029: Moving Beyond 'Hope-Based' Prospecting
The critical numbers that reveal whether your prospecting efforts are paying off.
Today’s email is for you if you’re experiencing these problems:
Your prospecting strategy feels like throwing darts blindfolded.
You’re drowning in activity but can’t see the results.
You lack clear benchmarks for prospecting success.
You’re unsure which activities drive results.
Your pipeline feels unpredictable.
Review
This is the fourth installment of a series on the 4-Farmland Matrix (4FM), a simple four-part framework that helps you identify and capitalize on your most promising sales opportunities—whether they’re new prospects, current clients, or ones that got away.
So far, we’ve covered these topics:
Preview
We continue our discussion of Farmland 1, which focuses on identifying and targeting new, high-value prospects that match your ideal client profile (ICP).
In the previous article, I introduced the “4Ms” to acquiring new customers:
Mindset:Break through mental barriers to prospecting success.Message:Craft an elevator pitch that opens doors instead of hitting walls.Measurement: Identify and track the prospecting KPIs that move the needle.
Method: Identify the specific, repeatable actions that fill your pipeline.
So far, we’ve covered Mindset and Message to improve your prospecting effectiveness.
But how can you tell whether your efforts are actually working? Where can you identify opportunities for improvement? How can you shake that nagging uncertainty over “Am I doing enough?”
That’s what we’ll discuss today with the third ‘M’—Measurement.
Overview: Measurement
What gets measured gets managed.
More importantly, what gets measured gets improved.
But how do you track the effectiveness of your prospecting activities?
Let’s examine two categories:
Prospecting KPIs
Summary Stats.
1. Prospecting KPIs
These metrics include:
Touches
1:1s Completed
New Prospects
Let’s break down each one.
Touches
A “touch” is any meaningful interaction or visibility-creating activity with your ICP. Here are examples of the different types of touches (with their corresponding code—e.g., “EMAIL,” “DM,” “CR”) you might track on your daily sales sheets:
Direct Touches:
EMAIL: Initial emails starting a conversation
TEXT: First text messages in a thread
CALL: First calls to prospects
DM: Initial Direct Messages on social platforms
VISIT: Informal “drop-by”
Visibility Touches:
CR: Connection requests sent (on LinkedIn)
COM: Comments on others’ content
POST: Original posts on any platform
EVENT: Networking events attended
SPEAK: Speaking engagements delivered
How many touches should you be making per day?
The answer depends on your role and situation.
For example, my number is 30-50 touches per day as a founder who handles multiple responsibilities.
Full-time sales reps typically aim higher; those building a territory from scratch should push even higher.
Over time, you’ll discover what your benchmark TPD should be.
1:1s Completed
1:1s are where the B2B sales magic happens.
These are informal get-to-know-you meetings—either in-person or on Zoom—for establishing the relationship and exploring potential ways to collaborate with:
Networking contacts
Potential prospects
Potential strategic partners.
So, what’s “magical” about 1:1s?
It’s this: If you do these meetings right, you’ll discover a direct correlation between your 1:1s Completed and New Prospects generated.
More meetings = more prospects.
Fewer meetings = fewer prospects.
Why?
Because during 1:1s, the “aha” moments often arise.
The networking contact says, “You know what? I need to introduce you to X.”
The potential prospect says, “I’m dealing with this problem [that you solve]. Can you help me with this?”
The potential strategic partner says, “Wow. I have a client I’m hoping you can help me with.”
The bottom line: These “aha” moments during 1:1s often lead to the most valuable outcome: new prospects who are genuinely interested in your offerings and more likely to convert into paying customers.
New Prospects
A prospect is someone who fits your ICP and has the potential to become a paying customer.
They have:
A problem you can solve.
The budget to purchase your solution.
The authority or influence to make the purchasing decision.
Expressed interest in your solution.
Tracking your “New Prospects” number for each period (monthly, quarterly, etc.) is important because it:
Reveals predictive trends: More prospects = higher sales. Are you trending in the right direction? If not, why not?
Points to potential issues: Prospects decline. Why? A drop in daily touches? Lower efficiency per touch? Fewer 1:1s?
2. Summary Stats
Ultimately, capturing your/ your team’s daily “touches” allows you to track these two “Summary Stats” that indicate your sales efficiency—your return on effort:
Touches Per Sale (TPS)
How many touches does it take to sell one unit/ project/ contract?
Think of this as your sales efficiency score. If it takes you 300 touches to make one sale, and you know you need 10 sales per month, you can finally answer the question, “Am I doing enough?”
Revenue Per Touch
How much revenue do you generate with each touch?
(Sales reps: Replace “revenue” with “commission.”)
If you know each touch averages, say, $10-20+ in eventual revenue, suddenly, every email, call, or social post has a clear value attached to it. That LinkedIn comment isn’t just engagement—it’s revenue.
These metrics turn your prospecting from a hope-based activity into a strategic game you can win.
Want to increase revenue? You have two levers to pull:
Increase your daily touches
Improve your return on effort per touch.
The Next Step
When you measure your prospecting results, there’s no more wondering if you’re doing enough. No more guessing about what’s working. You have clear numbers showing you exactly where you stand.
But how do you generate the most impact—and revenue—with each touch?
We’ll cover that topic in the Systematic Selling Newsletter on Friday, January 20, when we discuss the fourth and final ‘M’—Method.
That’s when I’ll introduce you to the four components of Systematic Prospecting.
See you then 👊
Sean M. Lyden is the founder and CEO of Systematic Selling, a sales systems and coaching company for growth-minded SMB founders and owners looking to scale their sales (without the chaos).
PS: CEOP is Now on Audible👇
This book is for you if you want to scale your business but keep finding yourself getting in the way.
