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Be Scared: The New Sales Game Has No Rules (…and You’re Losing)
Were you ever out on a romantic date with your miserable ex but they kept playing on their phone? You might have tried to lure them back into the conversation with witty jokes or engaging questions, but to no avail. Your ex clearly wasn’t giving you the time of day and by the end of your date, you felt like you wasted every breath.
That’s why you probably broke up in the first place.
That dismal date is a lot like selling without prospecting. Prospecting is a crucial component of any sales strategy and ensures a lead is a good fit for your company.
While clearly you and your ex weren’t a match made in heaven, they can, surprisingly, teach you a thing or two about driving profits.
Here’s what you can learn from your ex to get more sales.
What is Sales Prospecting and What does My Ex Have to Do With It?
It’s a dating game, a game of cat and mouse. Prospects are potential customers, like a date is a potential life-partner. Thus, to put it simply, sales prospecting, like dating for a life-long partner, is the process of identifying, attracting, and contacting your potential prospects. Think of it like turning a fling into a long-term partner.
There are three basic elements to the sales processing plan and well if you’re reading this for dating advice you can use these tips.
- Research: Finding out everything you can about a prospect, including their pain points, needs, and demographics.
- Qualification: Determining if the potential customer is worth pursuing, and, if they are, how to prioritize them. Who wants to waste their time if the lead is a total flop?
- Outreach: Developing personalized pitches for individual prospects to land an in-person meeting.
While prospecting can be tough for some people, it’s essential for expanding your reach.
Why is Prospecting Difficult for Some Salespeople, Like Dating?
Dating can be hard. Just look at your nightmarish ex. But it’s something we all have to do in order to find the love of our lives.
Prospecting is equally important. However, it can cause stress and anxiety in even the most seasoned sales professionals. That’s because it’s a long, hard road to finding “the one.” It takes time, effort, and a ton of follow-up.
Additionally, you’re going to face a lot of rejection. And if you lack insight into your prospect or accidentally say the wrong thing, all of your hard work is for naught.
Your feelings of distress can be magnified if you’re suffering from “fat and happy” syndrome. Salespeople who enjoyed a long winning streak of scoring big deals can sometimes become complacent about finding new potential customers. However, it’s vital to focus on both your existing clients and prospects.
Why Prospecting is Important for the Perfect Match
The sales prospecting process is important for a number of reasons. Namely, the prospecting process allows your business to attract more customers. And, as you already know, more customers lead to higher profits.
The average company loses between 10% and 25% of its customers every year. If the sales team isn’t bringing in fresh meat (no pun intended), the business will start bleeding money fast.
What Are Prospecting Strategies?
You want to keep your job, right? Then it’s important to know what prospecting strategies are and how to use them properly. Prospecting strategies are tricks you can use to turn leads into loyal customers or your date into a loyal companion.
Prospecting should be done from the get-go starting at the tippy-top of the sales funnel. With the right strategies, you can quickly identify quality leads that show the most buying intent. These are the ones you should be going after and prioritizing, unlike your ex who never prioritized you.
5 Actionable Sales Prospecting Techniques
Now that you know what prospecting is, let’s dive into some tips that you’ve already learned from your ex.
1. Create a Prospect Profile
Who is your ideal partner? Do they have brown eyes? Are they funny?
Much like creating a persona of your perfect partner, you need to develop a profile of the perfect prospect. This involves a lot of research, including learning about their interests, desires, and pain points.
Take a look at your past clients and their journey through the buying cycle. Notice any similar attributes or habits? Find prospects with the same characteristics.
2. Pay Attention
You hated when your ex ignored you. Don’t do this to your prospects. When initially reaching out to them, really listen to what they have to say. Whether you contact them via email, social media, or the phone, it’s imperative to learn if they’re a good fit for the products and services your company offers. This means listening to them and understanding their wants, needs, and goals.
3. Convince Them You’re “The One”
Your ex wasn’t “the one” for you. But unlike them, you have to convince your prospects that you’re the one they want and need. This means demonstrating that you understand and can alleviate their pain points.
Instead of blindly pitching to them, back up your statements with real, applicable data and testimonials. Show them that you’re “the one.”
4. Get Your Timing Right
Your ex was probably always late to everything. Or were they clingy and never went away? When prospecting leads, timing is everything.
While a prospect might be interested in your services, they don’t want to receive one billion emails from you in a day. Likewise, they don’t want you to ghost them. Striking the perfect balance of timing and consistency will land you more sales.
5. Personalization
Did your ex buy you generic gifts that weren’t relevant to your hobbies or passions? It was a major turnoff, right? Personalization is important when it comes to prospecting. It increases your chances of closing a deal.
Be sure to always customize your messages and marketing to your prospect’s unique pain points. You should also continuously refine your approach by testing several outreach cadences.
Don’t Be Your Ex
When it comes to sales prospecting, don’t be your ex. Pay attention, personalize your communication, and get your timing right.
Need more help? We’re more than happy to be your wing(wo)man. Use our tools to keep track of your prospects and streamline your contact management systems. Try RocketReach’s free Advanced search tool today.
