78 HIGH-PROFIT SELLING Q are supposedly prospecting, all too many salespeople are doing nothing more than shuffling paperwork or surfing the Internet, all under the guise of getting ready to prospect. Salespeople may try to justify themselves by saying they are planning to prospect or gathering information to begin pros- pecting, but the truth ultimately cannot be hidden: They aren't actually contacting prospects. I can't tell you the number of times I've worked with companies, large and small, and after we begin to break down the data, the glaring reality surfaces--the salespeople have spent very little time actually prospecting.