Commercial prospecting technique - definition and examples

Everything marketing action plan success is necessarily accompanied by a good strategy of prospecting, in other words canvassing techniques effective in acquiring a large number of customers.

In this article, we offer you a list of main techniques and tips allowing you to optimize your approach and successfully approach your target customers.

Why use prospecting techniques?

In any sector (real estate, services, industries, transport...), prospecting is a key step In the growth of the company and its sales figure. Few businesses thrive without an effective prospecting strategy. There are some, but let's say that prospecting clearly allows you to force your destiny in the right direction.

Prospecting allows of course to generate leads (Leads). First of all, it involves forming a prospecting file, often via your CRM, an essential element for contacting potential customers and making them a commercial offer adapted to their needs.

What is a prospecting technique?

In a few words, the prospecting technique is a commercial method aimed at approach a target prospect in order to present the company and its products to him, then to conclude a sale in a second step.

Today, there are numerous techniques that make it possible to generate leads in the hope of making them customers, and all businesses have their preferred methods, based on their commercial strategy but also skills and preferences of their salespeople. Above all: it is the experience and the reactions of your prospects to the various prospecting techniques deployed that take precedence over theory. And yes: email or cold calling does not work for all targets.

What are the different types of prospecting?

There are multiple ways to approach: prospecting may in fact be Direct (by contacting the prospect without intermediaries) or much more rarely indirect (by creating a good reputation and seeking to become known to attract prospects interested in the company and its products).

The best known techniques are certainly field prospecting, telephone prospecting, cold e-mail and trade shows, but there are actually a multitude of ways to do this, and these techniques are constantly evolving. This is the reason why, for example, training courses Akimbo to prospecting are constantly updated.

What is the main objective of prospecting?

Every business loses customers for a variety of reasons every year, and it is therefore crucial to do so. find new ones to ensure their sustainability. This is therefore where prospecting comes in: this activity aims to find new qualified prospects and turn them into potential buyers.

By undoing them, we Get their contacts and we can then unfold a commercial pitch and make them an adapted proposal, hoping to close a sale.

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What are the commercial prospecting techniques?

With theAppearance of the digital age, the commercial prospecting techniques have evolved in recent years, but salespeople have not forgotten more traditional methods. So we decipher for you some of the most popular techniques to approach a prospect and generate leads.

Field prospecting

Surely the oldest technique, the field or physical prospecting (also known as “door-to-door”) is still widely used today in real estate sector, or for retailers and restaurateurs. In other words, all the activities present in B2C.

What is land prospecting?

This method consists in canvassing directly in the field by encouraging salespeople to visit prospects to meet them, discuss products and the company, and collect customer data. It is this crucial information that will allow them to contact potential buyers again in a second step, with the aim of their fMake an offer to sign a sale.

In what situation should you use it?

This technique is particularly interesting in the case of real estate prospecting in that it allows the salesperson to meet the owner and, possibly, to have more information on the property he wants to sell. It can also be effective for all other activities, provided you have well-defined its marketing strategy and action plan : it is thus necessary have determined your target customer so as not to waste too much time traveling to find unqualified prospects.

Telephone prospecting

Also known as Cold call (” Cold Calling ”), it consists of Cold call prospects to tell them about the company and its products. Your prospects are not waiting for your call, so they are cold. Attention: cold calling in B2B is much more qualitative and very different from simple teleprospecting.

What is telephone prospecting?

Fairly traditional, this technique is very common among businesses that want prospecting on a large scale. Inexpensive, it is based on a Telephone exchange with the prospect in order to present them with an activity or a service and to understand their needs and expectations in rcollecting valuable customer information.

In what situation should you use it?

This technique is particularly useful for initiate contact with potential customers by talking directly with them. Elle However, it must be well controlled by salespeople to be effective, since many prospects are not receptive to a sales call.

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Email marketing

You really have to distinguish direct emailing of email marketing. Direct emailing allows you to send 15 to 80 emails per day from your own address, making them look like individual emails. We use software like Lemlist, Apollo, Waalaxy, Outreach, etc.

Email marketing is a method based on sending a email grouped to a database of targeted prospects, having previously registered for a Newsletter (the most common case) or whose email address was obtained via social networks or a prior exchange.

What is email marketing?

Less intrusive than a phone call, an email allows you to Execute a sales script directly in writing in order to capture the attention of a prospect, and hope to push them to buy.

In what situation should you use it?

Simple and fast, it is a preferred method in the case of a mass communication strategy — that is, when you want to contact a large database of prospects. To be effective, it However, it must be done with the right tools : you must in fact write an impacting sales pitch, and be sure to have the right email addresses so that the message can reach the recipient.

