Sales prospecting is an essential part of the B2B sales process, feeding your pipeline of prospects with the goal of converting new customers. But effective prospecting is both an art and a science, requiring creativity, persistence, and a lot of patience!
In this guide, we’re defining what prospecting is – and why it matters for an organization. But most importantly, we’re covering the most effective strategies for filling your pipeline, facilitating valuable sales conversations, and converting cold leads into prospective customers.
What is Sales Prospecting?
Sales prospecting refers to the process of identifying and engaging with potential customers with the goal of converting them into leads, prospects, and then paying customers. This is an essential part of the sales process, as it allows you to build a pipeline of qualified prospects who are most likely to purchase your products or services.
Sales prospecting involves various techniques and strategies, depending on the type of organization, your target market, your product or service offerings, and more. Effective prospecting relies on a sales team’s ability to assess their needs and establish contact.
Leads vs. Prospects vs. Opportunities
If you’re familiar with sales, you might have heard of Leads, Prospects, and Opportunities.
These are not the same, though some people and organizations mistakenly use these terms interchangeably. In actuality, they are distinct stages in the sales process, each representing different levels of engagement and potential for conversion.
Leads are individuals or companies who have shown interest in your company’s products or services, typically by filling out a form, subscribing to a newsletter, or engaging with marketing content. They are at the top of the sales funnel and require further qualification to determine their potential as buyers.
Prospects are leads that have been qualified based on specific criteria indicating a higher likelihood of becoming customers. Prospects are more engaged than leads; they may have interacted with your sales team, expressed a clearer interest in the products or services, and provided more detailed information about their requirements.
Opportunities are prospects that have shown strong potential to convert into actual sales. At this stage, your sales team has identified their specific needs and may have conducted initial meetings or presentations. Opportunities represent a concrete potential for revenue, moving through negotiation and proposal stages until the deal is either won or lost.
Why is Sales Prospecting Important?
Sales prospecting is essential for maintaining a healthy sales pipeline and ensuring a steady flow of new business opportunities.
In fact, there are many reasons why sales prospecting is important, particularly for B2B organizations:
- Prequalification: Prequalifies leads during the research phase of sales prospecting, resulting in less time dedicated to leads that are less likely to convert
- Pipeline flow: Keeps the sales pipeline filled with potential customers, ensuring a steady flow of opportunities and preventing revenue dips
- Customer research: Initiates valuable conversations with prospective customers, allowing your sales team to better understand their needs and pain points
- Proactivity: Enables your organization to stay proactive by seeking out new prospects, rather than relying solely on existing customers or inbound inquiries
- Market adaptability: Helps you stay ahead of market changes and competitive pressures by continuously identifying and engaging new prospects
- Revenue growth: Directly contributes to revenue growth by increasing the chances of converting prospects into paying customers
- Customer loyalty: Contributes to building a loyal customer base through effective engagement and value demonstration, leading to repeat business and referrals.
The Key to Strategic Sales Prospecting
The key to strategic sales prospecting lies in targeting the right audience with a personalized, well-researched approach. This involves understanding their specific needs and pain points, and then tailoring your outreach efforts to address those effectively.
As Jill Konrath, a renowned sales strategist, and author, puts it:
“When you know who your ideal customers are, you can concentrate your prospecting efforts on a highly targeted list of potential buyers. This increases the odds of success, reduces wasted effort, and accelerates your path to revenue.”
6 Data-Driven Sales Prospecting Strategies
Every sales prospecting process follows essentially the same few steps: Choose your outreach method, build a list, conduct outreach, and qualify prospects. But how you navigate each step can vary widely – and some strategies are more effective than others.
That’s why it’s important to consider tried-and-tested techniques rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. With over 10 years of experience in B2B prospecting, we know a thing or two about what works!
1. Leverage (close or distant) referrals
One of the most effective prospecting strategies is to use recommendations from existing clients, partners, or industry contacts to connect with potential new customers.
Referrals can be a powerful tool because they come with a built-in level of trust and credibility! This can significantly increase your chances of getting a response from a prospect.
Close referrals come from individuals or organizations that have a direct and strong relationship with your business. These include current clients, long-term partners, or colleagues within your industry network. Reach out to these people and ask them if they know anyone who might benefit from your services.
Distant referrals come from individuals or organizations that might not have a direct relationship with your business but are still within your extended network. These can be connections of your connections, industry peers, or even followers on social media. For instance, you can use LinkedIn to identify mutual connections between you and your prospects. A mutual connection can bridge the gap and make the initial outreach warmer.
2. Use a sales prospecting tool
Manual prospecting can be tedious. Every B2B organization should take advantage of prospecting tools that make prospecting faster, more effective, and more affordable.
Some popular prospecting tool options include LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, HubSpot Sales, and Salesforce. Usually, you can connect the tool with your CRM system to streamline data flow and keep track of all interactions.
