Customer prospecting is the concept used to refer to the process of finding potential customers that match the company’s profile and making initial contact with each of them. Acquiring customers is one of the main objectives of any company and for this to be possible, customer prospecting is a fundamental process.
Discover how customer prospecting works, what it is used for and much more in this post!
Understand what customer prospecting is
Customer prospecting is the process responsible for searching for, finding and attracting customers for companies. It also has the function of making the first contact with potential consumers, also called prospects, with the intention of making sales.
It must monitor and follow potential customers from the beginning to the end of the sales funnel , to observe the strategies to be adopted, always having the sale as the central business goals objective.
Although the focus is on closing the sale, customer relationships are also a very important aspect of prospecting. Furthermore, it is worth noting that customer prospecting is not aimed at winning over any type of consumer. It is targeted, based on the customer profile that matches the company and the services/products offered.
Discover how customer prospecting works
Customer prospecting is a process that involves methodology, tactics and organization. It cannot be done without these requirements, as they direct and guide the acquisition of consumers. But how does customer prospecting work? Well, first of all, the company needs to know what type of customer shop it is looking for, in order to understand how to reach them in the best way.
It is also essential to research the prospects in the market, understand their consumption habits, select them carefully and discover the best ways to contact them. After all this preparation business goals, the customer prospecting process moves on to the main part: the first contact with the prospect.
After all this, the company team responsible for the process must monitor and qualify the prospects in order to lead them to the completion of the purchase.
The main benefits of customer prospecting
Customer prospecting provides several advantages for the company that practices it. This reveals why it is so important and essential for business. So, see what the main benefits of customer prospecting are:
Finding ideal clients;
Get ahead of the competition;
Improve the qualification of the sales team;
Increase return on investment ;
Reduce customer acquisition costs;
Have greater control over the sales funnel;
Increase conversion rate;
Know and research more information about the profile of the company’s customers.
Discover the main methods of prospecting customers
As mentioned earlier, customer prospecting requires a methodology to be efficient. Therefore, there are several methods that are used in this process, with the aim of making it more assertive. Learn about the main customer prospecting methods:
Inbound
The Inbound method focuses on attracting, converting and retaining customers by sparking genuine interest in the company. This way, consumers spontaneously visit the business and show data-driven: the importance of data-driven decisions interest in the services or products offered. Inbound marketing uses materials with good content that demonstrate the brand’s potential. E-books, blogs, social media posts, videos and infographics are the main ones.
Outbound
The Outbound method of prospecting is the opposite of Inbound. In this method, the prospect does not yet have a relationship with the company, so the potential consumer is not expecting contact. In this type of prospecting, businesses usually use phone calls, telemarketing, flyers, emails, direct mail and messages, both SMS and on social media. This way, the consumer market aleart news gets to know about the company and its services.
Indication
It is very satisfying for a company to have loyal customers who support the brand and recommend it to their family, friends and acquaintances. In these cases, customers act as sales promoters for the business, carrying out a type of prospecting.
This is customer prospecting by referral, which consists of a company business goals being recommended by a consumer to another person. Thus, the customer indicates prospects for your business to approach or makes these potential consumers interested in your store’s services.
Channels
When prospecting for clients through channels, companies do not go directly to prospects. They reach them through third parties, who are considered partners. An example of this are doctors who specialize in complementary areas, who, therefore, work together in the same clinic, referring prospects and promoting each other’s image.
Mixed
It is a big mistake to think that prospecting should be done using only one method at a time. It is possible to mix the types mentioned above and create a mixed methodology, using, for example, Inbound and referral at the same time.
This should be done by taking several factors into consideration, such as customer profiles, team structure, and consumer purchasing journeys. This way, prospecting can be diversified and reach more prospects in an optimized way.
Find out what the steps are for prospecting customers
It’s clear that prospecting customers is essential for your company, right? But to put it into practice correctly, you need to pay attention to the steps of this process. See what the steps of prospecting business goals customers are and start applying them to your business!
Search
Research is a fundamental step to start prospecting clients assertively. You must conduct in-depth research, analyzing who your prospects are, what their pain points are, how to solve them, and what is the best way to contact them .
You and your team need to know in depth who your company’s prospects are . Only then will you be able to win them over and retain them as customers. Also, remember to research and determine the quality of each prospect. In other words, observe which ones have the greatest chance of becoming customers and prioritize them.
Prospecting
Prospecting is, in fact, the second stage of the set of actions involved in prospecting customers. It is the moment in which your company will have the first contact with the prospect. This can happen in numerous ways, from phone calls to direct conversations between the salesperson/receptionist/attendant and the prospect.
