Recently I had a discussion with my brother who is a successful salesperson in the fortune 500 sector. We both agreed that canceled appointments once you’ve hit the road can be a real pain in the you know what. Along those same lines, I’ve found that sometimes you just have to hit the road knowing good things will happen when you put yourself in front of customers.
Here are my rules for flying by the seat of your pants
ONE confirmed quality appointment is enough.
Once you have that first one, throw a bunch proverbial stuff at the wall. You and I both know that wherever you are traveling you have contacts. Work your network and make sure of the following three things. 1. Don’t eat breakfast alone. 2. Don’t eat lunch alone. 3. Don’t eat dinner alone. Things happen when smart people get together over food.
Once you’ve got the meals covered, make some sales calls. Again, work the network. The incremental cost of any prospective client visit once you’ve gotten to you destination city is so insignificant.
I handle this by reaching out to as many prospects as I can via email and phone in the days leading up to my visit. Sometimes when folks travel to Vegas, you hear them utter that I can sleep when I’m dead. Yes, that’s my motto once I’m on the road for a sales trip.
Trust in yourself and it will work out
This week, I hit the road with one confirmed appointment. Three hours into my drive to my destination, phone calls and emails confirmed three more appointments. Sometimes that’s just they way it works in sales.
[…] real empirical evidence that the plan needed changing. I defeated myself. Even when I do choose to fly by the seat of my pants, I do it with a plan in place. Plan for contingencies before you need those […]