Back to prospecting.  My first post on this site was about prospecting.  It basically acknowledged that prospecting is hard work, that few want to do, but is also critically important and ultimately rewarding.  Two years later nothing has changed (BTW, in 200 years nothing will have changed).  But it’s so frustrating!  How do you reach people?  No one answers their phone these days!  One response is: Tough.  Prospecting is prospecting.  We’re sales people, it’s what we do.

And that’s part of the answer, but let’s think about it a little more.  If you’re paying attention to the retail world all the buzz these days is about “Omni-channel”; reaching the consumer in multiple ways: eCommerce, bricks and mortar, affiliate marketing, even old school catalogs.  Even Amazon is talking about opening an Apple Store-like facility.  B2C companies are acknowledging that people buy differently and to be a truly successful brand you need to approach them in different ways.

The same is true for selling B2B products.  This means a company should approach the market using a mix of: inbound marketing, outbound marketing/thought leadership, and targeted prospecting.  While it’s the lucky sales person who has so many marketing generated inquiries that they have no time for their own targeted prospecting and that status is usually fleeting! But, if you have a great product you’re doing your customers and your company a disservice if you are not doing your own targeted prospecting. You have something they need to know!

Inbound marketing and outbound/thought leadership are the responsibility of the marketing department.  I’m not saying sales people can’t have a good marketing idea or participate in a marketing activity, but since selling is a team sport make the no-look pass, kick it over to your colleagues and go do your job.

Targeted Prospecting starts with a territory plan that defines what customers already exist in your patch and what companies are there that don’t use your products.  Each day should include dedicated, scheduled time spent reaching out to people that:

1. Have self-identified as part of a marketing campaign (inbound or outbound)
2. You have identified by researching companies that you know should be interested in your solution
3. Are current customers who need to be aware of your latest developments

Common to each of these three prospecting categories is that you have a clear reason for calling and high confidence that the company should want your information.  This is targeted prospecting and targeted prospecting is a state of mind; you are not running a campaign, you are not casting a broad net, you are calling someone with critical information that will help their business.

To illustrate the difference:

1. “Attention shoppers, Bumble Bee all white tuna is now $.39 in aisle six.”
2. “Paging Mr. McGu.  Please come to the customer service desk to retrieve your lost child.”

I think Mr. McGu might be interested in a deal on tuna today, but I know he wants to find his lost child.

If someone enters your targeted prospecting plan, you have done the research and know it’s very important that they hear your message.  If it is that important, you shouldn’t reach out to them only once and you shouldn’t send them generic content.  They should be part of a plan that has multiple touches and gives them multiple opportunities to engage.  Example of a 10 touch plan:

1. Day 1 morning: Personalized email with industry specific content and metrics related to a likely value driver based on industry and company/contact research. Includes a call to action: link to trial/webinar/whitepaper
2. Day 1 afternoon: Call with voicemail highlighting the same content as the email and indicating that you will try to reach them over the next number of days
3. Day 1 late: LinkedIn connection request
4. Day 2: 2^nd call no voicemail
5. Day three morning: 2^nd email with technical or topical industry news pertinent to the value driver. (I saw this and thought of you.)
6. Day three: 3^rd call with voicemail referencing recent email
7. Day 5: 4^th  call no voicemail
8. Day 7: 3^rd email with different targeted content based on a different value driver
9. Day 7: 5th call with voicemail referencing latest content base email
10. Day 9: 6^th Call with message indicating that this is your last call but would be happy to hear from them if a need arises.

People are busy, but they do want to move their businesses forward and they know that outside vendors are likely to be part of the solution.  There are a number of factors that influence how and when they interact and targeted contact from the vendor is one avenue that works, but only one touch rarely works.  There is no such thing as the perfect email, the killer voice mail or the ideal time to call.  In fact, most people want to know a bit about who you are and why you’re calling before they take a call.  And they want a sense that you can add value.  So targeted prospecting must be targeted.

Which brings me to a discussion of time. Targeted prospecting takes time and if you don’t block the time specifically in your calendar and stick to it, you won’t do the consistent job you need to do to be successful.  Sales people tend to work at least 10 hours per day.  If you receive 5 qualified leads per day from marketing (10 touch/6 call program outlined above), you add 5 new contacts per day based on research (10/6 program) and you begin reaching out to 5 customers per day (shorter 6 touch program) you will quickly ramp to 80 dials per day! Plus the email touches, plus the research, just for prospecting.  Obviously, based on data, you can dial the number of touches per contact down or up and change the number of new contacts you start in the process each day or week but two things are critically important:

–          You must devote close to half of your selling time to targeted prospecting
–          When you add someone to a prospecting plan, you must treat them like gold

After all, you know they need your product.

Good luck and good selling!

Please comment.  It would be great to have a conversation about selling and to hear a story or two.  If I don’t reply instantly, feel free to talk amongst yourselves until I get back ;-).

Image by Vince Vassallo via http://vincevassallo.blogspot.ca/