You can make or break your success in sales with how effective you are in identifying potential buyers, regardless of what you sell. Prospecting is the foundation stone of the entire sales process and if executed well makes the entire sales cycle easier and more likely to result in closed deals.
- Define your ideal customer profile or buyer persona. Create a detailed profile of your ideal customer taking into account your current customers and potential customers that you are interested in working with. Consider as many factors as you need including industry, company size, job title, location and current environment conditionals that may be impacting the business.
- Leverage external market research to gather data on potential prospects. There are numerous sources of data, and these include industry reports, competitor analysis, industry analysts, financial news, and customer feedback. Look for trends and opportunities that will assist you in communicating effectively with the prospect.
- Use social media and networking platforms as a key part of your research. LinkedIn is invaluable for research and sales prospecting. Other tools will also give insight into an organisation both by what is published by the organisation itself as well as employees and customers. Engage in content and join relevant groups to participate in discussions.
- Look at your existing client base and analyse for common behaviours and characteristics. If you have been successful with these companies, you should look for similar ones. As part of this process, you should consider asking your existing customers for referrals.
- Apply some rigour in evaluating potential buyers. Apply these three questions to help ensure a good fit before you begin your approach. Is this prospect a good fit for your sales process? Is there a strong likelihood of fit for your product/service in this potential buyer? is the potential buyer a good fit with your company values?
- Apply your research to create a question bank to use when you begin communicating with your potential buyer. You want to make it obvious you are approaching from a point of knowledge and not making a ‘cold’ contact. Create questions that focus on needs, challenges, successes, future plans, risks, among others.
- Use tools to support your prospecting and sales generally. By using effective tools, you will have the ability to streamline your process, capture information, maintain cadence in your communications and maintain relationships more effectively. The most obvious tool is a CRM and there are others you may consider depending on need and budget, these include email tracking, lead generation, and other types of software.
If you can maintain consistency in your prospecting and use these 7 tactics, you will build a sales pipeline and increase your engagement with potential buyers. The key is to focus on quality and consistency over quantity and chaos.
WorkPlan offers a complete and comprehensive online course on Effective Sales Prospecting. This course has 6 interactive modules, including one on Social Selling. The course is available fully online or in a blended delivery with individualised coaching. Our Prospecting course is part of a full Sales Training program available online and in blended delivery.