The 9 Best Sales Prospecting Tips And Techniques You Can Do Now

In this post, you’ll learn about the most effective sales prospecting tips that’ll help you attract bigger clients, close more deals, and increase your net profit. Read on to find out more.

RELATED: Five Myths Of Prospecting

In this article:

1. Qualify Your Leads
2. Create a Script
3. Don’t Sell Right Off the Bat
4. Do Follow-Up Calls
5. Take Sales Prospecting Seriously
6. Use Social Media to Your Advantage
7. Use Videos in Your Emails
8. Become a Subject Matter Expert
9. Always Try to Connect Again

9 Effective Sales Prospecting Tips to Close More Deals

1. Qualify Your Leads

Cold calling is not really a popular sales tactic these days. You spend hours and hours every day dialing hundreds of numbers, hoping to close one or two deals.

This isn’t efficient, which is why the first of our sales prospecting tips is to qualify your leads.

In the past, salespeople had very few ways of researching their prospects, so they had no choice but to randomly call numbers and knock on people’s houses. But today, the Internet allows us to qualify and narrow down leads so we don’t have to contact every single prospect in our database.

For example, if you have a list of 100 leads, take some time to qualify each prospect and narrow down the list. That way, you don’t have to waste time convincing someone to buy when they’re obviously not ready to.

The reality is, not everyone around you is a prospect. To solve this issue, utilize technology to qualify your leads.

2. Create a Script

If you’ve seen the true-to-life film The Wolf of Wall Street, you’d know how important sales scripts are. In fact, its protagonist Jordan Belfort emphasizes that the success of his firm heavily relied on his powerful, convincing, and thought-provoking sales scripts.

Sales scripts give a sense of uniformity for sales teams when prospecting. Sales leaders will find it easier to discover what works and what doesn’t when everyone is following the same script.

For individual salespeople, it saves them from awkward pauses and dead air. If you find yourself rambling whenever you’re nervous, you might want to stick to your script.

3. Don’t Sell Right Off the Bat

Let’s face it, consumers don’t like salespeople. A lot of them have a notion that behind every sales call is a sleazy, smooth-talking guy that wants to rob them of their money.

So, if you start selling to them right off the bat, you’ll immediately put them off and decrease the chances of you closing the deal. With that in mind, remember to prioritize your goals when sales prospecting.

Before you start selling your brand, you need to build a good relationship with your client first. Gain their trust, learn more about them, ask about their problems, and only then can you begin pitching.

4. Do Follow-Up Calls

One good way to show professionalism is to call them back at the exact time you said you would. This shows the prospect that you’re actually serious about building a relationship with them.

Also, make sure to update your prospects on whatever they need to know. Make sure to tell them if their order has proceeded, there were any troubles, or you need to confirm some details.

Note: By this time, you should already know what the best time frames are to call them. If not, make sure to send them an email or text before calling.

5. Take Sales Prospecting Seriously

Plenty of salespeople mistake sales prospecting for sales calls. In their attempt to close more deals, they end up getting none.

While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to sell to more clients, you should know when the right time to sell is. So with that in mind, make sure to free up some time for sales prospecting.

By doing so, you’ll end up with a list of highly qualified leads who are ready to buy. Compared to calling random numbers all day, this is definitely a more energy-efficient process.

RELATED: LinkedIn InMail For Sales — How To Get More Pipeline With Social

6. Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Social media allows salespeople to do in-depth research on their prospects. This will help in finding out more about the prospect’s job, hobbies, family life, and interests, among others.

After getting those pieces of information, a salesperson can have a clearer idea of what the company can offer. Aside from using calls and emails for sales prospecting, it’ll also be useful to learn how to use various social media channels.

7. Use Videos in Your Emails

Some salespeople avoid email marketing because they feel it’s no longer relevant, but in reality, they’re probably just not doing it right.

The number one rule when sales prospecting is to engage with clients. You can do this by asking questions, giving out freebies, and getting their contact info.

Now, another sales prospecting tool you can use is video.

How can video be used in sales? One example is to record yourself speaking and then send them to your prospects via email.

Compared to a lengthy chunk of text, a small, compact video is definitely more appealing. There’s a larger chance for the prospect to watch a two-minute video of you talking than them having to read a 500-word sales material.

8. Become a Subject Matter Expert

One reason some salespeople can’t close deals is they fail to become a thought leader. Being a subject matter expert certainly goes a long way in making a sale.

For example, if you’re selling life insurance, it’ll be hard to fully convince a client unless the salesperson is seen as a well-versed, reliable, and dependable financial adviser. The same applies to almost every other product or service.

So, during the sales prospecting process, make sure they the prospect knows you’re a subject matter expert. Rather than selling your brand, try to answer all of their questions and inquiries.

This also makes them feel that you’re sincere about helping them find a solution. Become a problem-solving consultant, not a salesperson.

9. Always Try to Connect Again

There’s no guarantee you’ll get to talk to a client again for sales prospecting. In fact, they can just ignore you the next time you call them if they don’t want to talk or if it’s a bad time.

To avoid that, it’s advisable to continuously connect with them. Set up future meetings and sales calls at a time that’s convenient for both of you.

At the end of every call, make sure to wrap up by asking when’s the best time for them to talk to you again. Of course, make sure to have a clear goal in mind every time you make that call.

Note: Remember to ask for a specific date and time. Don’t settle for a vague answer like “this week or next week.”

These are just some of the most effective sales prospecting techniques to apply. Overall, salespeople should learn to determine when the right time is to pitch and to prospect.

While they may be related, you should never confuse the two with each other. Get to know your prospects, learn more about them, understand their pain points, gain their trust, and offer a viable solution.

Do you think these sales prospecting tips will help you when prospecting? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section down below!

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