Sales prospecting is one of the most crucial stages in the sales process – and one of the most difficult.
But face it: zero prospects equals zero sales. It’s as simple as that. This is why it is essential to master prospecting techniques to increase your sales.
What is Sales Prospecting?
Sales prospecting is the process of looking through your list of leads to see which profitable customers you can turn into. Your sales team will be doing cold outreach with sales questions looking for the decision-maker most of the time. This may include various forms of outreach tools such as SMS messages, cold calls, or email.
The Difference Between Leads and Prospects
The words “lead” and “prospects” confuse new marketers and giants alike. But to ensure we’re on the same page on the prospecting definition, here’s how we separate the two.
The lead is a potential customer who fits your ideal customer profile. Although you have their contact information, they may or may not express interest in your company, products, or services.
Once you get leads, they become prospects. A sales prospect can become an opportunity when they move through your pipeline.
10 Lead Prospecting Techniques
There are Lots of sales prospecting techniques on the market. But today, let me walk you through 10 proven strategies to increase your sales performance.
Feel free to experiment with these tips to see which one works best.
1- Understand buyer psychology
Every organization has a prospecting rock star, and do you know about your secret? They understand psychology which is known as buyer psychology.
People are motivated by pain and pleasure – find out what your customers think.
2- Know your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Your buyer thinks – “What’s in it for me?” needs to be answered first and foremost.
This is why your unique sales proposal (USP) is one of the essential tools you can use in an effective prospecting email.
If you have been working with your company for a long time, you probably already have an excellent understanding of your USP. But one of the most critical questions is: how are you communicating this to your prospects?
3- Find leads who are already spending money.
Specific email prospecting is something like this – search for relevant industry professionals, reach out and then reach out again.
It’s all well and good, but how do you know that the company will pay for you to accommodate their needs?
Take a look at the sales opportunities that spend money on other areas of company development. Do they seriously think they are doing what it takes to grow and increase their capital?
4- Use a script
When talking with a prospect, you should always have a script ready. This will help you use the correct language, have an easier time responding to objections, and reduce awkward stagnation.
The script also ensures that the potential partner’s interaction does not leave the area, and the buyer is directed to the purchase.
Note that using a script does not mean that it reads verbatim what is written in it. Customize and personalize your script for each prospect.
5- Take advantage of marketing and sales automation
Nowadays and in our age, you do not have to sell manually.
Take advantage of marketing and sales automation solutions such as YesWare and Autoklose. Automatic tracking, leading nursing campaigns, and anything else that can provide more effective foresight.
6- Educate instead of trying to sell
Do not start a call or meeting with just the attitude you want to sell. It would be best if you tried to help potential customers solve their problems and relieve their pain.
One way to do this is to get to know the questions and possible solutions from your interested people. Please provide them with material that discusses their points of pain.
This content can be blog posts, e-books, summaries, or any other medium that your potential customers are happy to use to consume the content.
7- Try videos
The popularity of video as a marketing and sales tool has also been increasing in recent years.
70% of B2B shoppers say they watch one or more videos during their purchase process, with 60% considering video-sharing platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo as necessary when making a purchase decision.
You can create educational videos on topics relevant to future prospects. You can also create personalized videos to address a potential client directly and discuss a particular pain point and possible solutions. Let’s present.
8- Record yourself on your next sales call
It’s an excellent way to improve your prospecting. If you don’t know why they get poor results, try recording cold calls and see how you can improve your sales bar.
Try to play and even ask the sales team for feedback. Creating scripts is a great way to improve your research. It becomes easy if you do not have an itinerary to rely on.
9- Establish alliances with non-competing competitors
You may be shaking your head, but if you work with competitors (who do not compete directly with you), you can cater to your potential prospects.
If your business is primarily limited to a local market, try to create events and promotions directly outside your regular customer base.
Adapting to other similar businesses with you will increase your chances of referral. If you provide slightly different products or services, collaboration can increase your customer base. It may not work for your business, but it is definitely a search technique you can use in your toolbox.
10- Ask for referrals
Word-of-mouth recommendations heavily influence 91% of B2B customers. However, only 40% of salespeople ask customers for referrals. Ask satisfied customers of your brand if they know anyone else who can benefit from your products or services. If so, politely ask him to introduce you.
Make it easy for customers to recommend you by offering them an email script to tell you about recommendations. Once customers have sent referrals your way, be sure to thank them via email or handwritten letter.
Conclusion
Sales research should not always be a burden on both the sales team and prospective customers. To facilitate this, you can adapt and experiment with the various strategies outlined above.
If you found the correct sales research technique for your brand, you’d be converting more prospects into paying clients in no time! You also can call us to know how zytal can help you to generate more leads quickly.