Shifting the focus of your prospecting from quantity to quality - Part Two

Hello Sales Reset Community

Effective prospecting is the essential starting point of your sustained selling success.

At the start of the week, we looked at why it’s time to move away from “Spray and Pray” prospecting. Instead, what’s needed is QUALITY prospecting, not merely QUANTITY of prospecting.

We outlined some significant assumptions about your prospecting:

1. Time: You’ve budgeted enough time for prospecting.

2. ICP: You’ve clarified your ideal customer profile (ICP).

3. Organisations: You’ve identified enough organisations that fit your ICP.

4. Contacts: You’ve found the people in these organisations you need to approach through research on their websites, LinkedIn, and elsewhere.

5. Approach Methods: You’re skilled in the full range of ways to approach prospects:

And we suggested some topics for research about your prospects on LinkedIn, on their websites, social media accounts and in your CRM records:

• Current Priorities: In researching this person, what have you learned about their likely top priorities and how you might help?

• Insights: What market or sector-specific insights can you share that they might find valuable?

• Stories: What stories and experiences can you share from your other customers that this prospect might find valuable?

• Outcomes: What evidence can you share about the reported outcomes other customers have achieved with your products and services?

• Access: What access can you give them to thought leaders and subject matter experts?

• COACHING: Here’s the very best value you can bring. At Sales Reset, we believe that coaching customers is the most powerful selling skill you can develop. From what you’ve learned in your research, how can you coach this prospect to work out something valuable for themselves?

What will your prospect find most valuable as you make your approach?

You already know the importance of first impressions. First impressions enable busy people to make fast decisions.

Will your prospect accept or reject your approach?

Now’s the time to put all your research to good use.

From all your research, what is the single thing that will be most valuable to this prospect?

Whatever method you choose to approach each prospect, start with what they will find most valuable.

And that’s almost certainly not talking about what you‘re selling!!

When you’re approaching prospects, here are the practical implications of first impressions:

• Email or LinkedIn InMail Subject Line:

  • Your prospect will decide whether or not to open based on the subject line.

  • Your subject line should focus on what they will find most valuable.

  • Your research should tell you what they might find most valuable from buying from you.

  • Remember: as few words as possible!

• Phone Call Positioning Statement:

  • Your positioning statement is what you say when calling a prospect after you’ve got their permission to speak if the call is unexpected.

  • Before making the call, practice sharing what this person will likely find most valuable, effectively and succinctly.

  • And practice the question you’ll ask to get them talking!

I’m looking forward to hearing about your prospecting success with these ideas!

What have we missed that should be included in future Weekly Sales Reset newsletters?

We hope your week is going really well!

The Sales Reset Team

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