{"id":1828,"date":"2023-07-06T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-06T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wiza.co\/blog\/?p=1828"},"modified":"2023-06-19T20:03:32","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T20:03:32","slug":"a-beginners-guide-to-sales-prospecting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wiza.co\/blog\/a-beginners-guide-to-sales-prospecting\/","title":{"rendered":"A beginner\u2019s guide to sales prospecting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hiredna.com\/40-of-salespeople-say-prospecting-is-the-most-difficult-part-of-the-sales-process-heres-what-to-do-about-it\/\">Forty percent<\/a> of salespeople say it&#8217;s even tougher to get prospects to respond now than in the past. That can make the whole idea of sales prospecting even more daunting to someone new to the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brushing up on the best way to do sales prospecting can help you get more responses. Keep this guide handy as you build a better and more effective approach to sales prospecting in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>The foundation of sales prospecting: The ideal customer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Targeting outreach efforts is important for success. To that end, you need to know who to contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taking a few minutes to define your \u201cideal customer\u201d is always a smart move. Create a profile for this perfect customer. What rank do they hold in their company? What does that company do? Above all, ask what pain points they\u2019re trying to solve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you have a clear picture of this customer, it becomes easier to find them \u201cin the wild.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Set up your toolkit<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your next step is building a toolkit to find, qualify, and reach out to prospects with ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today\u2019s salespeople have <a href=\"https:\/\/wiza.co\/blog\/prospecting-tools\/\">tons of options<\/a> to help them with every step of the sales process. What\u2019s key to have in your toolkit? Consider these tech tools:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A CRM, to keep track of contacts and touches<\/li><li>A lead qualification tool, to evaluate potential prospects<\/li><li>A lead verification tool, to help you contact the right people<\/li><li>Automation tools, to assist with sending emails and texts<\/li><li>Scheduling tools, to make setting up appointments simple<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>There are other tools too, like the phone. Don\u2019t make the mistake of overlooking this key prospecting tool!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Do your research (and qualify leads)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most salespeople spend <a href=\"https:\/\/financesonline.com\/sales-statistics\/\">17% of their time<\/a> involved in research. This makes sense, because good research means you\u2019re going to contact people who want to hear what you have to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember the ideal customer you dreamed up at the outset of your prospecting. Now\u2019s the time to go looking for prospects that match this profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can start by thinking about industries that need your product or service. Then you can narrow the search by looking in a geographic region, with a certain number of employees, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Qualifying Prospects<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The next step in this process is to qualify your prospects. This is probably the most important step in the entire sales prospecting process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why is it so important? Qualifying your prospects creates a sort of ranking. It offers insight into who is most likely to open your emails or schedule a meeting. It will also show you which prospects are least likely to turn into a sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Qualification can also include verification. Is the person you\u2019re reaching out to who you think they are? Do they hold any sway in the decision-making process? A common sales mistake is contacting too low-level prospects, who don&#8217;t have much say in buying decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you <a href=\"https:\/\/wiza.co\/blog\/linkedin-email-finder-chrome-extension\/\">find an email address<\/a> for someone, you want to make sure it\u2019s up to date. Verifying contact information lets you know you have the right email address or phone number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Review the buying cycle<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Only around 5% of your target market will be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketingweek.com\/ehrenberg-bass-linkedin-b2b-buyers\/\">ready to buy<\/a> at any given time. Rushing into someone\u2019s inbox with a \u201cbuy now!\u201d message will turn most of your prospects off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taking the time to understand where someone is in the buying cycle lets you reach out with the right message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One common buyer frustration is that salespeople don\u2019t provide the right information when they need it. If you know where the buyer is on their journey, you have a chance to change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Get the messaging right before you reach out<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you\u2019ve qualified all your prospects, ranking them from \u201cmost likely\u201d to \u201cleast likely.\u201d You also understand where they are in the buying cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With all this information in hand, you can craft customized messages for different prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tech tools can help here too. Someone might have made <a href=\"https:\/\/wiza.co\/blog\/perfect-recruiting-email-template\/\">message templates<\/a> you can use to reach out to prospects at different stages. Other tools will help you keep track of when and how often a prospect has been contacted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t forget to personalize the message before sending it as well. After all, <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@bloominari\/13-best-ways-to-personalize-your-email-marketing-to-increase-open-and-click-rate-33b0f3e4ad11\">personalization boosts email open rates<\/a> by 26%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Pick a Channel, Any Channel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s also crucial to decide what channel you\u2019ll use for prospect outreach. There are plenty of different factors at play, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The prospect\u2019s age<\/li><li>Whether someone has contacted them before<\/li><li>Activity levels on social media<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Picking the right channel can change the story on open rates and response rates. If one channel isn\u2019t working, don\u2019t be afraid to switch it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Tips for better prospecting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve looked at the process for sales prospecting, which is a solid foundation to work from. What can you do to power up your prospecting skills?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Clean up old Contacts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve inherited a list of potential prospects from another salesperson or bought a static list, there\u2019s a high chance there will be duplicate entries and outdated information. The right tool can <a href=\"https:\/\/wiza.co\/email-verification?utm_campaign=wiza_blog&amp;utm_medium=header_link&amp;utm_source=wiza_blog&amp;utm_term=page%2F5\">clean those contacts up<\/a>, saving you time and effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Align with Marketing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The marketing team often has materials that can be useful to you as you reach out to prospects. They may also have insight on prospects, including data on which leads are \u201chot\u201d and which will take more time to nurture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Be Ready to Follow Up<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Prospects often need multiple touches before they come on board. In fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/acumen.sg\/60-percent-of-customers-say-no-four-times-before-saying-yes\/\">60% of buyers<\/a> will say \u201cno\u201d at least 4 times before they say \u201cyes.\u201d Meanwhile, salespeople often give up after just one message. Don\u2019t write a prospect off\u2014be prepared to follow up instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Leverage the Power of Lookalikes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If your company has existing customers, look at their profiles. Then seek out prospects with similar profiles. \u201cLookalikes\u201d are more likely to be interested in what you have to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Prospecting the Modern Way<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gone are the days of opening the phone book and cold-calling every company listed there. In our data-rich world, sales prospecting has never been easier. The keys are to qualify prospects and match your messaging to their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With these tips in hand\u2014and the right tools at your fingertips\u2014you\u2019ll be old hat at sales prospecting in no time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Forty percent of salespeople say it&#8217;s even tougher to get prospects to respond now than in the past. That can make the whole idea of sales prospecting even more daunting to someone new to the job. Brushing up on the best way to do sales prospecting can help you get more responses. Keep this guide [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A beginner\u2019s guide to sales prospecting - Wiza Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As getting buyers to reply gets even tougher, it\u2019s important to do sales prospecting right. 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