“I’m working deals down the funnel.”
“I have a request for a proposal on my plate.”
These are two of many excuses Quick Base’s Kevin Tarbell has heard from salespeople avoiding prospecting, a technique that he said is the most important aspect of the sales process. But that’s not the only corner sales managers caution against cutting.
“I have seen a willingness across the board to forego the education piece of a discussion in an effort to speed up a process,” Leyton’s Liam Russell said.
By fully educating a prospect about the product or service being provided, salespeople are not only adding value to the conversation, they are incorporating trust into a new relationship.
The bottom line? Do the work before reaching out. Just as no two salespeople are alike, no two prospects will respond identically to the same outreach methods.
At Interactions, Senior Director of Sales Erin Stewart said the company’s training strategy empowers salespeople to become entrepreneurs of their own businesses. She has found that the key to closing deals lies in earning a seat at the table. Stewart is responsible for helping prospects leverage the company’s conversational AI solution to improve customer experience while reducing operating costs.
When it comes to prospecting, what actions have you found to be critical to success?
Focus on the customer, not on yourself or your company. When I started my career, I didn’t put the time into developing detailed account plans. If you do get a meeting scheduled, it should be with the right person. You should know enough about the organization to “talk shop” with them in their language and focus on their organization’s goals and current metrics.
Executives don’t want to hear us talk about us or the company we work for. They want to know what your solution specifically can do to help them and their corporate goals and professional objectives. If you don’t know this, do the work before you reach out.
What’s an underrated technique or strategy that you’ve found to be really effective in sales prospecting?
Having meaningful conversations with decision-makers involves more than sending emails, setting up meetings and showing slides. In order to have the right to ask for a seat at the table with executives, you must become part of the industry they live in.
Speaking their language, understanding their challenges and becoming a known credible thought leader to their influencer networks positions you to walk into the room, sit at the table and partake in a consultative conversation rather than a sales pitch.
At Interactions, we have invested in a structure to support our sales directors. Each sales director is assigned a business development representative, a sales engineer and a field marketer. They then work together as a pod to prospect, engage in sales cycles and close deals. This strategy empowers sales directors to be entrepreneurs of their own business, resulting in deep pipelines, new clients and ideas that are shared across the organization.
What works for one person at one company may not work for you.’’
What’s an overrated technique or strategy that you’ve found to actually be ineffective?
What works for one person at one company may not work for you. If you see someone who is successful and you want to get the results they do, don’t do as they do. Instead, assess what is making them successful and find ways to bring this into your business in your own way. Be your authentic self. People buy from people they like and trust.
Russell is focused on the gaming and mixed reality sector at the financial consulting firm. Before he can help prospective clients determine credit potential, Russell gets to know clients’ pain points and educates them on the service Leyton provides. Put another way: rapport-building is vital to any relationship.
When it comes to prospecting, what actions have you found to be critical to success?
My willingness and ability to use non-traditional methods of prospecting has really evolved. Partnering with associations and collectives within my industries of focus, agreeing to participate in round-table discussions and actively participating on LinkedIn have all been newer strategies that have already started paying off in dividends.
I have also gotten in touch with prominent industry figures simply to validate my research and hear a seasoned professional give an account of their markets firsthand. If you couple the above with more tried-and-true practices, I believe that you will see considerable growth and success moving forward.
My willingness and ability to use non-traditional methods of prospecting has really evolved.’’
What’s an underrated technique or strategy that you’ve found to be really effective in sales prospecting?
I have seen a willingness across the board to forego the education piece of a discussion in an effort to speed up a process. If you skimp on being able to educate a prospect about how you can provide a service, you are missing out on a vital part of the new relationship. In providing education on the subject, you are giving yourself the advantage of demonstrating your understanding of the prospect’s industry, business and pain points while introducing potential solutions into the conversation. It also has the added benefit of creating a conversational environment for that discussion and likely future ones. No one likes to be talked at.
In terms of emerging technologies and new products, Leyton has provided us with traditional premium tools for successful outreach, including plug-ins and contact information software. The real drive here, however, is my firm’s willingness to invest in sponsorships, speaking engagements or even association fees to further my influence in my field. So long as I can demonstrate ROI, they are behind me in my decision-making. I believe that is one of the many ways Leyton distinguishes itself from the competitive landscape.
What’s an overrated technique or strategy that you’ve found to actually be ineffective?