Connection
After the first approach, it’s time to create a connection with the prospect. To make this happen, your team responsible for prospecting clients can, for example, schedule meetings or video calls.
However, it is worth noting that your attitude at this stage makes all the difference. Don’t be unpleasant, trying to force the issue and convince the prospect to buy the product or service offered at all costs. This action can drive the prospect away from your company, because they feel uncomfortable.
So, create calm, patient and unhurried connections. This way, your organization will have a greater chance of winning new customers and will be able to retain them more easily.
Education
At this stage, observing the prospect’s behavior and characteristics is essential. You need to analyze what is preventing them from achieving what they want and show them that your company has the best solutions for this.
Make them understand the value of the services and products offered by your business and how efficient they are in solving the prospect’s problems. This will likely convince them that your company business goals offers the best solution on the market.
Closing
This is the most anticipated moment of the entire prospecting process . Closing represents the transformation of an opportunity into a business deal. However, for the closing to have a positive outcome, you cannot rush.
Make the offer at the right time, when the prospect is already interested in your products or services. This is because, if you get ahead of yourself, the approach may be wasted. So, take it easy and close the deal when the prospect is confident with your company and has a real chance of becoming a customer.
Tips to ensure success in prospecting clients
Now that you know the steps involved in prospecting customers and how to do it more assertively, you need strategies to achieve your goals in this process. Check out the main tips to ensure success in prospecting customers.
Invest in research
Research is essential for successful customer prospecting. You can’t think that this step is unnecessary and not give it the value it deserves. Invest in research, seek information in depth and create an efficient database.
This way, your prospecting will be much better, as your team will know who they are working with, how to approach these people and what each of their needs are.
Prepare for the approach
Your approach can make or break your prospecting success or failure. If you and your business team are too pushy and bother prospects, you probably won’t be able to close the sale and convert them into customers.
So, prepare yourself for the approach, know how to reach your prospect in a functional way and understand their interests and the best ways to attract them. With this, your customer prospecting business goals will certainly be more satisfactory and you will achieve good results.
Don’t sell on first contact
It is normal for salespeople to be anxious about prospecting for clients and to want to sell , at all costs, the services and products offered by their business. However, this can be detrimental to the rest of the prospecting process.
If you get too eager and try to sell on the first contact, you may over-persuade your prospects and end up driving them away from your company. For this reason, be careful, calm and don’t rush into things.
Build credibility
The credibility of your organization is extremely important for attracting prospects and converting them into customers. You need to build credibility for your company and make it a reference in the market.
Encourage your loyal customers to review your business online, get them to recommend your services to other people and always be attentive to satisfy everyone who comes to your company.
If your business has high credibility, you will be able to prospect for clients more easily and productively, as prospects will already have greater confidence in your business.
Insist, but don’t bother
Persistence is part of prospecting for clients, but it cannot be excessive. You must insist with your prospects and encourage them to purchase the products and services offered. However, you cannot bother them, as this will have the opposite result to what you want. If you or your team approach prospects in an annoying manner, they will become dissatisfied with your organization and will most likely not become business goals customers. This results in lost business and sales opportunities , which is undoubtedly not in your best interest.
Find out what the main objective of prospecting is
When we talk about customer prospecting, we are referring to that crucial phase in which a company goes after its future customers, instead of waiting for them to appear on their own.
The main goal? Well, it’s to ensure that you not only find people who are interested in your products or services, but that these people are, in fact, those who have the greatest potential to become loyal customers. After all, there’s no point in talking to everyone, right? You need to know where to target to have a better chance of success.
Good prospecting is when you take into account the ideal characteristics of the customer your company is looking for. It’s like fishing: you need the right bait and know where to cast the hook to have the best chance of catching the fish you want.
And of course, with prospecting, you not only attract these potential customers, but you also start to build a relationship with them, which is critical to long-term success.
Market segmentation and customer prospecting
For your prospecting to be effective, market segmentation is a step that you cannot ignore. But what is it, after all? Segmenting the market means dividing the large group of consumers into smaller, more specific parts. Think of it this way: instead of trying to sell to “everyone”, you focus on those who are really interested business goals in what you offer.
For example, if your company sells sports products, segmenting the market will help you focus on people who are genuinely interested in this activity, instead of wasting energy trying to sell to people who don’t fit this profile. This makes prospecting much more accurate and efficient, as you will be speaking the language of your target audience.
