Sales prospecting can be tedious, intimidating, and terribly discouraging.  Yet, it still has to be done.  Why not make a game out of it and get past the boredom?

You’ve probably heard the saying that it takes 10 “no’s” to get one “yes,” but I think that number is outdated. In today’s market, it can take 40 voicemails to reach a live person and dozens of emails to yield a single response.

For sales reps, that kind of rejection often makes sales prospecting a tedious, intimidating, and downright discouraging task. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change the fact that you still have a quota to meet — and the only way to hit it is to find new prospects.

So, how can you get past the boredom and intimidation of sales prospecting and actually make it fun? Sales prospecting games! Here are a few to get you started:

1. Candy Jar:

   Every time a prospect tells you “no,” put a piece of candy in a jar. When you get to 10, the odds are on your side that you’ll reach a contact soon. This allows you to watch the jar fill up knowing that you’re getting closer to reaching someone who wants to talk with you. If candy isn’t your thing, pennies work, too!

2. Whiteboard Willy:

   Create a fun whiteboard chart with columns for the days of the week and rows for sales reps’ names. Each day, insert the number of people talked to and see who has the most. Give daily prizes to the winners — whether it’s Dollar Store gag gifts or Starbuck’s gift cards.

3. Connections:

   Track all prospecting calls for a week and determine who made the most calls, connected with the most people, or set the most appointments. The loser buys coffee, bagels, or lunch for the team. Or, if the team achieves a specific number, the manager buys for the team!

4. Luck of the Draw:

   On the back of several index cards, write the number of prospects you want to speak with. Mix up the cards, place them face down, have everyone choose one. Now, call until you reach that number. When you get to your number, you get a reward.

5. Ring that bell!

   Put a bell in the office (we have an old school bell) and ring it for every appointment set. As you hear other reps ring the bell, it’ll motivate you to be more effective on your calls.

6. Prospect Take Down.

   Run some role plays by impersonating the toughest prospects you can imagine. Be really difficult when it’s your turn to portray the customer — but don’t hang up. When you’re the rep, persist until you break the prospect and get some information (if not set an appointment). Truth is, you’ll never encounter a prospect as difficult as your colleague!

7. Improv Acting.

   Using index cards again, list different fun feelings and descriptors (happy, ecstatic, intelligent, sincere, jovial, etc.). Have each sales rep choose a card and make calls for one hour acting out that feeling or descriptor. This is a fun way to break up the monotony of prospecting.

Of course, those are just a few ideas. Ultimately, you can get as creative as you’d like — so long as the goal is to prospect to set new appointments. You’ll find that these games go a long way toward increasing your appointment setting rates.