Commentary

The word “prospect” can be used either as a verb or a noun. As a verb, it means “to search for or explore,” bringing to mind gold-crazed ‘49ers, panning tools at hand, bent over a California stream “prospecting” for gold. As a noun, it means “the likelihood of something happening,” as in “the prospects of your loan for that new car being approved are good.” Both images combined describe the selling activity known as “prospecting”: You go out in search of people who are most likely to purchase your products. It is a classic business adventure—undertaken with no guarantee of success, when it is successful it brings an unparalleled exhilaration.

The Universe, Suspects, and Prospects

It’s a large world in which to sell. The population of the United States alone has now exceeds 300,000,000. In addition, more than 25 million businesses operate on a given day. For international marketers, the numbers, of course, are even larger. Somewhere among all of those people and organizations are a goodly number who want or need your product. How do you find them?

In the United States, you could acquire copies of each of the 9,000 telephone directories published or get most of them online. Then, working from Abbeyville, Alabama, to Yoder, Wyoming, you could telephone each entry to learn if the occupant is in the market for what you sell. Such an approach would insure that you’d never run out of work to do. It would also see you starve as your dismal sales productivity would result in a lack of income.

A more effective approach would be to make an organized effort to locate the people or organizations that stand to benefit from your product. Such people are going to be more willing to talk with you. And a greater proportion of them will subsequently buy from you. This promise—more presentations that result in more closed sales—is what makes prospecting an attractive activity for salespeople. How does prospecting work?