecting feel harder than it should?

Author: Steve Vaughan | Director

Prospecting is simply going out and finding business - whether that's uncovering new contacts in existing accounts or discovering entirely new accounts. And yet, many of us find it one of the toughest aspects of our job. Most don’t enjoy it, and for many, it’s well outside their comfort zone. Myself included.

Many of us come from technical backgrounds. Let’s be honest, we’re big ol’ nerds who happened to find ourselves in sales. Calling ourselves "technical sales specialists" feels more natural because the term "salesperson" can sound... well, a bit grubby. But prospecting? It’s pure sales. And that’s often why it feels uncomfortable for so many of us.

With this discomfort comes excuses. We make excuses to protect ourselves from our fears. We make excuses to avoid exploring the boundaries of our comfort zone. We make excuses to avoid prospecting. True, prospecting can be hard work and, at times, frustrating however, it is the foundation of any sales process. It helps you develop the pipeline of potential customers and in the long run, makes it easier to do your job (and make your target).

If you can recognise how important prospecting is, how little you have to fear, and how much easier your job would be if you were to regularly dedicate time to this activity, I’m sure you’d wonder why you didn’t make it a priority sooner.

Excuse 1: "It’s not my job"

If every company could generate enough high-quality leads through marketing alone, prospecting wouldn’t even be necessary. But in all my years working in competitive sales, I’ve never once seen that happen.

At the core of your job description is making your sales target – an impossible feat without enough customers. And, how do you find customers? You’ve guessed it! Prospecting doesn’t need to be a massive burden or take up huge swathes of your time. But it does need to be regular and scheduled.

This means making a concerted effort to put time aside for prospecting. Time where you don’t get distracted by emails, chatty co-workers or funny cat memes on Instagram. Adjust your timing too. Friday afternoons might work for you, but some of your luckier customers may already be mentally checked out with a glass of Chardonnay. Ideally, move your prospecting time around each week to maximise your reach.

Excuse 2: "Finding New Opportunities is Hard" 

My first sales job was selling water treatment chemicals in central London. About as glamorous as it sounds. Back then, prospecting was more like door-to-door sales. I’d drive around industrial parks just trying to get past reception or collect any bit of information I could. Prospecting was a slow process.

You can’t exactly roam university lab corridors or blag your way into a site tour anymore. But we now have something I didn’t have when I first started: the digital world. And with this at our fingertips, comes a plethora of opportunities. In fact, we have more places to search in less time than ever before.

It would be remiss of me not to first mention LinkedIn. It’s essentially the biggest address book you could ask for. Even the free version offers powerful search options. Searching relevant key terms (say, for example, “single-cell analysis”) will churn up people, companies, groups, and posts that are laden with potential prospects. Plus, LinkedIn allows you the ability to continually stay front of mind. Small gestures - like wishing someone a happy birthday, congratulating them on a new role, or commenting on their posts – are easy ways to keep your name floating around their cerebrum.

In addition to LinkedIn, you have countless other prospecting friends – such as search engines, websites, conferences, and virtual events. With all these tools at your disposal, finding new opportunities is not as hard as it once was. Would you rather have the time-consuming task of knocking on doors?

Excuse 3: "No One Responds to My Outreach"

Yes, it’s frustrating when people don’t respond. But think about how you’re reaching out. People have different preferences. I personally ignore cold calls - won’t answer them. But my colleague Pru? She answers every cold call, seeing it as a new opportunity to learn something.

The comfort seeker in us means we typically default to the path of least resistance. In the case of prospecting, this usually means firing off emails because it’s quick, painless and feels instantly gratifying to tick prospecting off our to-do list. I find many sales people conveniently forget the supercomputer in their pocket can be used to make a phone call. Sure, cold calls are scary. But they do work.

Essentially, what I’m trying to get at is that you have multiple communication channels available to you. Emails aren’t evil but they are also only one tool in your garage. So, don’t give up if your outreach email hits the junk folder – try reaching out on LinkedIn, ask someone mutual in your network to make an introduction or dare I say it? Pick up the phone!

No More Excuses

Prospecting might never be the part of sales you look forward to, but it’s undeniably the foundation of long-term success. The truth is, the more you engage with it, the less intimidating it becomes and you might even start to enjoy the process of building new connections and uncovering opportunities. Sales is ultimately about solving problems, and you can’t solve problems for people you haven’t met yet. So, ditch the excuses, step outside your comfort zone, and make prospecting a non-negotiable part of your week. Your future pipeline and your future self will thank you.

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