When I recently reached out to my network and asked "What is the #1 challenge you are facing when it comes to growing sales for your business ?" 75% of those I asked mentioned sales prospecting or lead generation. The problem isn't that people don't know what do to; it's that what they've always done no longer works. The simple truth is: if you're doing what everybody else is doing, you'll get the same results they do. Which - in a world where prospects are increasingly turning off their phone and turning *on* their spam filters - isn't much. So if you want to stand out (and get more meetings), here are five sales prospecting techniques you probably never tried (but should).

1. Photo by david tomaloff - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dtomaloff/6634071757/

2. Photo by LEOL30 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/1401908136/

3. Photo by David Stone - http://www.flickr.com/photos/david_c_stone/4837914611/

4. Photo by LEOL30 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/541153591/

5. Photo by Neil Turner - http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilt/6702697017/

6. Photo by LEOL30 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/2454448203/

7. Photo by Phil Rogers - http://www.flickr.com/photos/erase/5571696091/

8. Photo by LEOL30 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/5428824047/

9. Photo by David Goehring - http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/2236649349/

10. Photo by Randy Merrill - http://www.flickr.com/photos/zoramite/3993280685/

11. Photo by becky bokern - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tafkabecky/236428114/

12. Photo by Anthony - http://www.flickr.com/photos/65005341@N03/6655628131/

13. Photo by Jukka Zitting - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlz/4439715350/

14. Photo by Laurence Vagner - http://www.flickr.com/photos/redisdead/4293030628/

15. Photo by Pulpolux !!! - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pulpolux/376211294/

16. Photo by Jukka Zitting - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlz/4119973735/

17. Photo by freshelectrons - http://www.flickr.com/photos/freshelectrons/473988992/

18. Photo by Nicolas Vigier - http://www.flickr.com/photos/boklm/486646486/

19. Photo by Chris OBrien - http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisopics/4298342596/

20. Photo by Juan Antonio Capó Alonso - http://www.flickr.com/photos/juan-antonio-capo/4720236802/

21. Photo by Annie - http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverlunace/2845708977/