Sales prospecting aims to lead potential buyers to your sales funnel and close more deals. First, however, sales representatives must adopt effective prospecting techniques for better and higher sales. 

According to Crunchbase, top sellers seek to spend an average of six hours researching prospects every week. Since more prospects in the pipeline translate into more transactions and revenue, salespeople wish to fill up their funnels with quality leads as quickly as possible. 

However, each prospect progresses through the sales funnel at a different rate, depending on variables such as urgency and level of interest, etc. 

Challenges of Prospecting 

Typically, salespeople overfill their sales pipelines with leads that are unlikely to convert. They often trust their gut about who is more likely to convert and how they should approach them. They need to have a set criterion to qualify leads and prospects.

Unfortunately, such an approach can't work out in today's world. If a salesforce needs to learn to prioritize, they may let good prospects slip through the cracks. 

For many sales reps, prospecting is time-consuming and complex work. That’s why most sales representatives may look for shortcuts or hope for a prospect to fall into their lap. 

Another challenge arises when they need to define the target market. Every business has a TAM or a total addressable market. This market refers to accumulating all potential customers in every country, industry, and hierarchy with sufficient funds to purchase their products.

One of the most critical steps in the prospecting process is drafting a TAM which helps sales teams clarify how they need to structure their campaigns. 

Then there is another challenge that sales representatives face when they experience rejection. So instead of prospecting, they start targeting their best customers. That happens because sales is a mentally-taxing job, and not everyone can survive the cut-throat competition the sales world presents. 

Lastly, salespeople need to target the right buyers. B2B complex solutions are often purchased by a team of six to ten people, according to Gartner. Sales reps should only sometimes aim to target decision-makers because they are rarely part of the earlier stages of solution research. 

Instead, they should target the decision influencers because they are responsible for initial research and serve as end users. In addition, decision influencers provide data to the C-suite that influences purchasing decisions.

What are Different Multi- channels for Outreach?

Here are some of the most effective multi-channels for outreach

Email

Does your sales team still write long, boring emails that add no value to your campaigns? Now is the time to change the way you use email marketing. First, remember to stick to six sentences for every email message. Choose a single concept or a single message for every email. That’s effective because it doesn’t confuse or overwhelm the buyer. 

In addition, clarify all the steps the recipient must take to become a lead. For example, should the prospect book a meeting with your company, answer a question, or buy a product?

Finally, follow up with every prospect. On average, up to five follow-up calls are necessary for closing 80% of sales. Furthermore, A/B testing leads to high CTR and more open rates. 

Social Networking Channels

According to research, sales representatives responding quickly to social media inquiries witness a 9.5% increase in annual revenue. While a wide range of social networking channels is available, prioritize LinkedIn. This social networking platform has more than 260 million users from more than 200 countries. 

One of the best benefits of using LinkedIn for reaching prospects is making contacts and building long-term relationships. Providing valuable information and support to your audience is the key to maintaining a successful presence on this network. Other popular and effective platforms include Twitter and Facebook. 

Here's more you should know about LinkedIn. 

LinkedIn   

LinkedIn reports that nearly 62% of B2B customers respond to salespeople who share relevant insights and content. That’s because they feel such connections can add more value to their business. Hence, one of the best ways to use LinkedIn for prospecting is to share high-quality and valuable content relevant to your niche. 

The platform also reveals a robust correlation between sales representatives with a high social selling index and accomplishing sales goals. For example, a strong social selling index on the platform can increase the chance of reaching quota by 51% and sales opportunities by 45%. 

But here’s another thing you must do if you want your prospects to purchase from this channel: optimize your LinkedIn profile. 

Turn your profile into a sales asset. Make sure it is 100% complete so that when your prospects check your profile, they can contact you quickly. Your profile should look professional. Your profile should give off a professional impression of your business when they do. 

Here are a few more things to do to make the most out of LinkedIn:

• Add a personalized message with your connection request. 

• Join active LinkedIn groups that fit your ICP and actively participate in discussions.

