Here’s the visual. You’re in prospecting mode. Whether you’re about to walk into a place of business looking for new clients or pick up the phone to make a cold call or even a follow up call to a potentially ‘warm’ prospect, you are focused on making each effort count.

You know you have a great product and service. After several attempts (and no call backs from prior voice mails or emails that you left days ago) you’re getting frustrated. “I don’t get it.” You begin to question your product and then yourself. “I have a great product. Why don’t they just call me back? This product is tough to sell. What am I doing wrong?”

Here’s the answer. You are selling the wrong product. That’s right! When prospecting, there’s a strong chance that you may be leading with wrong product.

If you think you are selling your actual product or service at this early stage in your selling efforts, consider this. At this point in your selling process, chances are the potential customer has not experienced your product or service yet. More specifically, you have not even had an opportunity to speak with the prospect. The only communication you’ve had with them has been the attempts you’ve made to connect with them through your emails and voice mails.

At this point, you haven’t spoken with them yet. If this is so, when calling on them, do they know:

• Who you are
• Your product
• Your service
• Your company
• Pricing
• Benefits
• Expected results
• The problems you solve

Tip from the Sales Coach: Master Your Language of Selling. Your voice is your product. Your voice mail or approach is your product. The language or verbiage you use when networking, the compelling words you use to describe the end result that your customers realize is your product.

Until your prospect has the opportunity to experience what your product or service can do for them first hand, the only thing they have been exposed to is you! Imagine if you put the same amount of time, research, attention to detail, care, and value into your voice mail as you do with your product.

If your voice mail is your prospect's first exposure to what you have to offer, realize the impression they get from your voice mail equates to the value they can expect from your product. If you stumble through your voice mail and come across unprepared, ineffective and disorganized, imagine the perception that your prospect has formulated about your final deliverable.