Today, I want to share with you a simple but powerful concept from the Bible that will make you much more productive in your sales activities. It begins with these words from Jesus Christ… “Behold, there went out a sower to sow…and some sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.”
Have you ever wished that you would only have to call on those people who were going to buy? Think of how much more effective you could be! But it doesn’t work that way. There’s something we learn about God and life in the struggle of it all that builds character if we let it. However we can greatly improve our effectiveness by learning from the parable of the sower.
In the parable of the sower we find that just under twenty percent of the seed yielded just over eighty percent of the return. What did the nearly twenty percent of the seed have in common? They were all planted in good soil. If you want to have outstanding success in sales, you must learn to identify good soil and plant your seed in that soil.
Wayside Prospects
You can divide your prospects into four groups. The first group are the “wayside” prospects. They are no more ready to buy your product than fly to the moon. They either have no need whatsoever for your product or service or they truly have no financial means and no intention of finding those means. You already know their profile. Don’t invest your time there.
Stony Ground Prospects
The second group are the “stony ground” prospects. They act interested but after you leave, they quickly lose heart. Maybe someone said “It costs how much!?!?!” or in some other way challenged them. They liked the idea but their interest is shallow. You can recognize them on the first call because you were unable to find any real pain. They express interest in your solution without having first admitted their pain. They’re nice folks but they won’t come through with the commitment.
Thorny Ground Prospects
These ones look a bit more promising. They have real needs but are too caught up in substitute solutions which drain their cash, time and energy preventing you from reaping any significant result with them. They tend to look for the quick fix, the cheap price and the “too good to be true” kind of deal.
They always have “a lot on their table” but promise to give this serious consideration. They will admit pain during your initial interview but you will find them hesitant to commit due to all the other pressing commitments. They are an emergency looking for a place to happen, but in the meantime they’ve got a crisis to deal with, and it may or may not involve what you have to offer. Getting them focused on your solution is possible but a big challenge. These prospects produce fruit but come with a lot of baggage.
Good Ground Prospects
These are the ones who have genuine need, are willing to admit it and are prepared to take action if and when a reasonable plan is offered them. It would be nice to only call on this type of prospect but that can be a challenge. However if you have the right marketing strategy, you can greatly increase the number of times you invest in Good Ground Prospects.
The Isaiah Marketing Strategy which is based on the principles pulled from Isaiah 11:2 is part of the training in the MPI Christian Business Institute and goes into great detail as to how you can spend much more time working in the good field where the 30, 60 and 100 fold increase lay waiting.
Try to limit the time you spend presenting your solution to the first three kinds of prospects. Oh, it’s true you might make a sale every once in a while if you do, but while you’re working in that field, the smarter sales reps are working the good ground and selling at a much higher rate. Only present your solution to a prospect where you see the need, they see the need and the solution you have makes sense and is obtainable for the prospect.
MPI Christian Business Institute…
This week, we will begin rolling out the details of the MPI Christian Business Institute in a series of videos that will help you know if the kind of training we offer is right for you. Be looking for that first video, this week. If you want to know more about the training, be sure to let us know of your interest by going here.
THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR SHOWING THE BIBLE ANSWER TO SELLING, IT HAS HELPED ME GREATLY AND SAVED A LOT OF NEEDLESS STEPS. THANK YOU FOR BEING A WILLING SERVANT OF OUR LORD.
IN CHRIST
CHUCK CARROLL
Hi Chuck; So great to hear from you again my brother! Thanks for your encouraging words as always! You have an incredible heart for God.
Blessings,
Michael
I think this also shows from the sower’s side that we must pick up our shoes and dust them off and be a willing vessel.
Agreed Brent!
WHAT WAS THE LAST THING THAT YOU WANTED TO SHARE ON “THE HERMAN & SHARRON SHOW”? Re; 7 things; soil, seed, sun, CO2, water, (time, oressure and dying to bringing to life???) It was something that you had just learned the night before by El Ruach Kodesh.
That’s a big question Joni. The very short answer is that one of the 7 elements required to turn a seed into a tree is “warmth”. My wife pointed out that warmth comes from that big ball of fire in the sky, called the sun and that John the Baptist said that there was one coming that would baptize in the Holy Ghost and FIRE. James said the effectual FERVENT prayer of a righteous man, avails much.
That 7th element that is necessary is Fervency, Passion, the Fire of God if you will.
Hope that helps,
Michael