Indirect prospecting

Softer than the techniques mentioned above, it is more aimed at Take care of the image and reputation of the company by implementing aactions specific to an inbound strategy. The objective is thus to attract prospects to yourself by making them want to know more about the products, instead of approaching them directly.

What is indirect prospecting?

To create a certain visibility, businesses must necessarily ensure a good online presence, in particular by creating a qualitative content on their website and their various social networks. Organize events (such as conferences or open days) also allows you to get people talking about yourself and meet the prospect to create a relationship of trust, beyond sales.

In what situation should you use it?

This method is not necessarily to be used alone, but can be a good complement to avoid multiplying too intrusive actions that can annoy prospects. It is also a good way to generate qualified leads : by enjoying content created by the company, an individual will certainly subscribe to the newsletter, which will make it possible to retrieve customer information from a genuinely interested prospect.

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Social selling

Increasingly popular, this method based on the use of a social network allows you to find qualified prospects thanks to the right ones CRM tools.

What is social selling

Relying largely on the use of LinkedIn and other professional social networks, this consists in monitoring and studying the behavior of the prospect by interacting with him (via likes, discussion groups). So the aim is to create a Start of relationship and to obtain his contact details using CRM software allowing you to directly extract an email address or a telephone number.

In what situation should you use it?

This method is to be preferred in the context of B2B sales, since it thus makes it possible to obtain a lot of information on the professional status of an individual and generate leads from sites like LinkedIn. It is therefore ideal for selling B2B products and services such as training, for example.

SMS marketing

Quite recent, it is a method still little used by salespeople. It is therefore a good way to stand out from your competitors!

What is SMS marketing?

As its name suggests, it aims to contact the prospect directly on their phone by sending him an advertising text message, in order to arouse his interest and encourage him to want to know more about the company and its products.

In what situation should you use it?

Still quite expensive, this method is not necessarily intended for low-budget structures. However, it is quite effective because it guarantees a opening rate within 90% unlike emails that may end up in the trash or in the junk folder before they have even been read. Since the SMS format is more concise, however, it requires creating a very brief and clear sales script — the message must therefore be particularly worked on to be impacting.

Trade shows

Rather traditional, it is a Quite old method that has proven itself and has been able to last over time for its efficiency and profitability, provided it is well prepared.

What is a trade show?

A trade show allows the sales team to meet qualified prospects directly, having travelled for the occasion and therefore having an undoubted interest in the theme of the event. So it's a good opportunity for Make contacts that you can easily turn into customers.

In what situation should you use it?

However, this method requires a certain investment of time, energy but also equipment : the goal being to make an impression, it may be fashionable to prepare goodies to be distributed to the prospect, or to decorate his stand well for stand out from the competition.

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What is the best prospecting technique?

It is important to note that he does not exist no universal method for each sales team — the best method is rather the one that is most adapted to each individual. Indeed, if we have previously mentioned door-to-door in real estate, this one is not suitable for everyone, and some will prefer the telephone, or even professional shows, according to the skills and abilities of each individual.

While it is certain that one method may, in theory, have a better success rate than another, this does not mean that it is necessarily to be preferred. Rather, they are others factors such as the team's budget, the profile of the target customer, the type of message you want to get across or the preferences of the salesperson which will have to be taken into account in determining the method to be used.

What tools should you use for commercial prospecting?

There is much more than one tool to guarantee the effectiveness and profitability of your canvassing campaigns!

In the context of digital prospecting, you can in particular arm yourself with CRM software such as Salesforce or Hunter.io that will prove useful for extract the contact details of a potential customer from a social network such as LinkedIn. By analyzing the performances and the quality of exchanges, this kind of software also gives some valuable advice on how to optimize your approach or the content of his message.

A computer or tablet and, if possible, a prototype of the product that you want to sell are required for physical canvassing. By going directly to the place where the potential customer is located, you must actually have something Write down your contact details, but also being able to show him what we are talking about to allow him to better plan ahead with the purchase.

The ICP, or Buyer Persona, is a tool that allows Define the profile of target customers. It is a key step in canvassing because it makes it possible to determine if a lead generated corresponds to the types of consumers you want to approach or not, and So avoid wasting time with uninterested or uninteresting individuals.

The prospecting file is also absolutely crucial in the smooth running of a campaign. He Gathers all the necessary customer information to track and move forward in sales cycles.

Finally, a smile and a good attitude are essential for successful prospecting. Being kind, patient and attentive to the customer and their needs are the best ways to create a relationship of trust with him who will consequently push him to buy.

It's up to you to play now!

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