7 Steps for Prospecting for Net New Business in a Slower Market

The most common conversation I've had over the past couple of weeks is about how to prospect for new net business in a slower market.??

While you might find articles claiming?there is?a magic silver bullet for instant prospecting success, anyone who has ever prospected for net new business knows it can be hard.??

I started my career in sales in the UK during the global financial crisis, which was an interesting economic time to learn the art of sales!??

I'm regularly prospecting to drive Sales Redefined forward and keep my hand in the game,?practice what I preach (as annoying as that is!),?and test what is working most effectively in the real world today (not 10 years ago)!?

It's safe to say most of us are seeing a slower market, so here are my seven go-to steps to keep myself on track:??

1. Mindset?

There's a lot of doom and gloom in the media about redundancies and the cost of living—you know what I'm talking about.??

I wholeheartedly believe sales is a mindset game. When it gets tough, I try to shut out the noise and look for the hidden opportunity in the situation.???

When I interviewed Jacinta McDonnell, co-founder of Anytime Fitness, she told me, "When things get tough, double down on your self-care." ?I will make time for little wins, whether it's the gym or a walk, to keep my morale high.??

A lot of this is often easier said than done, so for me, it's catching myself when I am having a pity party or being negative and not letting myself stay there for long! Just like a toddler, have a tantrum, then crack on!??

2. Double Down?

Thomas Watson of IBM was famous for saying, "If you want to double your success rate, double your failure rate."?This?is especially true in a slower market.??

When prospecting, we easily get?demotivated if we don't see?any?progress; as humans, we are wired for progress. Prospecting in ones and twos means odds are you won't see much success, so it turns into death by a thousand cuts.??

If I normally need 2-3 times my target in the pipeline, in a slower market, I will knuckle down even harder to build 4+ times pipeline vs target.?My goal is?to?build?a?pipeline as fast as possible and avoid a long, drawn-out process; consider it a boot camp-style approach!?

3. Batch Cook?

One of my greatest challenges is that I get easily distracted. I will see an email come in, or I will change focus to another direction.??Therefore, I need structure in my prospecting to stop me from scattergunning and wasting time, I?stay focused?with?a system.??

I find prospecting?in batches the most efficient, grouped by an ideal client with the same problem/opportunity.? I create several templates as a guide to maximise efficiency.??

I want to test different messaging in my first batch to see what works best, so I will have slight variations.?So, in my world, rather than reaching out to different prospects with the goal of building pipeline for different SR services, I might focus just on keynotes for franchise conferences.?I go targeted and specific in my batch.??

4. Personalise and Research?

The highest-performing sellers research and personalise every single time; they do not do cold-blind outreach.?? This approach used to take me hours.?However, now I use tools like Account IQ in LinkedIn Sales Navigator which leverages AI to get the latest insights?on?a company.?I also use tools like Apollo. These tools enable me to?very quickly grasp?of?the prospect's business, priorities, and key contacts.??

I care about the little details.?Do people refer?on their website?to their clients as customers, members, clients, network or community??The little details count.??

5. Time Block?

Attempting to prospect sporadically with 15 minutes between meetings doesn't work for me.?I?time?block as best I can to give myself a clear runway of 2-3 hours. Again, I want enough volume that I will see some progress and little wins to keep me motivated.?I'm aiming to get into a flow state, you could say!??

Another one that works well for me is not having meetings on a Friday (most of the time!), so I can have uninterrupted time.??

The hardest part is sticking to it, so do not allow distractions from email, teams, phones, etc. Use do not disturb, and hold firm on your boundary.??

6. Checkpoint?

Once I've?done?my first batch, I make a quick checkpoint:?What is working,?What is not, What?are the?common challenges and problems I'm hearing, and?can I?spot any themes.??

I will then update my approach and templates based on what I've learned from batch 1. Listen?really?hard to what the market is telling you.??

7. Nurture and Follow-Up?

99% of prospecting fails because people give up too soon. Chet Holmes, author of The Ultimate Sales Machine,?talks about?the need for "pig-headed discipline" to succeed in sales, and I agree.??

80% of sales require five follow-ups or more, and?only 44% of people follow up once.??

We all get busy and forget, so I have to lean into my CRM. I have a dedicated time every Friday for "Follow-up Friday".

Many of us have longer sales cycles, so we must carry on the nurturing process for weeks even months. If only 3% of a target market is ready to buy at any point, we need to be in it for the long game – it's a marathon.??

These?7?steps keep me on track and focused, and I hope they help you do the same. I'd love to hear what you add in the comments below. What works for you???

Do you have an FY25 Sales Kick Off coming up??

Shameless plug - if you have an FY25 sales kick-off, I'd love to help ignite and upskill your sales team for the year ahead. You can book a call with me here!?

“I attended a full day session facilitated by Abbie on sales and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Not only is she relatable and engaging, but her content and all of the learning outcomes were so digestible and able to be interpreted by everyone in the room. If you are needing to reignite the sales energy in your business and get your team focused on the right activities, Abbie is definitely the person to do it.” Jacqui Elliott , Gallagher