Talk the Talk: Prospecting

Quote:
“40% of salespeople say prospecting is the most challenging part of sales”
Source : https://blog.hubspot.com

New communications skills are constantly emerging. They can be practiced and developed to engage with potential new customers and building stronger relationships with existing customers.

Let’s look at prospecting. Sales prospecting kick-starts the sales process: the more prospects, the more opportunities are realised to increase your ratios for closing a sale. It can be challenging, but commitment to effective prospecting requires resilience and tenacity.

Successful sales teams, however, need to learn that the complex game of prospecting has changed, and old prospecting strategies are no longer resonating as customer needs change.

Prospect targeting has become more complex because customers independently research solutions across a more comprehensive array of social platforms. As a result, they are more discerning and searching for value and trust. Buyers can control their buying process by accessing more information about products or services than ever before. They have done their homework before their very first sales interaction.

Quote:
“80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls after a meeting, and 44% of salespeople give up after the first follow-up call”

Source : According to a study by Brevet

Thorough research is needed to understand the buyer’s needs. Many sales professionals need more of not only the right skills but also the right mind-set for effective prospecting. Prospectors must be highly skilled, resilient, and ‘rejection proof.’ They must overcome complex challenges and be willing to perform uncomfortable challenges putting newly learned skills into practice. They must understand what it takes to self-lead and be competent, capable, and compliant while learning time management and critical thinking skills.

Therefore, it is imperative that sales teams communicate effectively to present the right solutions at the right time. With each interaction, they continue learning to listen, understand and assess a customers’ requirements to uncover benefits and link them to clients’ needs. They must know how to present comparable case studies, with related features and benefits, to build and expand on their value proposition.

A well-trained sales professional recognises transactional selling and the value of consultative selling while being customer-centric and knowing their audience while demonstrating curiosity and empathy. Adopting a customer-centric approach develops a deeper understanding of what it takes to identify and understand customer pain points, behaviours, and preferences rather than solely on their goals.