Planes & Prospects

Planes

At the beginning of this month, as we sat on the plane designated to return us to the polar vortex, the Southwest flight attendant announced the beginning of the safety lecture. Many of us have heard this enough times we could probably recite it from memory. “Welcome aboard. Return the seat back tables to the upright and locked position. Turn off all electronic devices. Thank you for choosing us…”

The announcement started the same, but after a few sentences we heard something different. Folks were talking as usual, but the different choice of words encouraged most of us to pay attention and actually listen.  “Welcome aboard Southwest Flight 424 to Chicago’s Midway Airport. To operate your seatbelt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seatbelt and if you don’t know how to operate one, you probably shouldn’t be out in public unsupervised.”

”In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with two small children, decide now which one you love more.”

Because it was not the same ole’ thing, the flight crew achieved the desired result: get the passengers to listen.

Prospects

A sales rep without prospects is out of business.

Prospecting is the least favorite of eight high-payoff activities, according to a recent survey of sales effectiveness. And of all the prospecting activities, I’ve only met a few folks who enjoy cold calling.

Finding leads doesn’t have to be as painful as cutting your finger making a grilled chicken salad. One of our clients uses a combination of networking, direct mail, newsletters and conducting workshops to keep their pipeline full.

Stop doing prospecting activities that generate the fewest leads. Check out this abbreviated list of prospecting methods and try something different. Similar to Southwest, by doing something different, you will get desired results: more business.