Which commercial prospecting course should you choose?

Many salespeople fear the prospecting. Although it has existed for a long time, this practice seems hard in the eyes of many professionals due to a lack of methods and knowledge on the attitude to adopt in order to excel in this field. However, prospecting is often unavoidable when you want to get new customers. Managers then find themselves imposing the practice despite the low motivation of the teams. To gain in efficiency, it is then better Motivate teams by training them. Here are the criteria to take into account when making your choice of training.

Choose according to the prospecting mode that I want to master

‍

“B to B” commercial prospecting can be done via different channels : by email, on the social networks professionals or even through happenings of networking. The training courses that target this practice will therefore not be the same depending on the channel. In addition, online advertising is sometimes considered to be an additional channel, but in reality, they do not fall within the scope of B2B prospecting.

To excel in “B to B” and digital commercial prospecting

To be successful on this channel, you will need education that aims to:

• Develop your online presence ;
• Generate qualified leads through online marketing strategies;
• Use professional social networks to connect you with potential customers (through a social selling strategy for example);
• Understand how to use CRM tools (customer relationship management) to effectively manage relationships with your current and future customers.

To excel in telephone prospecting

Commercial prospecting by telephone is certainly dreaded, but it is very effective for quickly establishing a relationship with a potential customer.

To excel in this area, you will need to be able to capture the attention of the prospect and make them want to listen to you. You will then have to know how to present your business in a convincing way, ask the right questions to understand customer needs and overcome his objections.

Telephone prospecting courses will teach you:

• how Mapper contact persons within the account;
• The techniques of Qualifying leads ;
• how prepare scripts effective based on the information you have on the prospect;
• Of techniques to create an effective sales pitch and improve your practice.
• How to easily come up with ice-breaker ideas;
• How to prepare the call, make it but also what to do next;
• THEActive listening to respond to the concerns of prospects.

To excel in commercial prospecting, large accounts

Key account commercial prospecting consists in prospecting large-scale companies. This commercial prospecting method can be very effective for generate significant and sustainable sales. However, it requires a more strategic and personalized approach.

Major account commercial prospecting courses will teach you:

• how pinpoint The businesses with high potential ;
• How to build long-term relationships with key business decision makers;
• How to personalize your offers to meet their specific needs;
• how manage sales cycles plus Longs and more complex.

To excel in face-to-face or field prospecting

This type of prospecting consists of meeting potential customers directly. This prospecting method is very effective in establishing a relationship of trust with customers, even if it is more expensive and time-consuming than the others.

Some sectors also use it systematically. For example, this is unavoidable in companies that sell solutions to catering companies or retailers.

Field prospecting courses should also teach you how to prepare for appointments, Mastering the art of conversation and to close sales. You'll also need to know how to handle customer objections.

Choosing the right training according to my goals and priorities

‍

It is important to clearly define your goals and priorities before you start. Do you want to learn new skills to continuously find customers? Or do you want to improve the current skills of your sales team?

To find training that covers all the key points of commercial prospecting, you can consult online training programs from experts in the field or from a training center such as Akimbo.

To improve the skills of your sales team, you will need training with a lot of practice. You can complete this training with a consulting mission. It will aim to analyze the processes and methods you follow in order to support you in improving your performance.

Les customized training Will then have thePerk To Take Into Account The Specific Needs of your business.

In either case, it will be important to know if your team is using the most effective methods to:

• The creation of a Prospecting Plan ;
• The implementation of the strategies to be followed;
• The segmentation of your customer targets.

The ideal training will therefore start with a Evaluation of these elements.

How do you find training that covers all the points and find customers continuously?

Your ability to continuously find customers depends mainly on your strategy and the performance of your team.

At Akimbo for example, our training courses for companies start with the creation of a Sales Playbook Which Aims to Serve As Reference of the process to follow for optimal performance. This document takes into account the Specificity of your market, your customers, your budget but also your strategy corporate. Learn more about the Our Performance Offer Which also allows you to train your sales team in prospecting.

How can I boost the development of my sales team?

To Perform, a Sales Team NeedsClear, Specific and Realistic Goals. These can be sales goals, business goals, or even customer satisfaction measures. Setting SMART goals will help your team stay focused and better focus their actions.

Afterwards, Suggest a Ongoing Support To keep your employees up to date with industry trends and improve their skills is necessary. In addition to sales training programs, sessions of coaching, of Workshops And Learning resources such as webinars are great solutions.

How can I find training to learn how to make a prospecting plan?

A Good Prospecting Plan Should Include Specific steps Which will be monitored before and during prospecting.

It must take into account:

• Of your budget ;
• Ofthe Waistline of your business;
• Of all the interactions And Rendezvous involved in your sales cycle;
• From script That your salespeople will use.

