Sales Prospecting Tips
Better sales prospecting always gives better results than expected. A salesperson who is consistent on his prospecting journey is likely to get more clients and of course more sales revenue. If so, why not, learn more about sales prospecting tips, techniques, and ways to do it?
As the sales prospecting main goal is to qualify potential customers, it first begins with searching for them and evaluating. All the customers may not be actual prospects some might be because of salesperson mistakes, some might be because of their own.
It is found that, if you effectively do sales prospect you are likely to get 3x more sales meetings with your future customers than the rest. Even 71% of the customers are happy to hear from you when you meet them first in the buying journey.
However, sales prospecting is found the top challenge in the sales process than other steps. But it won’t be always, you can make it less challenging with the following prospecting tips and techniques.
Now, let’s find the answer to the question “How to do sales prospecting effectively?” through the following ways, tips, and techniques.
Make Time To Prospect
In your journey of finding prospective customers luck always does not work. It may work but it doesn’t get you near to your revenue goals.
So, in your selling journey always make time to prospect for your ideal customers. With the dedicated effort and time to find potential customers, it is more likely you will get more prospects than just waiting for the magic to happen.
When you make time to prospect, you will get more potential customers. In fact, all the potential customers may not be your customers, some may switch, however when you have a larger number of prospects, it helps you to fill the customer’s gap.
In addition, though making time to prospect is one of the best ways for sales prospecting also make schedules to prospect from time to time.
Outline Ideal Prospects Criteria
Since, above I already said, all the prospects may not be the real customers it is necessary to outline certain criteria to separate prospects from suspects.
Most business firms are involved in this activity where they have outlined certain criteria for using their products or services. If a candidate meets those of any outlined criteria he will be a qualified prospect, on the other hand, if not he will just be a lead.
While determining criteria for an ideal customer you may use factors based on your sales goals, products, services, cost, etc. However, customers’ income level, geographical location, etc. often found used to determine ideal customers.
Go Through Sources
It is natural that customers are everywhere, but the question is they may not be your customers. As a salesperson, without customers, you can not survive. The customers are the key to survival when you are a salesperson.
But, from where do you get customers? The answer is simple, through the following sources…
- Referrals
- Webinars
- Seminars
- Trade shows
- Business related articles in newspapers
- Trade journals
- Civic meetings
- Coctail parties
- Diferent promotional measures.
Know Where To Meet Prospects
You had made a call to a prospect and agreed to a meeting. To meet that prospect, will you go to his home, or to his office, or out where, or to social media?
When you decide on a place to meet your potential clients, they may not agree to meet that place. They may be interested to participate in conferences, some may be interested in the personalized offers.
So, make sure to know where your potential customers are ready to attend your meeting. I think if the customer is an individual, he might be interested to meet personally. If the customer is an organization, you will meet most of such customers on LinkedIn.
Know What You Are Selling
In selling, whenever you are selling anything to anyone be fully prepared for all the facts of your offer. While you are introducing your offer to someone, he may ask unusual questions.
Replying to such question, if you stop or stammer, the next person will perceive, you ownself has no knowledge about your offer. Such lack of information decreases the chance of believing the prospects in you.
Be Confident
Confidence makes a real success in your sales journey. When you talk to a prospect, he will definitely notice your level of confidence and voice and yet it directly affects your success.
When you are making calls…also talking the next person can not see you, the only way he will trust in you is the confidence that he heard in your voice. Similarly, if you talk face to face, you should have to be confident in both your voice plus body language.
And, the best way you can be confident is by being knowledgeable, fully prepared about what you are selling.
Use Social Media
Today, there is no doubt that social media do not help you to achieve your goals. The development of social media has given salespeople, marketers unbelievable key to their audience, so the increased number of sales.
To fine prospect, you can use the most popular social media like Facebook which has almost 5 billion monthly active users, LinkedIn which is a pool of around 660 million users as of 2020, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.
Explain Why You Reach First To Them
To a prospect may a number of salespeople visit and make contact to be in the part of their offer. Your task is also visiting that prospect and convincing him to accept your offer.
But how you make a contact with the prospect makes the difference.
While reaching first to the prospect be confident, explain with logical reasons why you met them first, explain the benefits of your offer, how your offer solves their pain points, etc.
Ask Questions
Ask questions to the prospects such as what are your pain points are, what quality products do you prefer, what is the budget for your buying? etc.
Most of the customers are shy and do not ask questions to you, so it is better to question them. Just imagining the requirements of customers may not really work. Do research on the requirements of the customers.
Without questing prospects, you might not be able to find their real pain points, so it is also one of the important tips to do sales prospecting.
Make Warm Calls
Though cold calling is less popular nowadays, it is also one of the ways, tips for sales prospecting.
While prospecting, cold calling might do not fit since the next person has no prior contact with you. In spite of this do the warm calling, might generate better results than cold calling as the next person had already made prior contact with you.
While making warm calls it is not necessary for your goal should be to sell, you might just make such a call to just inform the customer and in later days the customer may come to you to know more about your offer.
Use Email
For sales leaders emailing is one of the great tools to do sales prospecting. The Experian Email Market Study, 2013 says that 60% of the opened email are read as a result it gives more than eight seconds of attention to your effort.
As compared to making phone calls, emailing makes a higher chance to read. Just suppose, when making calls the other person is busy at that time in a meeting. Instead of doing a call, if you email, them in his free time of his he will definitely make an effort to look at his unread email list.
Answers The Call
On the above all our sales prospecting tips, we have talked about visiting first to the customers, making calls to the customers. But now, customers are actively involved in their own prospecting activities.
When customers see advertising on TV, pamphlets on different walls, they make a call to the respective product stores. When they make calls to your store, it is your responsibility to answer the call and give relevant answers to all their questions.
Since the customers themselves made a call to you, they are more likely to be your qualified potential customers, so make sure to treat them well.
Don’t Be Always A Salesperson
Always be friendly and helpful to your prospects. Instead of being a salesperson sometimes also try to be a simple person like they.
In addition, it is well-known fact that an ordinary person to share his true feeling finds a person like himself/herself.
It helps you to be yourself at their level where you will be able easily to analyze and understands their real needs and requirements and give useful suggestions.
Participate in Trade Shows
Trade shows are also great ways to introduce your new products and services. In such temporary events of products demonstration, you will have access to thousands of customers to show your offer.
Organize Monthly Webinar/Seminar
Organizing monthly webinars or seminars is also a great way to find new customers. When you find that potential customers are interested to participate in a meeting or program and are near to the meeting hall. You can organize a seminar.
Similarly, if the customers are located in different areas it is better to use webinars to introduce your offerings to them.
Follow Up
When a customer buys from you, you can not be sure that he will again come to you to buy your product. The customer may switch to another seller.
When you close a sale and can not make further contact with the customer, you will not retain as many as customers you want to.
After closing the deal, when you message them about a new offer, new products with personalized skims, you better get to retain your customers.
Use Referrals
While closing a deal with the prospect, in addition to this when you offer them a referral with attracting benefits they will definitely agree on it.
When you give reasonable discounts, gifts in return for someone referring potential customers to your store, you will more likely to get more customers.
Never Stop Prospecting
Your today’s customer may not be your in the future, your sales may not remain the same in the future as it is now, your numbers of customers may decline in the future. Due to many reasons, it will happen.
Why let those such things happen when your goal is to maximize sales revenue?
In fact, sales prospecting is not a one-time effort, it is a continuous effort, and prospecting should be a continuous effort.
Conclusion…
Sales prospecting is a difficult task but it won’t be when you combine the above-mentioned sales prospecting tips and techniques. So what, apply those tips and get ready to see the results.