Values? Who Needs ‘Em?

Not only are values utterly unnecessary, they actually get in the way of some aspects of the business. Take prospecting for example. When it’s done correctly, prospecting can be easy as pie. But, if you bog it down with useless complications, like values, well . . . all bets are off. Allow me to prove my point…

Let’s start with one of the all-time favorites: Leadership. Leadership is not earned or given – it is taken. You can’t lead someone to prospecting excellence. Prospecting should be learned the hard way – by trial and error over an extended period of time. What are you going to do, take your new rep out into the real-world and demonstrate by example? What a waste of your precious time. Let them learn how to prospect by their self. The resulting adversities will make ’em stronger. In the long run, they’ll be better for it and they’ll make you more money.

Here’s another value that’s overrated with respect to prospecting: Commitment, or as I prefer to call it, Stick-to-it-ness. Stick-to-it-ness is a measure of how willing a rep is to stay with the business in order to figure it out. Prospecting can be tricky for some people. Many of them won’t stick around long enough to figure it out. I say, “Good riddance!” If your new rep won’t stick around for the short-term, they won’t stick around for the long-term. Better to find out now before you waste too much time on them, right?

How about this pet prospecting value: Flexibility? How in the world is that supposed to help? What am I supposed to do, change who I am merely to prospect someone I don’t know? You have got to be kidding me! God created me the way I am. Why should I change? I’ll admit that sometimes I’m a little rough around the edges. Sometimes, I could stand to be a little less opinionated, a little less forceful. But still, I’m the one with the opportunity. I’m the one bearing gifts. I’m the one with the cookie. The prospects should be grateful I’m even offering it. It is the prospects who should be more flexible. That would sure make it a lot easier to connect with ’em.

Here’s another so-called prospecting “value”: Inspiration. Sometimes it’s called a “dream”, or a “why”. It really doesn’t matter what you call it because it’s not going to make any difference anyway. Prospecting is about persistence, tenacity, specific one-liners, and the raw nerve to insinuate yourself into another person’s life. You don’t need a why to do that. You don’t need to be inspired to step out of your comfort zone. What you need is to “gut-it up” and get it done. I say phooey on dreams!

I saved Integrity for the final example because it’s the value most common so-called “value”. Now don’t get me wrong, no one ranks integrity higher than I do, but when it comes to prospecting, it tends to be counter-productive. The goal of prospecting is to get someone to look at your video link, read your magazine or listen to a sizzle call, so the prospect can make up their own mind, right? If your opportunity is solid and wholesome, then you’re doing the prospect a favor. If that’s true, why does it matter how you get them to listen or read? Sometimes, you have to stretch the truth a little. Sometimes, you have to answer a question with a slightly misleading answer. Prospecting is one situation where the end justifies the means. Just remember to keep your stories straight. Otherwise, you may end up with new rep that doesn’t fully trust you.

There you have them, five examples of how values get in the way of your prospecting endeavors. Let’s recap them briefly:

• Leadership requires you to teach by example, which in turn empowers your new reps to become self-sufficient.
• Commitment instills in your new reps a willingness to stick around for the short-term which increases the likelihood of them sticking around for the long-term.
• Flexibility requires a willingness to change in order to relate to a wider-range of prospects.
• Inspiration empowers you to step outside of your comfort zone.
• Integrity empowers you to build the kind of trust that properly qualifies prospects according to their interest (or lack thereof).

So are values important to prospecting? Consider the following questions:

Who needs self-sufficient reps? Who needs reps to stick around for the long-term? Who wants to relate to more prospects? Who needs to step out of their comfort zone? Who cares about building trust?

So tell me, are values important to prospecting? Do values belong in your prospecting efforts?

Hmmmm… I’m starting to think that maybe they do belong after all. Perhaps I should re-evaluate my original premise.

Note: To be perfectly clear, and to remove any lingering doubt, this article is dripping with sarcasm. In my journey, I’ve prospected just about every kind of person in just about every type of situation. Make no mistake, values are vital to all aspects of team-building and when it comes to prospecting, they’re positively paramount! And that’s the truth.