Sales prospecting, especially when reaching out to strangers, can seem daunting. However, when approached with hospitality, professionalism, and a respect for the other person's time, it can become as natural as being checked into a hotel room.

By harnessing curiosity, sparking interest, maintaining professionalism, and delivering relevance, sales professionals can guide and shape the decision-making process, leading to successful outcomes.

In this fast-paced, ever-evolving business world, establishing a robust sales pipeline is the key to sustainable growth and success. At the Wigler Group, we have accumulated valuable insights on navigating this complex landscape. Allow us to share our proven approach.

Our teams wanted to share three key principles of successful prospecting that we have observed working with high-ticket B2B clients (and for ourselves)

1- Learn the Difference Between a Qualified Lead and an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

2 - Have a Plan

3 - Ask for the Business (Pick Up the Phone)

Consider the ever-increasing flood of automated emails and LinkedIn messages you receive. As the cost of automation decreases, more salespeople are using it, thinking that their process is nothing more than a “numbers game”.

There is a fine line between being persistent and being a pest. While it is important to follow up with your prospects, you don't want to cross the line into harassment. 

Salespeople, perhaps engrossed in their own day-to-day activities, often forget about the traditional definition of prospecting.

Some of us experienced considerable client attrition (maybe even for the first time) in 2020. Even prior to the pandemic, once-thriving businesses have been struggling with increased competition and lack of differentiation or innovation.

For many small and medium size businesses, it is very unlikely that your prospects will have much top-of-mind awareness of your company or your product/service.

Today, business development insights are readily available. There are many data platforms (e.g. from Linkedin, ZoomInfo, etc.) that provide contact information and clues as to who might be interested in buying.

Often, we see a misallocation of resources, where highly-paid expert salespeople are expected to make cold calls and follow ups to keep their calendars full.

Here are three principles for successful follow up that we have observed working with clients at Wigler Group…

If you work in a narrowly defined business niche (say, for example, there are only 100 significant companies in the target market) you may not need any digital marketing.

In order to achieve consistent and predictable results from prospecting, for each segment of your audience, the variables—What We Say and Who We Say It To—must be in total alignment.

In consulting with clients, I've often seen a desire to rush into prospecting and marketing without having first taken the time to establish a clear Ideal Client Story. I say "Ideal Client Story" as something distinct from "Ideal Client Profile".

WATCH: Wigler Group CEO, Matt Wigler, appears on the Authentic Leadership for Everyday People podcast with Dino Cattaneo.

LISTEN: The Dadpreneur Podcast with Alex Oliveira feat. Wigler Group CEO Matt Wigler.

WATCH: Wigler Group founder and CEO, Matt Wigler, joins Certified International Premier Platinum Corporate Sales Trainer Harry Nouhan Jr. on Continuous Sales Improvement for Sales Managers Podcast

WATCH: Wigler Group founder and CEO, Matt Wigler, joins B2B sales leader Brian Burns’ in Brian’s B2B Revenue Leadership Show to discuss the genesis of Wigler Group during the COVID-19 pandemic.