Many sales prospecting tools allow you to divide your prospects into different segments. You can do this based on criteria such as industry, location, or stage in the sales funnel, which can help your sales team know how to engage with the right message.
You can also use sales prospecting tools to research companies, assessing their size, revenue, number of employees, decision makers, market, and more.
3. Write your 5-star sales script
A well-crafted script helps you convey your value proposition effectively, address common objections, and guide the conversation towards desired outcomes. So, take some time to really refine your script, paying attention to prospects’ responses and objections.
Here are a few tips for writing a compelling sales script:
- Start by researching your target audience thoroughly to understand their pain points, needs, and preferences. Tailor your script to explain how your product or service can provide value and solve their problems.
- Focus on benefits, not just features. Show prospects how your product or service can improve their lives, save them time or money, or help them achieve their goals.
- Write your script in a conversational tone that feels natural and engaging. Avoid overly formal language or jargon that may alienate your audience.
- Anticipate objections — and incorporate rebuttals or solutions into your script. This helps to overcome objections more effectively and keep the conversation moving forward.
- Once you’ve written your script, practice delivering it until you feel comfortable and confident. Be open to making revisions based on input from prospects and your team.
4. Make the most of discovery calls
The discovery call is an opportunity to listen more, talk less. When you give prospects the floor to explain what they are looking for, what they are struggling with, etc., you gain so much information. This information is critical, as it will allow you to tailor your messaging in real-time.
For example, instead of going into a spiel about how great your product is, ask the prospect: “What is your biggest goal for this year?”. Let them tell you what THEY care about. Then, depending on their response, you can relate your product back to what they are looking for.
Also, the discovery call can help build excitement and momentum in the sales conversation. Get prospects to ask YOU for a proposal. Get their commitment to book a follow up call for you to finally present more information about features and costs.
5. Incorporate customer feedback into sales collateral
Similar to above, prospects will tell you what they do and do not care about. So listen to them! Instead of crafting your sales collateral and copy based on what you think matters, incorporate your prospects’ own questions and concerns into your content.
You can start by collecting feedback from existing customers through surveys, interviews, or reviews, focusing on their experiences, pain points, and suggestions for improvement.
Then, analyze this feedback to identify common themes and insights that can inform your sales collateral. Use these insights to tailor your messaging and reinforce the benefits of your offering.
Don’t be afraid to refine your sales collateral based on ongoing feedback and evolving customer needs. Opinions change, so continuous improvement ensures that your materials remain relevant and impactful.
6. Leverage a B2B prospecting services
Most of these strategies assume that the prospecting efforts are being taken by your internal team. Which is fine – but also time consuming. Most likely, your sales pros are better utilized conducting real sales conversations and following up on the most viable opportunities.
With that in mind, outsourcing prospecting to a service provider could be a time- and cost-saving solution. These are companies that conduct cold outreach, generate lead lists, and book appointments on your behalf. This keeps your pipeline full and sales reps’ calendars booked up, without them getting bogged down by lead generation.
For instance, Superhuman Prospecting is an industry leader in B2B prospecting, specializing in cold calling and appointment setting. Feed your pipeline on autopilot with the help of a strategic, affordable prospecting partner.
Bonus Tips to Fill Your Pipeline Like a Pro
Want even more tips on how to improve your B2B prospecting? Incorporate these strategies into your approach:
- Ask the right questions: Ask questions that help you obtain more information about what the prospect really wants, like “What Are Your Biggest Challenges Right Now?”, “What Business Problem Are You Trying to Solve?”, and “What Are Your Biggest Priorities Right Now?”.
- Consider content co-creation: Collaborate with industry influencers or potential clients to create content such as webinars, blog posts, or case studies. This not only provides valuable insights to your audience but also opens up new networking opportunities and builds credibility.
- Host virtual events: Organize virtual events, such as webinars, workshops, or roundtables, tailored to address the pain points of your target audience. This offers a platform to showcase your expertise and connect with qualified leads.
- Engage in community building: Create or participate in online communities and forums related to your industry. Being an active contributor in these spaces helps you network with potential prospects and establish trust and authority.
- Try out video outreach: Personalize your outreach with short, personalized video messages. Videos can capture attention more effectively than text and help establish a personal connection with prospects.
- Leverage the power of AI and automation: Use AI-powered tools and automation to streamline your prospecting efforts. Automated email sequences, chatbots, and CRM systems can help manage and nurture leads more efficiently.
Pump Up Your Pipeline with the Help of Superhuman
Sales prospecting can be time consuming and expensive. The effort it takes for your sales team to find high quality prospecting, get them on a call, follow-up, and close the deal can cost your organization a lot of money! That’s why many B2B organizations have decided to outsource their prospecting efforts to an effective, affordable partner.
At Superhuman Prospecting, we are the pros in cold outreach, manual prospecting, and appointment setting. We’ve helped hundreds of B2B businesses save money (and time) by completely outsourcing their prospecting system. Discover how Superhuman Prospecting can lead to better results and more sales – get a quote today!
