Making money in sales is relatively straightforward. You need more leads to set more meetings, which leads to more sales and more income. You also need to focus your efforts on high-quality sales leads—those prospects who are most likely to buy from you.

Sales expert Marc Wayshak says too many sales professionals lack a systematic approach for finding high-quality leads. In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we discuss Wayshak’s keys to generating more high-quality sales meetings.

Know the numbers. You should always know how many appointments you need to hit your sales goals, says Wayshak. Without knowing, you are working from a place of total uncertainty. Figure out how many appointments you need and work toward setting that magic number.

Establish a process. Never haphazardly approach sales prospecting. Instead of randomly emailing, calling and reaching out on LinkedIn, develop a process and stick to it.

Stick with a script. According to Wayshak, you need to script everything from your phone calls to your emails if you want to set more high-quality sales meetings. You should map everything out in advance.

Avoid casting a wide net. This is sometimes called the “spray and pray” method. You send your message to thousands of people and hope something sticks. However, this method won’t get you high-quality sales meetings and it may turn people off.

Pinpoint your IPP. Your IPP is your ideal prospect profile. Wayshak says that most sales professionals prospect to huge numbers of people. If you do not know who you want to reach, you will not know if you are targeting the right prospects. Be specific about who you want to meet.

Make multiple touches to each prospect. According to Wayshak, you should aim to touch each prospect 18-20 times, from calls to emails to special surprises in the mail. Most sales professionals never hit the 18-touch marker, but this is critical to landing those high-quality meetings.

Use all the sales tools at your disposal. An abundance of sales technology solutions can help you generate more sales meetings with your ideal prospects. The key is to not get overwhelmed. You do not have to use 20 different tools at once, notes Wayshak, but you should be leverage the best sales tools in areas such as email automation and maximizing platforms like LinkedIn. These tools can help you function at scale.

Invest in mentorship and coaching. The best sales professionals are committed to investing in themselves and honing their craft. With a mentor or coach on your side, you do not have to figure it out on your own. Wayshak says he invested in mentorship early in his selling career, learned the process and never looked back.

You should aim to keep your sales pipeline full of the highest-quality leads. You do not have to entertain every opportunity that comes your way and you do not have to spend precious time with prospects you know will never buy. When you apply the advice above, you can start generating more high-quality sales meetings and start boosting your paycheck.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Marc Wayshak is the CEO of Marc Wayshak Sales Research & Insights and author of multiple best-selling books on sales and leadership. He helps organizations develop the strategy to create massive sales growth.