By Michelle Richardson – The Brooks Group
In baseball, “keep your eye on the ball” means watch where the ball is at all times. In sales, it means staying focused. But it’s tough. In the race to finish the quarter strong, prospecting often gets put on the back burner while sales professionals work on closing open opportunities.
But your sales team needs to be able to do both: fill the pipeline with highly qualified prospects and keep deals moving. Sales leaders need to deliver sales training on effective prospecting techniques for every day of the quarter. Here’s how sales teams can improve their prospecting efforts.How to Define a Qualified Prospect
Before you can begin to think about prospecting and lead generation, you’ve got to understand what a qualified prospect looks like. This will ensure you’re not wasting your time on unqualified leads.
The five characteristics of a qualified prospect are:
- Awareness of need
- Authority and ability to buy
- Sense of urgency
- Trust in you and your organization
- Willingness to listen
Effective sales prospecting is one of the most challenging—and most important—parts of the sales process. Getting it wrong means wasted time and frustration. Getting it right means a healthier pipeline and better performance.
Here are B2B prospecting techniques your sales team can implement to prospect more effectively before, during, and after a sales call.
Prospecting Techniques: Before the Sales Call
The right sales skills and a consistent set of best practices before sales calls will make prospecting time more productive. Here are some to focus on.
1. Position Yourself as an Expert Resource