Outbound sales may have lost some of its popularity in recent years, but by no means is it dead \u2013 just evolved \u2013 just evolved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not everyone has large marketing & sales departments with clearly demarcated roles and often, you\u2019ll find, prospecting is a part of your function as a sales professional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You might be unfamiliar with top-of-the-funnel marketing, but it makes a lot of sense \u2013 the more leads or prospects you generate, the greater your chances of meeting your sales goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main problem, of course, is getting people who haven\u2019t expressed any interest in your brand to give you the time of day. So, if you\u2019re unfamiliar with how to generate more prospects or widen the top of your funnel, read on; we\u2019ve got some useful tips and techniques for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knowing your customer and your target audience is step 1 of prospecting. When you\u2019re putting in the effort to find prospects, you want to maximize the chance of them turning into a sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One way to do this is to make note of the 5 biggest clients your company works with and make note of their profiles. Another way \u2013 if you can\u2019t rely on existing customer data \u2013 is to arrange a quick meeting with your company leaders and take notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your ideal customer profile should include the following details-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growing Businesses often find it helpful to use sales CRM software to engage with their prospects, understand their needs and preferences, and in turn create an ideal customer profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did you know B2B buyers consume an average of 13 pieces of content before deciding on a vendor? The leading source of content is the vendor\u2019s website, followed by their social media handles at a close second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now you probably don\u2019t have enough time to generate content yourself, so we suggest two ways to employ this technique-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Share content and write content about new developments or innovations in your industry and share company updates such as case studies. Don\u2019t forget to re-post your company\u2019s LinkedIn updates for added reach!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talk to the leaders in your company about getting everyone \u2013 including them \u2013 to write a blog post every month. Once you have a schedule up and running, it\u2019s simply down to sharing and promoting that content! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eventually, you\u2019ll have enough content that you can start \u2018gating\u2019 the valuable bits such as blog posts with case studies and proprietary insights. (Gating is when you request users to share their contact details in exchange for the knowledge contained in a piece of content.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did you know, 67%<\/span><\/a> of people say they\u2019re more likely to buy a product when they get to know it from family\/ friends via social media or email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The way to go about this is to identify customers that are satisfied with your product\/service and also identify a possible incentive that you could provide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, simply create an email list and shoot out an email asking for a referral \u2013 remember to thank them for being a loyal customer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also ask for referrals from leads that you have a great rapport with; leads that are convinced about your product but simply do not need it or want to purchase it at this moment. You need not offer them an incentive here, but the effort you have put into building a rapport should stand you in good stead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a recent study conducted by SaleCycle, 59%<\/span><\/a> of respondents said their purchase decisions are influenced by marketing emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may have heard a lot of people talk about how email marketing is dead, but the truth is that the strategy behind it has simply evolved. Y<\/p>\n\n\n\n ou can\u2019t get away with blasting out standardized promotional emails to databases; you will get unsubscribed and create a really bad association with the brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What you can do, however, is-<\/p>\n\n\n\n It works! Did you know, 1 in 5 companies that used an account-based approach saw a revenue increase in just 12 months?<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is account-based selling? It\u2019s a B2B sales approach that involves targeting a company rather than a particular lead. What you need to do is-<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prospecting with a few contacts within the company increases your chances of conversion so you\u2019re not just widening your top of the funnel but creating depth too. For more on how to get started with account-based selling, read \u20185 Best Tips for Account-based Selling<\/a><\/span>\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n4. Use Personalized Email Marketing \u2013 With a Double Emphasis on \u2018Personalized\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n5. Use Account-Based Selling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n