Sales reps, especially new ones, often over-research prospects out of fear. This procrastination provides a false sense of security but kills momentum and actual selling activity, which is simply making contact.
Frame the sales process as a series of small commitments. The objective of a prospecting call is to book the first meeting. The entire objective of that first meeting is then to earn the right to have a second meeting. This simplifies the goal and focuses on building momentum.
To avoid stalled deals, continuously test the prospect's engagement. If a stakeholder consistently fails to meet small commitments—like providing requested information on time—it is a strong indicator that the deal is not a priority for them and is at high risk of stalling.
For cold outreach, hyper-personalizing every prospect is inefficient. Instead, identify patterns across similar roles or industries and develop 'targeted messaging' that speaks to these common challenges. This allows for scalable and relevant outreach without time-consuming individual research.
Instead of researching each prospect immediately before calling, dedicate a separate, scheduled block for all research. This prevents research from becoming a procrastination tool between calls and maintains the high-energy momentum required for an effective call block.
A breakthrough for new salespeople is changing their mindset on initial calls. Instead of trying to immediately find a problem to sell against, focus on making a human connection and leading with genuine curiosity. This approach lowers pressure and fosters a more collaborative discovery process.