How much progress did you make improving your prospecting this week?

Hello Sales Reset Community

Our theme this week has been how you can improve your prospecting.

The big idea at the start of the week was:

Then, we contrasted two prospecting strategies:

1. Time-boxing: scheduling specific blocks of time for prospecting

2. Prospecting mindset: integrating prospecting into every part of your daily routines

In your mid-week newsletter, we asked you to reflect on your best and worst prospecting methods last year.

Reflecting on what you’ve learned and improved this week

Here are some questions to help you reflect on what you’ve learned this week:

• Surplus: How do you feel about creating a significant surplus of opportunities so you can choose which ones to develop more strongly?

• Time-Boxing vs Prospecting Mindset: Which approach to prospecting works best for you? Or is it a mix of both?

• Best and Worst: As you reflect on your previous prospecting, what conclusions do you reach about what was most and least effective?

• Learning Conclusions: What are the most significant things you’ve learned about prospecting this week?

If you were too busy to engage with our newsletters from earlier in the week, here’s what you missed.

First Email: Prospecting in 2025: Time-Boxing vs. Mindset

Always Be Prospecting—or Just Sometimes?

What’s the best prospecting strategy in 2025?

Some say the only way to fill their pipeline with new opportunities is to block out time in their calendar.

Others say time-boxing for prospecting doesn't work. They argue that what’s needed is a prospecting mindset.

Who’s right?

We'll review these two approaches in this edition of Weekly Sales Reset. Then, you can choose what’s best for you!

Before we go into the details of prospecting strategies, let’s briefly review your prospecting goals.

What Are The Goals of Your Prospecting?

This might seem like an obvious question.

Many salespeople assume their prospecting goal is to fill their opportunity pipeline with enough opportunities to achieve their sales quota.

At Sales Reset, we’re convinced there’s a better goal.

What might this mean for you in practice?

The good news is that if you can achieve a significant surplus of opportunities, you will increase the probability of achieving sales targets and earnings.

However, your prospecting probably needs to change!

You either need to do much more prospecting, or your prospecting needs to become significantly better and more productive. Here are your choices:

1. More Prospecting?

2. Better Prospecting?

How many new opportunities will you need to open to achieve a significant surplus of opportunities?

Achieving a significant surplus for some sellers might mean doubling or even tripling the new opportunities created! 😱

You’re going to need a better prospecting strategy!

The Case for Time-Boxing: Structure and Focus

Time-boxing, or scheduling specific blocks of time for prospecting, is a methodical approach that ensures prospecting is prioritized in your calendar. Advocates argue that it:

• Creates discipline: Treat prospecting like any other high-priority meeting—non-negotiable, tagged as “Busy and Unavailable” and colour-coded on your calendar.

• Boosts productivity: You can focus intensely on prospecting without distractions by dedicating uninterrupted time.

• Prevents burnout: Knowing when to stop helps maintain energy and avoid overworking.

For example, you might block 1-2 hours each morning exclusively for prospecting research, engagement with LinkedIn posts and comments, InMails and creating compelling prospect approach plans.

Time-boxed prospecting is designed to ensure consistent pipeline growth while keeping other tasks manageable.

Prospecting Mindset: Seizing Every Opportunity

Conversely, developing a prospecting mindset emphasizes constant vigilance for opportunities.

A prospecting mindset means believing 100% of a salesperson’s job is prospecting. Anything else is a distraction!

This approach encourages sellers to integrate prospecting into every part of their daily routines.

This means considering prospecting while travelling, networking at events, every engagement on LinkedIn, or striking up conversations at unexpected moments.

Key benefits include:

• Flexibility: You’re always ready to act on new opportunities.

• Relationship-building: Continuous engagement fosters authentic connections with prospects over time.

• Adaptability: This prospecting mindset thrives in dynamic environments where opportunities may not fit neatly into scheduled blocks.

Which Approach Works Best?

The truth is, these methods aren’t mutually exclusive.

Many top-performing salespeople combine the discipline of time-boxing with the responsiveness of a prospecting mindset.

As you reflect on your unique situation, consider these questions:

1. Do you thrive on structure or flexibility?

2. Are you missing out on opportunities by being too rigid or insufficiently disciplined?

3. How can you balance consistency with adaptability?

Ultimately, your best approach will align with your goals, unique situation and needs, and personal work style.

Action Step for This Week

Take 10-15 minutes today to evaluate your current prospecting strategy.

Based on your sales quota, average order value and pipeline metrics, how many new opportunities do you need every week?

If you want the freedom to step away from weaker opportunities faster and more confidently, might you need to double or triple the opportunities you open?

Should you use time-boxing more effectively? Or could adopting a prospecting mindset help you seize untapped opportunities?

Mid-Week Email: Reflect, Refine, Succeed: 3 Questions to Transform Your Prospecting

Optimising Your Opportunity Creation Strategy for 2025 and Beyond

In your Weekly Sales Reset newsletter at the start of the week, we started with a BIG idea:

This goal is much more powerful than merely finding enough opportunities to achieve your sales quota.

Then, we contrasted two prospecting strategies:

1. Time-boxing: scheduling specific blocks of time for prospecting

2. Prospecting mindset: integrating prospecting into every part of their daily routines

Prospecting Best Practice is Changing

Some aspects of our business world are changing at a phenomenal rate. The easiest example to prove this is the impact of AI on selling.

We must continually reflect on what’s working and what needs to change.

Here are three questions to help you consider what prospecting strategy will work best for you in 2025 and beyond.

1. Most Successful: What prospecting method was MOST successful for you last year?

2. Least Successful: What prospecting method was LEAST successful for you last year?

3. 10% Improvement: How would increasing your weekly opportunity generation by 10% affect your overall quota attainment or paycheck?

MOST Successful Prospecting Last Year?

Take a moment to reflect on the prospecting you did through 2024.

What worked? What didn’t?

If you have the data in your CRM, the best way to approach this question is by looking at the information you captured in the source of each opportunity.

LEAST Successful Prospecting Last Year?

Conversely, what didn’t work last year?

Some prospecting methods that were successful for you in previous years may no longer work.

What ways of prospecting did you try in 2024 that you need to stop?

Impact of 10% prospecting improvement?

What’s your motivation for prospecting?

We’re back to the consideration of goals!

To make the question easier, let’s pick a specific number. If you increase your prospecting success by 10% every week, what difference will this make to your quota attainment and paycheck?

Enjoy Prospecting!

My final recommendation this week is that the best way to approach filling your pipeline is to learn how to enjoy prospecting thoroughly!

Engaging with prospects on LinkedIn and other social platforms is easier than ever.

In your more significant customers, there are probably LOTS of people you haven’t spoken with yet.

You can learn so much from all these new and interesting people about their changing needs and priorities.

Prospecting is definitely something we can learn to enjoy!

Does your sales team leader or coach subscribe to our companion weekly newsletter, Sales Reset Leaders?