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Here’s reality: very few salespeople prospect for new business. And even fewer do it effectively.

There are a lot of reasons as to why that’s the case, but one stands out above the rest. Fewer and fewer salespeople have a working knowledge of how to prospect! Many in sales today don’t prospect because they never had to do it and a good number of them don’t know how. That ignorance is only reinforced by the false teachers from the Sales 2.0 movement who proclaim that prospecting is no longer effective for picking up new business. Their deadly advice is music to the ears of the struggling salesperson who is thrilled to hear the lie that proactively pursuing clients doesn’t work anymore.

A large percentage of today’s sales population survived or even thrived, when enough business came their way. Many are victims of their past success and easier times when they could hit their numbers by responding to opportunities rather than having to go out and create them. A strong macro economy or a hot industry provided an environment where the reactive, non-prospecting salesperson could skate by, often during long seasons of economic prosperity and high demand.

The unfortunate result of what I’ve described above is a frightening shortage of skilled sales hunters. There are plenty of account managers and reactive-type salespeople who excel at various aspects of selling (customer care, service, relationship management, etc.). But in company after company, there is incredible need for salespeople who can proactively pursue and acquire new customers — those who, as I like to say, can go out and create new business out of the dirt. Sure, prospecting for new business is not something that a lot of people love to do. But the plain truth today is that even if more salespeople wanted to, they can’t because they don’t know how.

Lack of Veteran Leadership

I am disturbed on a daily basis by the lack of true sales mentors today. Who is showing the younger salespeople how to sell? Where are the wise old vets who take rookies under their wings? Who is reminding crusty old sales veterans about forgotten timeless truths — and the “basics” they used to execute when it was the norm to chase down new accounts? Why are sales managers more concerned that their salespeople keep the CRM updated than they are with whether they can use the phone effectively or conduct a proper a face-to-face sales call?

The tough economy of the past several years, drastic shifts in many companies’ market dynamics, the general sales population’s avoidance of, or lack of experience prospecting for new business, all combined with the lack of sales mentoring and coaching today have created a dangerous situation for many businesses and salespeople. They are lost, confused and scared as inbound demand has dried up and their reactive approach is not achieving desired levels of revenue.

Dispelling Myths

The crazy thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. Developing new business is not complicated. There are a lot of myths and mysteries surrounding prospecting. But the truth is that putting together an effective new business development sales attack is rather simple — surprisingly so. That is not to say that it is easy. It requires effort, focus and commitment. But it certainly isn’t complicated.

I offer a very simple framework to help guide sales leaders, sales teams and professional services executives who are responsible for bringing in new business:

• Select Target Prospects

If we are going to launch a proactive sales attack, this is where we start. We need to know whom to pursue. It helps to have a list of strategically-selected prospective customers that look, smell and feel a lot like our best existing clients. Beyond that, I encourage salespeople to focus on a finite list containing a workable number of accounts. Too short a list and the salesperson gets bored; too long a list and it is hard to gain traction. And finally, I ask that the target list is written or printed. Something powerful happens when you can hold the list in your hand and scan the targets you are supposed to pursue.

• Create and Deploy Weapons

The proactive salesperson needs weapons to launch at those strategic targets. What are sales weapons? The “sales story,” the telephone call, voicemail message, the e-mail, networking, referrals, social media, face-to-face sales call, presentations, proposals and the like. Not only must the salesperson be armed with these weapons, she must also be proficient at firing them. By far, the “sales story” is the most important weapon because pieces of the story end up in our other weapons. Nothing improves prospecting more than a succinct, compelling, client-focused, differentiating story that increases our confidence and our batting average.

• Plan and Execute the Attack

This is where the rubber meets the road. A brilliant target list and an arsenal full of powerful weapons mean nothing if we never get into action. No one defaults to prospecting mode. No one. There is always something more urgent or more appealing to do. Most of us are easily and willingly distracted from prospecting. That’s why it is essential to time block our calendars and dedicate solid chunks of time for new business development. And it is also helpful for salespeople to have individual business plans that articulate the strategies they’ll follow and the key activity metrics they will monitor. The harsh reality is that a good new business sales initiative is a high-frequency initiative. The more rocks we turn over (particularly when pursuing a strategic list of target prospects), the more likely it is that we will put more opportunities into the sales funnel. And the more that go in, the more that come out the other end as closed deals.

Prospecting and new business development is not complicated and mysterious. It only feels that way because so many of the current generation of salespeople have not had to do it.