Prospecting can often be the most dreaded part of a salesperson’s job. But it doesn’t have to be! Get creative and have fun with it. Here are eight of our top sales prospecting tips.
Tip #1 Determine buyer personas: No matter what kind of sales prospecting you are doing it is important to have your buyer personas determined. Once you’ve established your personas, you will be able to create a more personalized message for your prospect, and it will enable you to speak more directly to their pain points.
Tip #2 Switch up activity metrics: Split up your day with different methods of outreach and track your success with each one. Try to create a balance between phone calls, emails, social media, direct mail etc. Once you are seeing a trend, you can decide how much of your day you are going to dedicate to each one. Try the
same thing with your approach. Try a couple different approaches in one day and track your results. Keep doing this until you can hone in on what is working best for you.
Tip #3 Leverage LinkedIn: You can use LinkedIn to hone in on your ideal targets, conduct outreach, ask for introductions, send congratulatory messages, and even build an email list. LinkedIn is a powerful
prospecting tool, and the more connections you make the easier it becomes to leverage those connections for your sales prospecting efforts.
Tip #4 Run a targeted direct mail campaign: Direct mail can be highly effective in building relationships if done in a thoughtful way. Figure out exactly who the campaign will target and get really creative with what you are going to send. If you have visibility into your CRM of who is actively opening emails, that will help you create your list. Direct mail is usually a more expensive campaign than others, so you want to ensure these prospects have been engaging at some level.
Personalize your message so the targets feel like you are speaking directly to them and their pain points. Then, of course, follow up to ensure they received it and to see if there is a chance to have a further discussion.
Tip #5 Maximize post trade show follow-up: Maximizing trade show follow-up starts at the show. Having a system in place to segment business cards you receive and designate them according to how warm the lead or what service they need will help you when following up. For example, you can use a “W” for warm or “H” for hot as a system that will allow you to remember how to follow up appropriately. Also, it is a good idea to take a look at the list of exhibitors attending the show beforehand to make a list of those that would be good potential customers for your business.
Tip #6 Use the CRM to your advantage: CRM platforms are becoming more advanced allowing salespeople to see how their prospects are engaging. If your CRM has tracking capabilities, send emails form the platform so that you can see when it has been opened. You may not want to call the person immediately after they open your email, but it gives you more visibility to know when to reach out.
Many have the ability to assign a score to contacts which can make it easy to sort contacts for follow-up or to assign a task to yourself once they reach a certain score. You can use your CRM to focus your sales prospecting efforts in the right places.
Tip #7 Research prior to reaching out: Taking the time to do some customer research prior to reaching out can make a big difference. Sending a mass email hoping that one sticks is proving to be less effective than doing a bit of research to send a thoughtful and personalized email to your prospect.
Tip #8 Save effective emails as templates: Every time you receive a response from a potential prospect make note of the email that you sent. Even if the reply is letting you know they are all set, knowing what subject lines and emails are garnering a response from prospects is valuable. Make a folder for your successful email templates for future use. Then, take the time to personalize the template for each prospect you are reaching out to.
We hope these tips are helpful and can boost your sales prospecting efforts. Need help running a campaign or determining your company’s buyer personas? Contact us – we would be happy to help!