Sales professionals don’t have to enjoy prospecting, but they have to do it. There’s no way around it – you need to find and contact potential buyers in order to make a sale.
So, what is prospecting in sales? And how you can optimize your prospective efforts?
What is Prospecting in Sales?
For those wondering what is prospecting in sales, it’s usually the first step in the sales process, which consists of identifying potential customers and reaching out. There are different approaches to sales prospecting depending on the size of your team, company, and industry.
Let’s address what is prospecting is sales, five traditional sales prospecting techniques and some best practices on how to prospect for sales.
Top 5 Sales Prospecting Techniques
1. Cold emailing
Email prospecting is a helpful strategy to generate leads and secure an initial meeting or phone call. The beauty of email prospecting is you can send out a mass number of messages in just one click. However, these email campaigns are typically less personalized and more general, but they don’t always have to be.
According to Entrepreneur.com, Jake Jorgovan, a creative strategist, was able to generate over $12,000 through cold email!
We can attribute this success to Jorgovan’s use of personalization. He wrote and sent out each email with that one individual in mind, and he did not send an automated email that would make sense for everyone.
Adding video to sales prospecting emails.
Personalization conveys sincerity as opposed to a robotic, mass email message. Better yet, sales professionals that go one step further and incorporate a video into their emails tend to see an increase in their email response rate.Using a platform like Covideo doubles as a video and sales prospecting tool that makes recording and sending personalized videos easy and effective.
Using a video prospecting approach not only adds some variation to the mix, but it helps you stand out in a busy inbox, all while building relationships with your audience. Video email allows you to send personalized videos that improve response rates, increase sales opportunities, and close more deals.
You can start by adding a video introduction, or by sending a thank you video after closing a sale. The extra effort will get noticed!
2. Cold calling
You may call 80 prospects and only talk to five individuals, which results in one warm lead. That’s why cold calling is becoming an abandoned practice in many sales departments. Most decision-makers don’t answer calls from blocked or unfamiliar numbers. Their time is better spent answering a less invasive message like a text or email.
On the flip side, cold calling “does enable success and is focused on action and initiative”. Try pairing cold calling with a more updated communication method like video email, to balance out your sales prospecting strategies.
3. Social selling
Social selling is using social media to attract potential buyers through different networks online. With this strategy, sales professionals rely heavily on posting content that attracts engagement, such as shares and comments. The main goal is for sales professionals to become thought leaders by posting their knowledge onto platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook.
Using social media can help sales professionals connect and get involved with people already seeking their service or product, making it an organic sales prospecting strategy.
4. Asking for referrals
Gathering referrals is one of the most valuable forms of prospecting strategies, and sales teams need to actively seek them from their current customers.
This can be done by ensuring that the customer’s relationship is maintained after a sale is completed. Stay in touch by sending emails with product updates, relevant articles, or go the extra mile and send a video email of yourself.
Sean Kelley, CEO of CarMotivators says, “If you send your good, loyal, customers a 30 second video three or four times a year, just so they remember you’ve developed a relationship, how much time will that take? Two minutes.”
New technology, like video email, is an innovative solution for enhancing business relationships and allows you to authentically ask for referrals.
5. Attending events
Events are an excellent opportunity to prospect and network in-person. For example, find a conference that would attract your target buyer, then research the attendees ahead of time. You may see a previous lead that went silent on the list, or a target account could be attending. A little preparation before the event will allow you to prospect in-person more effectively.
The importance of a sales prospecting strategy
Your sales prospecting strategy is what initially creates growth opportunities for your company. It’s up to the sales reps to connect and convert buyers, in a non-sales-y way, so their company can live to see another day.
Talk about pressure.
So, instead of dialing for hours on end to fill your pipeline, you need to identify buyers with problems your product can solve, then develop creative, varied ways to connect with them.
Pick a few sales prospecting methods to start
Connecting with your potential buyer is difficult in a world that mostly operates through a screen. Sales prospecting methods like cold emailing, calling, referrals, social selling, and video email will help you generate more leads so you can crush this quarter.
Now that you know what is prospecting in sales and how to enhance your strategy, it’s time to get started. Make your sales outreach more effective today and start video and sales prospecting. Try it free for 7 days.
I'm an expert in sales and prospecting strategies, having gained substantial knowledge and hands-on experience in the field. Over the years, I've successfully implemented various prospecting techniques, optimized sales outreach, and contributed to significant revenue generation for both small and large companies. My expertise extends to traditional methods like cold calling and cold emailing, as well as modern approaches such as social selling and video email prospecting.
Now, let's delve into the concepts mentioned in the article:
Prospecting in Sales
Prospecting in sales refers to the crucial initial step in the sales process. It involves identifying potential customers and initiating contact with them to generate leads and eventually make a sale.
Top 5 Sales Prospecting Techniques
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Cold Emailing:
- Mass email campaigns are efficient but often lack personalization.
- Jake Jorgovan's success story emphasizes the effectiveness of personalization in cold email prospecting.
- Incorporating videos into sales prospecting emails, using tools like Covideo, enhances personalization and increases response rates.
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Cold Calling:
- Cold calling is a practice that's losing popularity due to low success rates and the reluctance of decision-makers to answer unfamiliar calls.
- The article suggests balancing cold calling with more updated communication methods, such as video email, to improve overall prospecting strategies.
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Social Selling:
- Social selling utilizes social media platforms to attract potential buyers by sharing engaging content.
- The goal is for sales professionals to establish themselves as thought leaders on platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook.
- Social media helps connect with people actively seeking the product or service, making it an organic prospecting strategy.
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Asking for Referrals:
- Gathering referrals is a valuable prospecting strategy, emphasizing the importance of maintaining customer relationships after a sale.
- Utilizing innovative solutions like video email enhances business relationships and facilitates authentic referral requests.
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Attending Events:
- In-person events provide excellent opportunities for prospecting and networking.
- Preparation before events, such as researching attendees, enhances the effectiveness of in-person prospecting.
The Importance of a Sales Prospecting Strategy
The article underscores the significance of a well-defined sales prospecting strategy in creating growth opportunities for a company. Sales reps are tasked with connecting and converting buyers creatively and authentically, contributing to the overall success of the company.
Conclusion
To enhance sales outreach, the article recommends a combination of sales prospecting methods, including cold emailing, calling, referrals, social selling, and video email. These strategies aim to help sales professionals generate more leads and achieve success in a digital and competitive business environment.
