Written by Sean McPheat | 
Sales prospecting techniques can transform an average salesperson into an exceptional one.
At the heart of any successful sales career lies the ability to identify and pursue potential customers effectively. While the techniques may evolve, the principles remain rooted in understanding the customer’s needs and aligning solutions seamlessly.
As part of this, modern Sales Training emphasises mastering these methods, ensuring that salespeople are not just pitching products but are forging genuine connections
In this guide, we’ll delve deep into these techniques, empowering you to elevate your sales game and take it to new heights!
Sales prospecting is the method by which sales reps find and engage with qualified leads (i.e. prospects) and start the sales process.
Sales prospecting comes in many forms, from cold emailing and cold calls to messaging qualified leads on social media platforms like LinkedIn.
You can divide sales prospecting into two primary categories:
Whether it’s inbound or outbound prospecting, prospecting in sales typically involves these three steps:
Sales prospecting is crucial for increasing sales productivity because it helps salespeople understand their ideal customers better. The more you know about the person to whom you’re trying to sell, the easier it is to connect with and convert them.
The following are some other benefits of sales prospecting to business growth:
Now that you know more about what sales prospecting is and why it matters, it’s time to discuss the most effective sales prospecting techniques for you and your team.
Listed below are the top 21 sales prospecting techniques you can implement… starting today!
An ideal customer profile or ICP provides you with a clear picture of who makes up your target audience and the kind of person you’re communicating with when you reach out via phone, email, etc.
When developing ideal customer profiles for your business, be as specific as possible. Focus on the person’s gender, average age, their position at their company, their pain points, and how your business’s products or services can resolve them.
Warm calls focus on people who have previously shown an interest in what you’re selling. Maybe they’ve shared their phone number with you via the form on your website?.
Warm calls tend to be more productive than cold calls (which involve reaching out to people who know nothing or next to nothing about your business).
After all, the person on the other end has already said “yes” to something regarding your business, making them more inclined to say yes again.
Personalisation will help your prospecting emails stand out from the sea of generic messages the average person has to sift through each day.
There are lots of ways that you can personalise emails too, like using catchy email subject lines. For example, you can include a specific name, mention an item they’ve purchased previously, wish them a happy birthday, etc.
These simple touches make a big difference and increase the likelihood that the recipient will engage with your business instead of sending your message straight to the trash bin.
Social selling on LinkedIn is one of the most powerful prospecting tools on the internet, especially when it comes to business-to-business or B2B prospecting. For example, you can use LinkedIn to send direct messages to people who follow your business or have engaged with your posts previously.
You can also join LinkedIn groups, which allow you to connect with people who are interested in topics that are relevant to your business and create natural opportunities for you to share valuable resources in a non-salesy way.
Networking and sales prospecting online or by phone are helpful. However, it’s also helpful to meet with people face-to-face.
Trade shows, conferences, seminars, and other networking events give you a chance to put faces to names and foster more personal connections. You can also swap contact information, make arrangements to meet up in the future, and get a better sense of how someone feels about your business’s products or services.
Check out these tips for improving the quality of your leads at an exhibition.
Why not leverage your existing satisfied customers and utilise them to help you build relationships with other potential buyers?
Asking for Referrals is a powerful tool that can help you connect with others who could benefit from your products or services.
Because they’re learning about your business from someone they trust, they’re also more likely to trust and engage with you – and eventually convert to paying customers.
You don’t have to go through the sales process alone. Sometimes, partnering with another brand with products or services that complement yours (known as co-selling) can help you expand your reach and connect with more people who can benefit from what you’re selling.
Because you’re associated with a brand they already know and trust, they will also be more likely to engage with and invest in your brand.
You also don’t have to do everything manually. If you’re intimidated by the idea of sales prospecting and worried about how you’re going to find time to reach out to so many different people, keep in mind that a variety of tools exist that can help you automate aspects of the prospecting process.
These tools can help with email personalisation, gathering contact information, ranking leads, and much more. Use technology to your advantage so you have more time to focus on other critical elements of sales prospecting and customer conversion.
While nobody wants to sound as though they’re reading from a script when they’re making a phone call, there is power in taking the time to create a script and highlighting key talking points before you reach out to a prospective customer.
When you have a detailed script to work from, it’s easier to get to the point faster and deliver your message in a way that is more likely to win over a prospect (and prevent them from hanging up the phone on you).
If you establish authority and make it clear that you know what you’re talking about, you’ll have an easier time building lead engagement and encouraging prospective customers/clients to invest in what you’re selling.
Look for ways to become a thought leader in your industry.
For example, you can write and share blog posts answering questions that your ideal customers are likely asking. You can also create other types of informational content, such as white papers, eBooks, videos, and infographics.
Webinars are also helpful for establishing thought leadership, sharing useful information, and connecting with members of your target audience.
Consider hosting a virtual sales meeting over a webinar, covering a topic that your audience is likely to be interested in (you could even share a poll on social media and let people vote on the topic, which further encourages engagement).
Include a Q&A portion at the end so you can address concerns, build deeper relationships, and plant seeds for future attempts at connection.
Sales prospecting isn’t something you can do sporadically – at least if you want it to be effective. Instead of doing random bouts of prospecting here and there, make it a regular part of your schedule.
