3 Common-sense ideas for more effective prospecting & selling
1) Understand the difference between a Qualified Lead and an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
One of the most critical aspects of successful prospecting is understanding the difference between a qualified lead and an ideal customer profile (ICP). A qualified lead is someone who has expressed interest in your product or service, has the budget to pay for it, has decision makers that trust you, and has urgency and the ability to purchase or buy in the near term. An ideal customer profile is simply a description of the type of person or business that is most likely to benefit from what you offer. Far too often, sales leadership will conflate and confuse these terms, which can mislead sales staff into thinking that an ICP and a qualified lead are the same thing. Salespeople will often talk about wanting to work with qualified leads, not understanding that it’s their job to convert from ideal customer profiles to qualified leads by engaging and selling consultatively.
To prospect effectively, you need to understand the qualification process. Qualified leads are a result of an exhaustive sales effort and discovery process that uncovers key information that is essential to the sale. At The Wigler Group, we have a keen understanding of the qualities of a qualified buyer and how to strategically convert an ICP into a qualified lead through a time-tested strategy of consultative selling and hard work.
2 - Have a Plan
One of the keys to successful selling is having a plan. A prospecting plan includes various elements, such as target and messaging hypothesis, targeted lists, ideal customer profiles, potential job roles, and a cadence of tasks or events that you will follow to either qualify the deal to a sale or to qualify it out of your funnel.
A prospecting plan also needs to include effective time management. This means setting aside specific blocks of time for sales activities, such as prospecting, outreach, follow-up, and record-keeping. By having a schedule in place, you can ensure that you're devoting enough time to sales activities and that you're making progress towards your sales goals.
A prospecting plan can help you stay organized and on track. The normal flow of sales and prospecting is always going to be pushing and pulling you in different directions. Trying to prioritize any one task over another can be challenging. Prospecting usually ends up taking a back seat when the demands of sales get overwhelming unless you have a plan that includes protected time for prospecting, and you stick to it.
3 - Ask for the business
One of the simplest and most effective ways to increase your sales performance is to simply ask for the business. This means being proactive and reaching out to potential customers.
While email and other forms of communication can be effective (and easier), picking up the phone and having a conversation with a potential customer can be more powerful. By doing so, you can establish a personal connection, answer any questions they may have, overcome objections, engage in discovery, and ultimately ask for their business. Nothing can replace a live conversation over the phone with a decision-maker to accelerate the qualification process and rapidly convert from an ideal customer profile to a qualified lead.
I once had a fairly large group of seasoned salespeople in front of me at a monthly sales meeting. I pulled a twenty-dollar bill out of my pocket, held it up in the air, and said, “Who wants it?” Of course, everyone's arm in the room shot up. I just stood there waving President Jackson in the air; I didn’t say a word. Soon, some of the people in the audience spoke up: “I want it, give it to me,” “I’ll take it,” “Please, can I have it?” I stood there, just holding the bill out in front of me. Time seemed like it was stretching on forever; in fact, my arm was starting to get tired, and people were getting confused and looking around at each other. As I was looking over the audience, one sales rep named Deepak locked eyes with me, smiled, and stood up. As he started walking confidently towards me, I also smiled, and when he came up to me at the podium, I happily handed him the twenty-dollar bill. Some folks in the audience were laughing, some cheering, and some gasping, but they all got the message: sometimes asking for the business isn’t enough; you have to stand apart from the crowd, do something different, and go get it.