Prospecting and Sales has not been an area that I have been strong in. I'm embarking on a journey to learn more about Prospecting and Sales. As I go through this journey by reading books and conducting research, I figured I will share my learnings for anyone that could benefit from it. I will continue to update this article as I learn more.
- Always be prospecting - continuous prospecting is critical to keep the sales funnel filled. Prospecting is not something you do when you need to make a sale as the prospecting you do today will only materialize over the next 30 to 90 days.
- Know your numbers - Your metrics will tell you if you are doing good, bad or areas you need to focus on. One of the key numbers to be aware is your success rate. For example, if you connect with 10 prospects and 1 results in a sale, your success rate is 10%. Every time you have a positive outcome, replenish your list of prospects with 10. Every time you have a negative outcome, your funnel should be replenished with 1 prospect. This will ensure there is consistency in your funnel and results.
- Perfectionism don't wait for it! - Perfectionism can become the enemy of progress. It's easy to get stuck wanting your prospecting emails, call scripts or pitch decks be perfect- but they never will be! The only way you'll ever know if something works well enough is by doing it and seeing how people respond. Keep in mind, sometimes silence itself is feedback. You can never know if you're doing something right until it's done. So don't wait for the perfect artifact - just keep iterating! By trying out different versions and listening to any feedback, not only will this help with getting things off on track but also give you an idea about what works best in order produce results. As Wayne Gretzky says, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take". Procrastinating waiting for perfect is guaranteed to get you no where but doing something may get you somewhere!
- Leave a voicemail - The person you are calling may not answer the phone the first time you call for various reasons. If you happen to get their voice mail, leave one! Here are some statistics at a glance. a) 80% of calls go to voicemail. b) The average voicemail response rate is 4.8%. c) Voice mail call back rate: 1st voicemail = 11% callback rate, 2nd voicemail = 22% callback rate, 3rd voicemail = 33% callback rate.
- Block your prospecting time - To ensure your prospecting goals are achieved, carve out specific and uninterrupted blocks of time. Turn off any email or phone notifications so that you can focus on connecting with potential customers without distractions. Once you're finished reaching out, make sure to then take care of any loose ends such as sending follow-up emails and updating your CRM records.
- Evaluate Metrics Down the Funnel - To accurately determine which of your marketing channels are the most effective and efficient, it's crucial to continuously monitor your metrics down the funnel. This means measuring each step of the customer journey and tracking the impact of your campaigns at every stage.
- For instance, let's say you're running advertising campaigns on Facebook Ads and Google Ads. Your funnel could look like this: the number of times your ad is shown, the number of times it's clicked, the number of phone calls you receive, the number of meetings you book, the number of sales you make, and the value of those sales. To get a complete picture of the success of each campaign, make sure to measure all points of the funnel.
- Consider this example: your Facebook ad was shown 1000 times, and your Google Ads campaign was shown 1,000,000 times. Both campaigns had the same budget, but your Facebook campaign drove $10,000 in sales while your Google Ads campaign drove only $1,000 in sales. If you were only looking at the number of times your ad was shown, you might think that Google Ads is driving the most value. However, by measuring all parts of the funnel, you'll see that the Facebook Ads campaign resulted in higher sales.
- By evaluating your metrics down the funnel, you'll be able to identify which channels are generating the most revenue and adjust your strategy accordingly. This will allow you to optimize your marketing efforts and increase your return on investment.
