As we continue our daily quest to learn everything there is to know about sales, a pattern has started to emerge in regards to two camps of our most successful clients.

They are both are at the top of their game, but they have two distinctly different approaches to lead generation. One group prospects relentlessly. The other group networks constantly. We wanted to examine both of these tactics to try and get feedback from other salespeople.

The pros that prospect are mechanical about it. It is never a matter of making a few calls in between appointments, or cold calling to kill 15 minutes. They sit down for a predetermined amount of time, and grind it out. They make dial after dial, knock on door after door, and are never deterred by the rejection. Their whole session might not yield a single lead, just endless ringing and harsh hang ups, but they turn around and do it all over again.

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Then there are the folks that never seem to make a cold call, yet always have more than enough business rolling in. They do it because they have no clock on their sale, they are on 24/7. They make friends everywhere they go and always manage to pull a lead if it presents itself. They are constantly networking, and they make it look easy. This immense skill comes with a lot of practice.

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The best way to prospect is to simply create a client list and block out time to cold call and door knock. Once you establish the routine, never break it. The best way to network is to start yesterday. Everywhere you go, get to know the people you interact with—the bank manager, the waitress, every person you so much as make eye contact with.

Neither of these things are difficult in terms of figuring out what to do, but execution will require someone with drive.

The kind of person that usually becomes a top producer.