Go where they are, not where you want them to be
Fly Fishing in my 20’s
I was not a good fisherman for a long time and some may argue that statement holds true today. However, while in the company of some really great fishermen and fishing guides during my college years, I had a few key-lessons and other epiphanies that reshaped my approach to catching more fish, more often. Consequently, my productivity went up with my newly acquired skills.
On the water one late afternoon in the summer of my sophomore year at Appalachian State University (Go #Mountaineers!) while fishing a mayfly hatch, one of my buddies snarkily said that I was both too visible and too far away from where the fish were holding in the stream. A by product of that situation was that I had caught no fish, and he was happily keeping count of how many of each species and how big each trout he caught, measured. It wasn’t much of a contest for him. On the narrow streams of the Appalachian mountains and in the trout waters we fished, we would often fish upstream, with the water flowing by us because the fish had their heads pointed upstream so they could locate and acquire food food that was flowing downstream, towards them. The comment my buddy made was to the observation that I was fishing across the water and downstream, and doing so with the sun at my back and casting a long shadow across the river. If this were a basketball analogy, I would be standing out of bounds, calling for the ball, attempting to hit a game winning shot. It was wasted effort.
At his direction I turned upstream, got out of a position that cast a shadow across the river, and began to cast my line up river and behind a rock, then systematically further and further up the river, canvassing the pockets where the fish were more likely lined up to receive food coming down the river towards them. Not surprisingly, and with some additional finesse coaching on my casting, I was catching more fish, more regularly.
Fishing & Sales
Our customers look upstream too. They need to locate and acquire their next opportunity so it is incumbent upon sales people to understand how our solution serves the upstream needs of our customers (and prospects). Let’s not get too involved in upstream vs downstream in the supply chain models. Instead let’s focus attention on the skill great sales people leverage: anticipation. Anticipation by a salesperson allows for better preparation, better questions and fewer surprises in the sales and execution phases of serving clients.
What does anticipation look like in practical terms? In the same way an angler studies the water, currents, bubble paths, ripples, and pools. The great salesperson studies the competition, legal, social, economic, political, and technological environment of the buyer. An angler observes and attempts to match insects to artificial patterns, noting the size, color, lifecycle stage of the insect or creature. Similarly, the salesperson studies comparable and differentiated features, impacts of features on the buyer’s challenge, customer needs, patterns, and employee skills makeup. By observing (researching) these demographic and psychographic attributes, anglers and salespeople are better prepared to cast, i.e. prospect and pitch, to the target audience.
When I was casting across the stream in my college days, and my angling buddy noted my unproductive approach, I can’t help but correlate that learning moment to sales and prospecting. When prospecting in a scattered and unstructured way, to unvetted targets in unfamiliar industry, it should not be a surprise that connection rates are low and sales production is even lower. If marketing is not working now, it may be time to study your position, review the competitive landscape and adjust your location, message, call to action, or any combination of these.
Turning the tables on this lack of focus to a well researched prospecting effort, a succinct message that has been aligned to the target audience is the same effort required to catch more fish. Know your area and solution fit with your target market. Match your solution with the outcome the prospect hopes to achieve and then work systematically to attract their attention. Draw the prospect towards your solution with good and relevant insights, and point them to the specific solution that serves their current and future needs or solves their problem effectively.
Sell more effectively with better focus on your target client, the buyer persona, and sales strategy you are using to attract their attention.