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Inspiration

It's ABP now, not ABC You might also find that keeping
your bottom-line interests uppermost
D aily newspapers have had to adapt to the many changes technologi- in mind will help you decide how
cal advancements have brought to us. Fewer and fewer subscribers long to actually spend reading an ar-
throughout America step outside each day to pick up their print ticle that has grabbed your attention
paper and bring it inside to read with their morning coffee. Thus, for some reason (perhaps a friend
many salespeople discount these newsprint pages, and even their online edi- recommended it or the headline was
tions, as sources of sales leads, foregoing them for social media platforms; irresistible).
blogs; and other, hipper forms of communication.
In a November 2015, blog post "ABP
In Good Selling!SM: The Basics, Paul H. Green wrote, "Do you actively read the – Always Be Prospecting," Dale
paper with your residual or commission check in mind? Try reading the paper Freelove, Major Account Executive
as a business assignment." Green suggested culling the entire paper ? the at Workday, wrote, " Thanks to the
editorial content and the various types of ads and announcements ? with your movie Glengarry Glen Ross, many
bottom line in mind. This was back in 2004, when daily papers held greater people are familiar with the dreaded
sway in the marketplace. Today, the Internet offers a cornucopia of ways to three letter acronym ABC – always
access information. And Green's advice could apply to almost everything you be closing. Although this might have
read – traditional newspapers and so much more. been appropriate in the early 90’s, the
skill set required for sales success to-
Focus, focus, focus day is less around the close and more
around the open. As such, I propose
When you're perusing your favorite news and social sites, are you reading with that we end the era of ABC and re-
an eye for potential clients and business partners? It's easy to become distracted place it with ABP – always be pros-
with today's constant flow of information, but if you keep your business pecting."
objectives in mind as you follow where the various notices you receive lead,
you're likely to find opportunities you hadn't previously considered. In essence, that is exactly what Green
was recommending when he asked if
you read the paper with your residual
or commission check in mind. When
you have an ABP mindset, you will
begin to find opportunities every-
where. Then, it's up to you to narrow
the field to the most promising pros-
pects and follow through.

When it comes to following through,
Anthony Iannarino, author of The
Only Sales Guide You'll Ever Need, ad-
vised sales pros to focus on the out-
come. "This means that you don’t
allow your prospecting to turn into
a needs analysis, a presentation or a
discussion about the merits of your
product or service. It means you ap-
ply a laser-like focus on scheduling
the appointment." So focus first on
spotting opportunities in every form
of media at your disposal. Then pick
what look like the strongest pros-
pects, and spend time every day –
every single day – on reaching out
to your potential new customers and
partners with a focus on getting your
foot in the door.

Kate Gillespie, President and CEO

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