09 Sep Prospecting, the first step in a sales process
Prospection, or should we say, finding (potential) customers, is a fase in the sales process, that is well-known by every entrepreneur, manager, sales manager or seller. But how does one start making a prospection list? What is important? Which conditions must the prospects in your list meet? Check this blog article for more details and information.
How to start prospecting?
Finding customers is a challenge; finding the right customers is a talent. Every company is depending on its customer base. To keep this base as healthy as possible and to provide it with sufficient growth potential, it is important to prospect. But where do you start?
First of all it is important to know who is in your current customer base. A CRM-system (Customer Relationship Management) could be a useful tool to make sure you get a quick and clear overview of the history of every client. When did he last order something? What was his budget? When was his last call? Where is the corporate seat located? These could all be important questions when it is time to make a new appointment with your customer.
Your CRM-system clearly indicates whether or not your customer data are properly maintained. It also gives you a good idea of which customer is responsible for what turnover. You may have heard about Pareto’s principle, 20% of your customers, after all, ensures 80% of your turnover. Once you have gathered all this information, it is time to get started on a new prospect list.
Create a list of your prospects
To make a prospect list that meets your needs you should first determine (your) important parameters. In which region would you like to prospect? Should the companies you wish to contact be active in certain sectors? You must ask yourself plenty of questions to obtain the most optimal list.
When you can no longer see the forest for the trees or you don’t really know which criteria are more important, a few handy online tools can help you. One of those tools for b2b prospection is the renewed Trends Top ProspectFinder.
Through an extensive selection of personal criteria, ProspectFinder allows you to make your own prospection lists. These lists can be sorted and exported, contacts and most important fields included.
Discover ProspectFinderA few pointers for prospection
Point 1: Prospecting is done best on a good day
One day you feel better than the next. Potential clients will feel your bad mood and you will scare them off unknowingly. Smile during your telephone conversation and it will give positive vibes.
Point 3: Search for the perfect elevator pitch
This is important for telephone calls (cold calling) as well as face-to-face conversations. Is your time limited? Give a brief and powerful resume of who you are, what you do and what you can mean for the other party. Afterwards the conversation will run smoother and your interlocutor can make a better estimation of the topic of conversation.
Point 2: Prepare yourself and compose a good prospecting file
To draw up a good prospecting file is easy with an online tool like the Trends Top ProspectFinder. It is important to keep track of all the conversations with your prospects in a CRM-system in order to save yourself a huge amount of time and work.
