Ten Insights for Better Prospecting Success

Part of every B2B sales person’s job is sales prospecting. It can be a momentum builder for your sales success or a career killer. Let’s look at some key insights for building your prospecting momentum.

1. What’s Changed – The Customer is Smart!  

In today's connected world, the customer may know more about your product and your competitors’ products than you do. They may not always know what they want, but they know about you and your competitors. The days of “winging it” when with the customer are over. Do your customer research and be prepared before you prospect any customer. Being prepared shows you care. Customers are motivated to collaborate with you when you show you are prepared.

2. Customers are Paid to Meet People Like You. 

Your customer has his/her job to solve problems, improve productivity, increase revenue or decrease costs. They must source our new ways to do things to solve this issues. Customers are paid to meet sales people. B2B means business to business. So keep the mindset that you are a business person with possible solutions for the customer, a business person, to solve their problems.

3. Your Attitude is the Difference Maker 

Prospecting demands that you have a resilient attitude. Why? Prospecting may end more in rejection than getting that appointment. So having the attitude of resilience and persistence is crucial. This must be coupled with being secure in yourself as a professional whose mission is to help customers solve problems or be more successful. Never take rejection in prospecting personally. You may find you have to follow up 6-7 times before getting an appointment.

4. Believe in Your Company and Solutions – be an Evangelist. 

When prospecting, customers are sizing you up on your passion for your product and solutions, or, are you just interested in meeting your KPI’s and target. Being an evangelist for your solutions starts with having excellent product/solution knowledge and how it will benefit or help the customer solve problems. Customers are more likely to meet up with people who love helping others succeed by their product solutions.

5. Focus on Customers that Can Use Your Solutions

Determining who your key prospects are is crucial to be successful. Sales guru Brian Tracy says ask yourself these 4 questions before you prospect. Question one: Does the prospect need what you’re selling? Question two: Can the prospect use what you’re selling? Number three: Can the prospect afford the product? And number four: Does the prospect want the product?

6. Timing Helps.

Choosing the time to prospect ups your chances of success. Early morning or later in the day is best. You are more likely to get the the prospect who is a decision maker directly as they usually come is earlier and leave later than their support team or screen. Timing is also affected by when the customer wants to buy. Your research may find urgent business issues or new developments that motivate the customer to buy.

7. Treat the Screen as a Decision Maker. 

Many times sales people want to blow the gate keeper or screen off to get to the “real decision maker.” Screens are also decision makers. They may not be able to say yes to buy, but they certainly can say no to forwarding your call. Treat them with respect and make them your allies.

8. Ask for Referrals.

The most effective prospecting is the result of relationships. Ask your current customers for a referral. If a new prospect turns you down, ask them for a referral to a company that he/she thinks may need your service or solution. Another kind of referral may be to ask for a referral into a different division of the company you already have a relationship. This may lead to a cross sell. The third referral is to have solid relationships with your own company’s customer service, technical or project implementation team. They can be a rich source of information to expand your sales.

9. Make Prospecting a Daily Habit.

For many sales people prospecting seems to be feast or famine. There are days where you are gungho for prospecting and then there are days of prospecting procrastination. The prospecting yoyo is a resilience breaker. Make prospecting research and prospecting by emails and phone calls a daily habit.

10. Track Your Prospecting Activity. 

You may have to use your company’s CRM as part of your prospecting process. You though want to keep your on scorecard of prospecting activity. This way you can see consistencies and trends in your own activity, what leads to success and rejection and to reward yourself when you are successful n getting appointments. Prospecting is a self leadership habit.

Your Prospecting Attitude determines your Sales Success Altitude! Make it part of your Sales DNA, every day!