I have always had a problem with sales professionals creating and maintaining a sense of urgency where there isn’t actually one. Relying on the cliché of being a pushy salesperson does nothing positive for your rapport, nor your chances of moving forward in that relationship. Of course, there are always going to be internal timelines that you as the salesperson are worried about. But trying to synthetically impose those stresses on a prospect to fit your needs will only hurt your pipeline in the long term.
According to MineralTree’s Jason Armata, nothing beats connecting with someone personally. Picking up the phone rather than sending an email is an underrated technique the partner sales manager relies on frequently. In the last few weeks, Armata said that more prospects are willing to engage in exploratory discussions because they are working from home.
When it comes to prospecting, what actions have you found to be critical to success?
Anyone in sales today has a wealth of resources at their fingertips. When I began my sales career, you were lucky if you had a database, a couple of lists with company names and internet access. There were no names, titles, direct lines or email addresses. Today, with tools like LinkedIn and ZoomInfo, sales professionals are able to cut their research time in half.
The most difficult part of the process now is confirming which tool has the most up-to-date information. Trust but verify. With a couple of clicks, I can find the right contact and gather the background information I need to land MineralTree’s next strategic partnership.
Nothing beats connecting with someone personally.’’
What’s an underrated technique or strategy that you’ve found to be really effective in sales prospecting?
Picking up the phone and calling someone. It sounds simple, but how many people still make that part of their daily prospecting routine? Automatically generated email and call cadences enable sales professionals to contact a wider range of targets on a more frequent basis. But nothing beats connecting with someone personally. A combination of well-crafted outreach emails and calls yields our highest conversion rates for new prospects.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are finding that more prospects are taking our calls and emails and are willing to engage in an exploratory discussion because they are working from home. It also helps that our solution, which makes remote work easier for finance professionals involved with accounts payable, resonates even more under the current conditions.
At MineralTree we have taken various sales prospecting solutions for test drives over the past few years. We have created custom videos and sent personalized gifts to prospective customers. No one tactic has stood out as the go-to technique for driving new business. Well-executed marketing plans complemented by and coordinated with outreach calls and emails continue to help us grow.
What’s an overrated technique or strategy that you’ve found to actually be ineffective?
Trying to emulate one specific approach or adapting your personality to work within a certain sales system. I think a one-size-fits-all approach to sales can be detrimental to anyone developing new business. No two salespeople are alike and more importantly, no two prospects are alike. The most effective sales professionals I have worked with through the years are always investigating the various business development strategies that are out there. They take certain aspects or techniques and make them their own.
Tarbell recommends that all salespeople drop buzzwords from their vocabulary. The senior business development manager said that doing so gives you the right to ask tough questions and as a result, authentically connect with prospects.
When it comes to prospecting, what actions have you found to be critical to success?
Prospecting is the foundation of almost all successful sales deals. However, most sellers try to find excuses to avoid it. The most critical aspect of prospecting is simple. It involves setting aside a certain amount of time to do it, sticking to that schedule, and having a defined, clear goal of what you’re going to accomplish in that time period.
There are no corners to cut when prospecting. Salespeople should dedicate as much time and focus to prospecting as they do to closing a deal. After all, if you’re not prospecting, there won’t be many more deals to close.
Salespeople should dedicate as much time and focus to prospecting as they do to closing a deal.’’
What’s an underrated technique or strategy that you’ve found to be really effective in sales prospecting?
Be human. Understand who you’re trying to connect with, take a genuine interest in their roles and responsibilities, study the company, study the industry and come prepared with how you’ve helped others at similar positions as your prospect. Be curious. Don’t try to have all the answers. Once you drop the buzzwords and genuinely open up, you will have earned the right to ask the tough questions.
Has your team invested in any new or emerging technologies that have helped improve sales prospecting?
We have a prospecting tech stack that includes LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, Hoovers and a few other tools. We’ve been utilizing a service called ConnectLeader for the past few months that has increased our connect rate exponentially to drive more conversations.
What’s an overrated technique or strategy that you’ve found to actually be ineffective?
Mass emailing without customization. Take five or 10 minutes to customize the first email within a sequence or cadence. When you call that person or leave voicemails, refer back to that customization and research. Tossing out a wide net these days usually catches a lot of garbage that you’ll end up wasting your time sifting through rather than customizing your message in the first place.
