Introduction
In the dynamic world of B2B business, commercial prospecting is much more than just a quest for clients. It is an elaborate strategy aimed at weaving fruitful relationships with other businesses. Let’s discover together the secrets of a winning approach in B2B commercial prospecting, by exploring each step and unveiling the most effective techniques.
B2B commercial prospecting: definition
Let’s start by understanding B2B commercial prospecting. It is a strategic process that goes beyond simply searching for clients. It is an approach aimed at identifying and attracting potential business partners, thus laying the foundations for mutual growth.
What are the B2B commercial prospecting techniques?
B2B commercial prospecting encompasses a range of techniques, whether traditional or digital. Let’s explore the two main categories: analog techniques and digital techniques.
1. Analog B2B commercial prospecting techniques
Telephone commercial prospecting
Field commercial prospecting technique
Field prospecting, often overlooked in the digital age, can be a distinctive advantage against competition.
Rarely concluded on the first visit, it constitutes a significant first contact and leaves a positive impression.
The benefits of this approach:
- Humanizes the commercial proposal, making it more tangible.
- Physical contact allows for the collection of crucial information, including through body language, thus identifying sales opportunities.
2. Digital B2B commercial prospecting techniques
From all countries, if it is international.
Digital commercial prospecting techniques
Emailing
This strategy relies on the targeted and identified sending of emails to a global database of prospects.
Precise segmentation of the database is crucial to avoid irrelevant and costly mailings.
Emailing effectively harmonizes with other prospecting approaches. For example, if you meet a promising contact at a trade show, advance the relationship by sending them a personalized email.
Carefully design your prospecting email to:
- Maximize opening by the recipient.
- Ensure attentive reading by providing relevant content tailored to their needs.
- Capture the prospect’s attention.
- Encourage clicking on a call to action for a client conversion
SMS marketing
Sending promotional SMS constitutes an effective approach to directly reach a prospect, standing out due to its underuse compared to emails and social networks.
Advantages of SMS:
- High opening rate of 95%.
- Read within 3 minutes of receipt.
- Relatively low cost.
Social selling (social networks)
Social selling leverages opportunities on social networks, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, to boost global sales.
Use these platforms as favorable grounds to:
- Discover new contacts.
- Obtain qualitative information fostering successful first contacts.
3. How to do B2B commercial prospecting? The secrets of a winning approach.
Step 1: define your goals.
Before you start, clarify your goals. What do you wish to achieve with your prospecting?
Regardless of your commercial prospecting goal, it is crucial to set precise, achievable, and measurable objectives beforehand. These goals help you effectively frame your future actions and how you will interact with your prospects.
Step 2: identify your targets.
Understand your target audience. Who are they, what are their needs?
A precise knowledge of your targets is essential to the success of your prospecting approach. By directly targeting the right people, those likely to be interested in your offer, you maximize your chances of converting them into clients.
Step 3: build your prospecting file
Develop your prospecting file. Once you have identified your ideal client, it is time to create your prospecting file and individual prospect cards.
This dossier should contain all the pertinent information about the people you plan to approach, such as:
- The first and last name,
- The age,
- The gender,
- The postal and email address,
- The phone number,
- The professional situation, etc.
In the context of B2B prospecting:
- The name of the company,
- The company’s address,
- The industry sector,
- Your contact’s role within the company,
- A phone number, etc.
Make sure to keep this file and update it regularly: it represents a valuable tool for recording and tracking all actions taken with your potential clients.
Step 4: develop an action plan
Structure your approaches. How will you approach your prospects? What tactics will you deploy?
To develop an effective schedule:
Start by defining the time slots during which your target is likely to be available, considering business opening hours in the case of a B2B sale.
Next, identify the most opportune prospecting channels based on your activity, considering criteria such as the type of prospect (cold or hot), the profile of the ideal customer, the location of your target, the skills of your sales force, and the return on investment (ROI).
Stay organized, consistent, and motivated to maximize your chances of success.
Step 5: prospect!
Now is the opportune time to realize your approaches. During a direct approach towards your prospects, use a well-developed sales pitch. Ensure that your commercial pitch emphasizes the client’s expectations, thus provoking their interest, and presents your products or services as a relevant response to their specific needs.
In digital prospecting, favor personalized content to reinforce the impact of your message. This can include inserting the prospect’s first and last name in your emails, but above all, address them both in substance and form. This demonstrates your understanding of their issues and highlights your offer as an appropriate solution.
Step 6: measure the impact of your prospecting actions
Evaluate the impact of your prospecting efforts to effectively adjust your strategy and sales pitch if necessary.
Measure conversion rates, analyze feedback, and adjust your approach accordingly. This confirms, for example, if the chosen time slots match your target. Use concrete indicators such as the email open rate or the number of successful calls during a telephone prospecting.
What tools to use for your commercial prospecting?
To optimize your commercial prospecting, a savvy sales professional uses various tools to enhance effectiveness.
We previously mentioned the importance of the prospecting file, an essential document for recording all information about prospects.
Among other tools are notably
Software
Software plays a crucial role in supporting salespeople during their prospecting. We particularly mention:
– CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solutions, which facilitate the management of relationships with prospects and clients. For example:
- Salesforce Starter assists businesses in acquiring qualified leads by using an email strategy based on smart segmentation, thus ensuring optimal message personalization. These opportunities are then efficiently managed through an intuitive sales pipeline.
- Sellsy CRM offers optimal prospecting tracking with a pipeline view while collecting and centralizing information on potential clients. Business opportunities are also recorded in the software to increase the chances of closing sales.
– Prospecting tools, designed to provide leads. For example:
- Easybusiness, an innovative and intuitive prospecting software, is connected to the Kompass database, including millions of qualified B2B contacts. It helps you, among other things, to find and contact prospects in France and abroad, using more than 60 search criteria.
- Leadin: A B2B prospecting platform that allows the automation of qualified lead searches on LinkedIn and the sending of personalized messages at scale. Leadin also offers tracking and analysis features to optimize your prospecting campaigns.
Ready to boost your B2B prospecting? Discover how Leadin can help you achieve your goals
Other types of prospecting tools
Various complementary tools are essential in commercial prospecting:
- Commercial Brochure: A crucial support, whether on paper or in PDF, summarizing key information with a distinctive design. Useful to hand to prospects at the end of the interview.
- Smartphone: An indispensable tool for modern salespeople, offering access to the latest technologies even on the go, facilitating access to all the information needed for effective prospecting.
- Website: Besides serving as a showcase, it revolutionizes prospecting by collecting data on potential clients and generating leads. Inbound marketing guides internet users to landing pages, encouraging them to provide contact information in exchange for content.
- Social Networks: Social selling is essential, requiring a presence on all relevant social networks to attract future clients. Active monitoring on platforms like LinkedIn allows for discovering new contacts.
Conclusion
B2B prospecting requires a strategic approach, combining analog and digital techniques. Clear objectives, deep knowledge of targets, and the judicious use of tools, particularly CRM software, define an effective B2B sales prospecting. By measuring impact and constantly adjusting, businesses can ensure sustainable mutual growth.
By sharing your own insights, what specific tip in B2B prospecting have you found particularly effective in your professional experience?
