Finding the best prospects for your product is one of the most important skills for sales development. You want to focus your time and energy on the people who are most likely to buy from you, not waste it on chasing leads that are not qualified, interested, or ready. But how do you identify and reach out to the best prospects for your product? Here are some tips to help you.
Before you start looking for prospects, you need to have a clear idea of who your ideal customer is. An ideal customer profile (ICP) is a description of the type of company or person that benefits the most from your product, has the budget and authority to buy it, and has a problem or need that your product can solve. You can create your ICP by researching your existing customers, analyzing your market, and interviewing your sales team. Your ICP should include demographic, firmographic, behavioral, and psychographic criteria that help you segment and target your prospects.
You may find several ICPs that fit your criteria. Start by prioritizing customer segments based on: - Ease of access (through existing sales channels) - The straightforwardness of their buying processes - Your strengths and differentiators compared to existing competing solutions Initially, focus on the ICP(s) that you expect will yield greater outcomes with less effort.
Once you have your ICP, you need to find prospects that match it. You can use multiple sources to build your prospect list, such as online databases, social media, referrals, events, webinars, blogs, podcasts, and more. The key is to use sources that are relevant, reliable, and updated. You also want to diversify your sources to avoid relying on one channel or method. You can use tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, Hunter, or LeadIQ to help you find and verify prospects' contact information.
Not all prospects are equal. Some may be more ready, willing, and able to buy from you than others. That's why you need to qualify your prospects before reaching out to them. Qualifying your prospects means assessing their fit, interest, and urgency based on your ICP and your product's value proposition. You can use frameworks like BANT (budget, authority, need, and timeline) or GPCTBA/C&I (goals, plans, challenges, timeline, budget, authority, consequences, and implications) to help you qualify your prospects. You can also use tools like HubSpot or Outreach to help you score and prioritize your prospects.
Once you have a qualified prospect list, you need to craft personalized and value-driven messages to reach out to them. Your messages should be tailored to each prospect's situation, pain points, goals, and preferences. You should also highlight how your product can help them solve their problems or achieve their desired outcomes. You should use multiple channels and touchpoints to communicate with your prospects, such as email, phone, social media, video, or text. You should also use tools like Vidyard, Loom, or Calendly to help you create and send engaging and interactive messages.
The last step is to follow up and nurture your prospects until they are ready to move to the next stage of the sales process. You should follow up with your prospects regularly and consistently, but not too frequently or aggressively. You should also provide them with relevant and valuable content, such as case studies, testimonials, white papers, or webinars, to educate them and build trust and credibility. You should also use tools like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, or HubSpot to help you automate and track your follow-up and nurturing campaigns.
Finding the best prospects for your product is not easy, but it is essential for sales development success. By following these tips, you can improve your prospecting skills and generate more qualified leads for your sales pipeline.