Want to Make More
by Working Less?
- Create a system that develops leads 24/7/365
- Increase Revenue NOW!
- Hiring Salespeople Doesn't Work!
- Use Social Media to ATTRACT Customers
- Stop trying to find a replacement for YOU!
Set up your Fishing Poles….
Thursday 16 April, 2009
I was working with a group of salespeople today, trying to get across the importance of building a list of prospects in a target market. I was checking to make sure they understood the concept and one of my students replied, “You mean like fishing.” Not quite sure he was grasping the details, I asked him to explain.
“Growing up, my dad would take me to the mountains and we both liked to go fishing, however, I liked stream fishing and he liked to fish at the lake. Stream fishing was fast moving, as you waded through the mini-rapids of the river, hitting spots under logs, near tree branches and next to rocks. You would start at the top of the stream (melting snow moves from the top of the mountain to the valley below) and and work your way down a mile or so, to the bottom of the valley with a variety of conditions during the4-5 hours of fishing. My dad preferred to go lake fishing, where he would set up his chair, a cooler by his side and cast his fishing line into the lake where it would sit for 6-7 hours while he proceeded to empty the contents of his cooler. At the end of the day (read: empty cooler), he would reel in his line and regardless of what was (or wasn’t) on the end of his line, he and his empty “beer locker” would head home. We would trade off going to the stream and the lake, so that each of us got to enjoy our idea of “fishing.” However, I discovered a way to make lake fishing a little more enjoyable, and even more
rewarding than the stream fishing I favored. I had the a similar penchant for beer, but a large case of ADD (attention deficit disorder), so I decided to set up 5 fishing poles around the lake, then continually walk around, checking my poles, reeling in the ones with fish and then casting them out again. At the end of the day (much shorter day, since I was helping dad with the cooler!), I collected my fishing rods and counted my fish. Without fail, I would have 4 times as many fish as my dad did with his one pole. The next time we went, I set out 10 poles and guess what happened….my dad had to clean a whole lot of fish and my mom told me to start drinking more and take fewer poles!”
After his story, I had to think about the analogy, but I think he got the message. By setting up a lot of “fishing poles” and letting your customers “bite” on your concept, you will quickly build a large list, which you can use in future marketing efforts.
Tags: fishing for prospects, lead generation, marketing, sales