• Add LinkedIn to your email campaign cadence because communication preferences vary among prospects, increasing your visibility.

Content Promotion Platforms 

The most popular platforms for promoting your content include: 

Growth Hackers

The website allows users to upload content related to social media, SEO, or marketing. You can also get access to new ideas, answer questions, or participate in discussions on Growth Hackers. In addition, users can add relevant tags to their posts to help users discover content more easily.

Medium

This content promotion platform allows users to republish their existing content. It could be on any topic so you can share stories from different users. You can read, write, and share your articles on politics, technology, sports, business, social media, etc. 

Quora

Who doesn't know about Quora, one of today's most popular Q&A websites? The forum allows online users from all parts of the globe to ask questions about any topic and get answers. 

Quora can help you drive more traffic to your website and establish your brand’s authority online by sharing your expertise and experiences. 

SMS/Text Messages

Texting potential customers for sales is a breach of policy and a faux pas. But according to research, 42% of commercial text messages are opened, compared to emails. 

So salespeople should pay attention to this critical medium for outreach. SMS and live chat have been excellent tools for initiating business interactions. But never text people without their permission and include clear call-to-actions. In addition, pay attention to your prospects' time zone and avoid using confusing abbreviations. 

Cold calls

Making a cold call refers to getting in touch with a customer or a potential client with whom you’ve never spoken. While salespeople usually perform cold calling through a phone, they can also make contact in person. While this method can be challenging, it is also very profitable. As a result, almost 69% of buyers accept cold calls from new vendors.

One of the benefits is that cold calling enables a sales representative to interact with someone personally rather than communicating through social media or email. In addition, salespeople can receive prompt feedback and conduct follow-up calls without waiting for any responses. 

While scripts are helpful, please don't read them on the phone because it will make your call look robotic. Researching the prospects' company and calling on Wednesdays and Thursdays are a couple of proven tips to make your cold calls more productive. 

Advantages of Using Automation Tools for Prospecting

Now that you know why prospecting is essential and the outreach mediums that can be helpful, let’s delve into the role of automation for successful sales prospecting efforts. 

In today's digital world, we witness how companies across industries digitize their strategies. As a result, automating B2B prospects and adding multi-channel outreach is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Using automation tools can also save SDRs valuable time so they can focus on other essential parts of their sales cycle.

Apart from more revenue, there are numerous benefits to using sales automation software. Here are some of those benefits. 

Enhanced Productivity 

Removing the burden of repetitive and tedious tasks from your sales reps can help them focus more on selling. Automation can take care of all routine tasks helping your sales team to close more clients. Therefore, it leads to better performance and increased productivity. 

Client Satisfaction 

Another significant advantage of automating your sales operations is connecting with customers at the right sales funnel stage.

Automation may help your processes run faster, and your customers feel valued with shorter reaction times. Additionally, it may help you retain satisfied customers for extended periods. 

Faster Sales Cycles  

Automating your routine tasks can help your sales process move swiftly. In addition, automating your processes eliminates human errors, which can often result in frequent or heavy losses. 

Gain more Insights 

Consistent and accurate sales data can help your sales teams identify which operations or procedures need more attention. Automation enables you to measure and simplify reporting metrics while lowering the possibility of human mistakes in your data.

Better Management of your Sales Pipeline

By developing more effective, standardized processes in your sales cycle, you can control the entire health of your sales pipeline. In addition, maintaining a clean pipeline through sales automation helps you accurately predict the return on investment and future possibilities. 

Integrating automation into your sales stack can help in many ways. For example, it enhances customer experience, adds consistency to your cold outreach efforts, and delivers better customer service. Ultimately it results in more business revenue and loyal customers. 

Truebase can save your business countless hours wasted on manual prospecting. Instead, you can create one-on-one personalized messages to convert leads and push your business in the right direction. Now is the time to put prospecting on autopilot and close more deals for more profits. Want to learn more? Request a trial today.