Prospecting is a top challenge for many entrepreneurs especially those without sales experience. 

As entrepreneurs, prospecting is required to take our business from point A to point B. This includes everything from raising capital to securing strategic partnerships and getting your first set of customers. 

To bolster your results with prospecting here are few tips about what to watch out for;


Casting a wide net instead of focusing only on ideal customers
In start-up phase, you’re trying to get on the map and so it’s hard to be selective when prospecting. Approaching the market as a generalist in this case (i.e. trying to be relevant to as many prospects as possible) may feel like it has more potential but that’s an illusion. When you have total clarity about what our novel value is and who it’s the absolute best fit for, then you’re prospecting as a specialist with a better chance of getting noticed. 

Showcasing product features as differentiators instead of novel value that the prospect cares about knowing who your ideal prospects are is just as important as having total clarity about your value to them.  When prospecting, make sure to focus your message on the prospect, their needs and desires because that’s all they will hear in the beginning.  Once you’ve effectively done this then you should position your value to the prospect as a means to achieve their desired outcome. When you do this, the prospect will be more likely to understand how your value is relevant to them and therefore, more likely to invite more information.

Unpacking too much content in one interaction
This is a big one and founders are most likely to do it because they know the most about their business and all it’s moving parts.  Many entrepreneurs make this mistake and they do so with the idea that the prospect will be able to sift out and recognize value on their own. This is usually a sign that the entrepreneur lacks a clear understanding of who their ideal customer is.

Once you have the ear of your prospect (be it, on the phone, in person, email or letter) it can be challenging to leave out certain details that you feel (knowing what you know) are important.

If you try and explain your business in the first interaction the way you understand it versus how the prospect needs to understand it, then you risk frustrating the prospect and losing their attention.  To avoid making this mistake, it can be very useful to write down what your objectives are for a given interaction with a prospect and stick only to those objectives when crafting your approach.