Set aside blocks of time specifically dedicated to prospecting activities, such as sending emails, making warm calls, and creating content that helps to establish thought leadership.
If you do it consistently, you’ll be more likely to see progress and achieve your sales goals!
Pay attention to what your competitors are doing when it comes to sales prospecting.
Do they spend a lot of time on their email list and communicating virtually, for example? Or do they regularly attend trade shows and in-person events?
Take note of what seems to be working for your competitors and what they’re not doing that you can start doing!
If you can fill in a gap, you can reach a segment of your target audience that they might not be reaching, which gives you an advantage.
If you’re struggling to come up with information to share in your email newsletter or cold emails, consider including videos that take people behind the scenes of your business.
People like to know about the folks behind a company’s messages and what they do day to day.
If you share content that informs the recipient about your processes or the people who handle various aspects of the business (such as customer support), you can start building relationships and help people feel more connected to your products or services.
Reviews and testimonials are popular examples of social proof. Social proof is similar to referrals in that it helps you build trust with your target audience and show prospective customers what they can expect if they decide to work with you.
Include reviews and testimonials in your emails, blog posts, videos, and website content so people can easily see what others have to say about your products or services.
No matter how carefully you craft an email message or write a script for a warm phone call, it’s unlikely that you’ll convert someone on the first attempt.
People often require multiple messages or calls before they decide to move forward and become paying customers. That’s why it’s so important to follow up regularly.
Don’t give up the first time you hear, “no,” or “not right now.” Be persistent (without being a pest, of course) until you manage to close the deal.
If you reach out after a trigger event, the recipient may be more likely to hear you out and invest in what you’re selling.
Here are some examples of trigger events to watch for:
Consider setting up Google alerts for businesses you’d like to sell to. That way, you can be informed as soon as a major trigger event occurs and can reach out promptly.
From Facebook and LinkedIn, to X (Twitter) and Instagram, there are tons of social media platforms you can use to connect with your target audience, get them interested in your products or services, and develop stronger relationships.
It’s not enough to be present on social media. You also have to be social. Join groups, respond to comments, share blog posts and other valuable content.
Make sure you’re not only selling on social media, either. Make a genuine effort to get to know and help others. They will remember that and think more positively of your business in the future!
When you’re writing scripts for cold calls or drafting an email, make sure you end with the next steps you’re going to take.
For example, you might ask for a date when you can reach back out for another conversation or invite them to schedule a video call through the scheduling link on your website (and include that link at the end of the email).
Ending with specific next steps helps to prevent confusion and increases the likelihood that you can keep the conversation going.
If you end on a vague note, the person on the other end might forget about you, even if they are genuinely interested in what you’re offering.
Discovery questions help to encourage ongoing communication and build strong relationships.
Instead of asking questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no,” ask questions that encourage the person on the other end to open up and share more information about themselves.
You can then use this information to create solutions that are tailored specifically to that person (and if they receive unique, customised solutions, they’ll be more inclined to become paying customers).
There are six principles of persuasion:
Lead generation plays an important role in sales prospecting because it is the first step in identifying people who have the potential to become prospects.
Lead generation strategies involve finding people who match your target market and may be interested in your products or services. Sales prospecting takes qualified leads and focuses on building stronger relationships with them to encourage them to continue moving through the sales process.
You can use a variety of sales prospecting tools to automate and enhance your team’s process.
Here are some of the best sales prospecting tools to add to your arsenal:
Looking to implement a CRM system into your sales strategy but not sure what one to go with? Check out our blog on Competitors & Alternatives To Salesforce to help you find the right fight.
In addition to using the techniques and tools shared in this guide, you can also improve your sales prospecting approach by utilising these tips and tricks:
Don’t forget about the power of personalisation. When people feel that they’re being addressed directly – instead of being sent a generic, one-size-fits-all message – they’re more likely to respond positively and engage with you now and in the future.
Look for opportunities to personalise whenever possible, whether you’re writing a script for a call or drafting a direct message to send on LinkedIn.
Many of the tools listed in the previous section offer valuable metrics that can help you figure out what’s working and what isn’t. Pay attention to the data and use it to refine your prospecting strategy.
Don’t just throw things at the wall and wait for them to stick. Be intentional and data-driven.
Ratings help you prioritise leads and determine which people to spend the most time reaching out to and communicating with. For example, you can use high, medium, and low rankings to classify people based on how likely they are to respond to your messages, engage in conversation, etc.
Don’t limit yourself to one type of sales communication. A mixed approach that combines email and phone messages is more likely to help you win over your prospective customers or clients.
Remember that it takes multiple attempts at reaching out before you can convert someone to a paying customer or client. If your attempts are too close together or far apart, though, you may impede your chances of conversion. Here’s a good framework to follow:
At this point, you can answer questions like “What is prospecting in sales?” and “What are the best sales prospecting techniques?” with ease. Now it’s time to put it into practice! Use the information shared in this blog to enhance your sales prospecting process and produce better results!
If you want to learn more about how you can level up your sales processes, check out our Sales Training Courses today.
The Advanced Sales Training Course is an excellent resource for teams that want to improve their approach to lead generation, prospecting, closing the deal, and everything in between.
Happy selling!
Sean
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training
Updated on: 13 December, 2023
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