For many experts, B2B sales prospecting is a crucial part of the sales process. Despite being a practical and straightforward process, research on sales statistics shows that 50% of the valuable time is wasted in unproductive and useless prospecting.
Every sales process is measured by two factors – Time and Numbers. Inefficient prospecting leads to time-wasting as well as poor B2B lead generation.
Many sales representatives still engage in outdated and ineffective techniques, which remains the leading cause of unqualified B2B leads. Proper sales prospecting techniques and focus can help you find better sales leads to engage with your company and potentially convert as a customer.
Here are seven prospecting techniques every salesperson should be aware of to boost B2B lead generation and achieve maximum return on investment.
1. Warm-Up Your Cold Calls
Cold calls and emails constitute an outbound approach where the salesperson initiates a conversation with unknown people. However, the initial contact with new leads shouldn’t be completely cold. Practice the inbound approach of B2B prospecting, which is a friendly approach to prospecting.
Inbound B2B prospecting enables you to build a relationship with new prospects who wish to engage with the company. Approach your subscribers, previous customers, or shared connections as new prospects.
During the initial contact, try to introduce yourself to the potential B2B prospect using your name and organization, and provide friendly, human elements to establish a healthy conversation.
This will familiarize the new prospect with your brand and make the foundation for a good relationship with the potential customer. The friendlier your cold calls are, the more productive they’ll become.
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2. Represent Yourself as an Expert
Showing that you have in-depth knowledge of a particular topic is essential for convincing new leads that you have something to offer. You must have all the information and explain it to new prospects in a way that makes you sound like you know what you are talking about.
Establish credibility and trust by representing yourself as an expert. You can do this by creating your own blog, writing guest articles, and getting featured in community events.
This process also helps establish a connection with new leads, as they will already be familiar with your name and think of you as an expert in the field.
3. Be a Trusted Source
To be a successful salesperson, you need to do much more than sell. You have to establish yourself as a support to your clients.
If you encourage them to come to you with any questions after the purchase, they will think of you as a solution provider rather than just another salesperson, which will result in more referrals. Use these referrals when meeting new prospects.
Never just disappear after making a sale. Assure your prospect that you are always available to help and to maintain a healthy relationship with your customers.
4. Use Twitter
Twitter chat is a great place where people come together to discuss certain topics or trends, connecting over their interests using hashtags. You can use these public conversations to find B2B leads.
Use unique hashtags to reflect and promote your brand or product. Twitter chats are another channel to engage your prospects through hashtags. To keep the hashtag active, come up with new topics to discuss and invite experts to share their thoughts. This is also an excellent way to reach out to the followers of such experts.
5. Don’t Sell
B2B business prospecting might be the first step of selling, but its primary goal is not to initiate a sale. In this process, all possible leads which get qualified enter the sales funnel. In prospecting, the primary focus should be establishing a relationship and familiarising the potential customer with the brand.
The processes of sales should begin with building foundations. Selling too quickly may make the customer feel pressured, and if they feel pressured, they will turn down the offer. Begin by creating trust and making your customer feel comfortable. Wait for the right moment before you start selling.
Furthermore, don’t get too aggressive during a sale.
Salespeople are known for their aggressive attitude, and that’s what people hate about them. Aggressive prospecting techniques make a potential customer nervous, resulting in a refusal of the offer. Remember to keep calm and avoid being pushy.
6. Host Webinars
Webinars can be a great source of B2B lead generation. They are an effective way to generate leads because the people at the webinar have already expressed their interest in the topic by attending. A webinar is a great place to sell your products and services through suggestive selling.
When you host a webinar, you are taking on the role of an educator. Discuss problems and issues with your audience and suggest your product as one of the potential solutions.
You can continue by conducting a poll among your audience, asking them if anyone would like to schedule a demo or learn more about the company or the product.
7. Engage in Networking Events
Networking events are one of the most direct techniques of B2B prospecting. At a networking event, everyone is already open to making new contacts, so conversion is quite common there.
The first step is to find a good event and conduct a proper study of those attending. Get the information about the topics covered and their relevance to your brand or product. If the events sound relevant, show up, and generate new B2B leads.
