Sales Prospecting Explained in 5 Minutes
For many years now, making the initial contact by phone to someone who doesn’t know you or your company- AKA prospecting- has called for a very different approach on the part of the seller. Effective sales prospecting is now much more a coordinated, integrated effort of sales and marketing. This applies to nearly all B2B selling.
Telemarketing alone won’t get the response you need 97% of the time.
People don’t answer calls from numbers they don’t recognize. I still see job postings for sales positions that go into details about the work they want the seller to do. These very often include phrases like “make 100 calls/emails to clients each day,” and “develop new clients through outbound calls.”
Phrases like these usually give me the impression that the job poster really doesn’t understand how to sell, and what it is like in the 21st century. It also makes me think this is a business to consumer (B2C) company, which I am not focused on here.
While there may be businesses that rely primarily or solely on their call center or reps to make a lot of phone calls, this approach has long seen a falling rate of returns. Many people these days find this approach annoying. There are even regulations in many countries to stop businesses from doing just this, at least in the consumer space. But this is evidence the approach is much out of favor, even though it can give some results.
When you’re trying to grow your sales and want to make a focused effort, you need to reach new people. Put yourself in their shoes: people ignore a random call or email from a stranger. We all do it. It’s become a necessity if you’re going to get anything done.
Worse, if the initial contact message is unfocused or irrelevant to the prospect, you could be causing yourself more harm than good. We’ve all blocked numbers and emails that don’t seem to help us. Many organizations will send an email that is much too long to read. No one is going to study a lengthy document unless they are already quite interested in learning more. I’m not going to try to figure out if there is any value in it for me. Likewise, unexpected sales calls that include messaging that the caller is “just calling to introduce myself” or similar verbiage are not advancing your cause.
None of this establishes confidence in you from the client. Today, people likely know if you can help them before you contact them. We just look up ideas and how others solve problems, right? This is why you have to prepare the ground, so to speak, for your call.
Differentiate and Coordinate
You need to be a help, from the very beginning to your clients. I have heard of a client who would only talk with or meet the rep if the rep brought them some new insight. People will respond more favorably if you adopt this principle as part of your prospecting and account management. Really this should be evidenced in any territory plan, shouldn’t it?
Approaching your prospects with new information and thought-provoking questions will distinguish your business. It sets the tone of the relationship with you as a consultant that your client can use to help solve problems. It tells them you are serious about a mutually beneficial relationship and know what values they want from you.
To leverage this technique, you’ll need to give yourself time to prepare. Given the state of buying in the 21st century, your best prospects will self-identify by visiting your website, downloading material you offer, signing up for emails or an event, and the like. Actions like these are trust signals.
Getting the attention of your best prospects calls for you to read and think about their industries and companies. Make notes on the challenges they face. On an individual level, think about the people in each role at your prospect. How are they impacted by the challenges you identify? Prepare for each call with each person by thinking about the problems they need to solve, from their perspective. Then connect your product or service to their problem as a great solution. If your clients need more than one person to approve a purchase from your company, be sure you speak with each of them.
Invest Time at the Right Time
To get a conversation, you need to build a level of trust. It starts with familiarity. If someone is familiar with your company and how you might help them, they’ll be more likely to give you some time. Here is where coordination comes into your sales execution.
The modern world is multi-channel. Your message needs to reach potential customers via several of these simultaneously. After you see something several times, you get a sense of familiarity. Generally, the pre-call channels include:
· Social media
· Business/industry forums
· Paid search engine ads
· Paid display ads
· content on your website, social media, and forums
· Industry/company events
· Print ads
· Direct mail
· Referrals/introductions (including reps from resellers or distributors)
Most companies, depending on the funding and people available, should pick two to four of these. Marketers typically manage these tasks, working with sales. Remember, you’ll be working on these simultaneously. You have to update these channels with consistent messaging at regular intervals. You want to ensure the right people see the right messages at the right time.
A Closer Look
Pick a single message for each buyer at your target accounts or customer profile. Provide real value in the messaging. Tell a story they can relate to. Use different versions that feature similar people and roles as the individuals you want to connect with, and highlight the/a principal value only your company delivers. A story has a set of characteristics that make it a story, and this is what makes your message much more memorable. A story can be a sentence or two. You may have stories from your own experiences, that of your team members, or from third parties.
Be sure the messages and formats of the different channels use consistent artwork, typefaces, and link to the same helpful information. If they link to a landing page on your website, be sure that it is precisely what you promised the person who clicked on the link- the artwork, fonts, language, and colors should be consistent with whatever they saw and clicked on. Make sure it provides the practical value you promised.
And you should know who has seen any ads, responded to posts in forums, seen particular content on your website, or filled out a form. Most Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms like Salesforce.com, Hubspot, or SharpSpring offer the ability to know your audience members’ responses to your social media, blog posts, ads, emails, etc. (Look for marketing automation features in or with a CRM.)
A few years ago, I set up a CRM that gave us great insights into customers and prospects coming to our website. By tracking this information, we were able to see what messages were resonating in our emails, social media posts, blogs, and ads. We did more of what worked, less of what didn’t, and increased sales.
Then, after the right number of ‘touches,’ you should consider highly targeted phone calls. Touches mean when your prospect sees your messaging. The correct quantity and best types of touches will be different for each industry and buyer’s role. Be sure marketing works with your sales team to define these vital data points. Prioritize calls to prospects who have interacted with your material.
With this approach, sales prospecting really shouldn’t rely on cold calls at all. Instead, your salespeople can make calls to people who are already familiar with your company and values. Sellers will have a focused, differentiating message that is tailored for each individual you are calling. Remember to use a story to make a human-level connection.
Done well, and depending on the number of prospects you target and your industry’s nature, you should see not only an increase in sales opportunities but also some incoming calls.