It is also important to take into account the preferences of your potential customers and Personalize your prospecting plan accordingly.

Indeed, it is not enough to know the gender, age group or income of your prospects.

To Successfully Conduct Your Prospecting, Their Type of Lifestyle and Their Ways of making purchasing decisions are also important. All of this information will allow you to identify the people to be targeted.

There are four sources from which you can build your list of people to target:

• The recommendations

Ask your customers to recommend prospects to you. Referred customers are often the easiest prospects to convert into customers. You Will Be Able to Set Up a relationship based on trust and credibility from the start, because your prospect knows someone who is satisfied with your services or product.

• Your network

Look for prospects among your contacts on LinkedIn, Twitter, and others Social networks On which you are present.

• Visitors to your website

They can be an important source of leads for your business. If you have a Registration form By email on your website, you have a list of Internet users who have visited your platform. If your site does not allow you to create an account, maybe it offers the possibility of registering for your Newsletter ? You can then rely on this list.

• Paid lists

Buying a list of email addresses for prospects is an authorized B to B practice. You can then use your prospecting plan to make the purchase because it will include a description of your target audience.

To learn how to make a successful prospecting plan, the trainer must address these four points. Do not hesitate to search for Combine these different sources To fill your pipeline with new potential customers.

Finally, remember that developing a prospecting plan is an ongoing task and that This document should be regularly evaluated and adjusted To guarantee its effectiveness.

Choose based on other parameters

‍

Beyond the prospecting plan, salespeople may first of all need to work on certain points to really improve their performance. Les Major Areas of Work To Excel in prospecting are the following:

Situations

Courses that include practical exercises will allow salespeople to train in a controlled environment and to apply the techniques learned. They will be able to benefit from the outside perspective as well as Feedback of the expert who trains them.

Active listening

Training courses that focus on active listening will allow salespeople to better understand the needs of potential customers and propose adapted solutions. Active listening certainly increases their chances of getting appointments.

The different levels offered

Ideally, the chosen course will include a content adapted to the level of the participants. This will prevent experienced salespeople from losing interest in training while allowing beginners to develop solid knowledge bases.

External reviews

Feel free to read reviews and ratings from other companies that have completed the training you are considering. These testimonies can help you get a better idea of scores that you can expect to get.

Other questions to ask yourself to guide your research

‍

Do you need distance and online training rather than another?

For the training format, you can:

• Involve a training organization within your company;
• Choose a trainer who trains on their own premises or/and online.

Distance and online courses are a very interesting option, if you have time or budget constraints.

The advantages of these courses are numerous, including the flexibility and availability of the training content 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In addition, this format gives teams time to gradually absorb content when it is dense.

At Akimbo, we offer a hybrid format Which combines face-to-face sessions And of contents to be browsed in asynchronous.

What are the sales and negotiation techniques to master in 2023?

To succeed in the field of sales and negotiation in 2023, it is crucial to master various techniques. The courses that include it will help you maintain a a step ahead of the competition.

Among these, we can mention:

• La BEBEDC method which makes it possible to assess the interest in continuing the sales process with prospects. It is based mainly on active listening and includes 6 steps: the need (B), the challenge (E), the budget (B), the deadline (E), the decision-makers (D) and the competitors (C).
• La AIDA method consists of 4 phases: Attention capture, Awakening interest, Desire aroused and Call to action. It will be extremely useful when creating call scripts, for example.
• La QQOQCCP method provides a structure for Asking the right questions to his prospect, a basis essential to conduct a quality interview, and those even when you didn't have time to prepare it.

Finally, the ability to establish a relationship of trust with the customer is a trump Major for build customer loyalty and promote long-term sales.

In short, to be an effective seller or negotiator in 2023, it is essential to develop a range of varied skills and to know the adapt to situations specific ones encountered.

What are the prospecting tools to master in 2023?

The use of tools such as a CRM Can greatly improve productivity of your sales team.

Training courses that integrate these digital tools can significantly increase your chances of reaching your sales goals.

The three tools most used by Sales are:

• Hubspot, which is quite easy to handle;
• ‍Salesforce, which can perform a number of tasks, although it has a less intuitive interface than the first one;‍
• Sales Navigator, which makes it possible to target prospects and potential customers more effectively. By properly using its advanced search and filtering features, you can improve the relevance of your offers and messages. This leads to a significant increase in sales.

If your prospecting is more focused on the telephone channel, consider:

• Aircall that improves the quality of communications by analyzing calls;
• ‍Ringover Which offers the possibility of taking notes and adding tags to calls;
• Toky Which offers a Power Dialer and call tracking.