Unfortunately, yes, I am a smoker. It stinks, it’s expensive, and it kills you. I understand all of this and yet I still continue to smoke. Addicted? Absolutely. I will quit one of these days… a typical smoker’s response, I know.

With smoking, come smoke breaks and quite a few of them. But fortunately for me, we are in an ideal location for our industry. Even though I am technically on break, my eyes are still open and my mind is still at work. Within the 4 minutes or so it takes to have a cigarette, I am able to generate anywhere from 1-7 sales leads. I haven’t been able to get more than 7 in one break yet but I’m hopeful that I will eventually break that record.

If you are unfamiliar with what we do here, or what this industry is that I speak of, or how I could possibly generate so many leads during a cigarette break… I’m getting to that. I just wanted to post a blog about this because I think it’s pretty funny that I am able to light a fire under our prospecting by doing something that is generally thought of as completely unproductive.

We are a supplier to the transportation industry and are located on a main road across from the Toronto airport, where hundreds of trucks pass by every day. We are a marketing agency and I can instantly see how well their logo and tagline are crafted and how memorable their marketing message is.

After my cigarette is done, I head back to my computer to do some more in depth research to see if these companies can benefit from our services. If I believe they can, I get their contact information and send off an email, or make a phone call. This way of prospecting is by no means standard but it is an easy way, for me anyways, to keep the leads coming, no matter how busy we are. It is very easy to put prospecting on the back burner. You always need to be laying tracks for future sales.

I am completely surprised by how many transportation companies there actually are. No matter how many hundreds I have looked at, through groups, directories, online searches or by other means, I still seem to see a few every day that I never have before. When the time comes that I recognize every truck I see, is a good time for me to quit smoking.