By now you know that B2B prospects are not created equal.
Sales cycles can last from 15 minutes to 5 months and sometimes, that cycle will reset when a company decision-maker leaves.
And just when you thought you finally knew what your buyers care about, the buying patterns shift, and the composition of the procurement team changes.
But do you really need to spend time on it?
See, while your businesses focus on the bare necessities (e.g. optimized pricing, meeting specifications, and ensuring compliance) there are other, more subjective factors that affect how buyers finalize their business purchases.
Bain’s Elements of Value Pyramid identifies 40 attributes including the ease of doing business, exhibiting trust, aligning with goals, and becoming a company whom people aspire to.
And how do you do this?
Well, you can connect to all types of people, industries, and company sizes out there, but are you sure you want to preach to a large crowd?
Or would you rather direct your efforts to the right people and companies?
If you choose the latter, then you might want to know the difference between a lead and a prospect.
Leads are potential customers and they can be classified as:
Cold leads or contacts you can source from directories, referrals, or purchased lists.
OR
Warm leads or those who showed a slight interest in your products or service. e.g. website visitors, webinar enrollees, blog subscribers, or individuals who accepted the invitation to connect.
So regardless of whether these are cold or warm leads, your goal here is to qualify a.k.a. finding evidence on how your offer can create value to them as an individual and business.
Truth be told, prospecting to a warm market requires several attempts so don’t be discouraged by their lack of replies.
And if you can devote 1-2 hours of your day to prospecting, here are 3 Guideposts to help you do it the Smarter Way:
- Be selective when prospecting for new clients. Does the prospect fit the profile of your best customer? Do some online research to find data points e.g. geography, industry/vertical, annual revenue, recent acquisitions, or partnerships.
- Does the prospect’s behavior match your success profile? It can be quite tricky to answer the question as it involves looking at the common characteristics of your ideal clients. Nevertheless, you can take a passive or an active stance to further qualify your prospects.
Passive could be looking at the quality and frequency of their posts. Are their opinions about change or making an investment aligns with that of your ideal customer?
Active means trying to start a series of non-salesy conversations. Your intent is to know their typical roadblocks, objections, or the factors they consider when making a particular purchase. NOTE: There is no selling at this point.
- Be sure to track your progress so you can see the cause-and-effect of your prospecting efforts on a daily basis. How many new prospects do you need to connect and follow up with in order to come up with 10 appointments every month? Do you filter out the mismatched prospects? What types of content gain more reactions?
Eventually, you would find out that prospecting happens both ways. Your numbers and their responses would give you a clue.
And when you are using LinkedIn for prospecting, you might want to ask these questions to level up your game:
- Is your profile optimized for prospecting? Everyone wants a context for conversation. Your chances to start a dialogue increases when your profile resonates with their sentiments and shows off your credibility to provide the solution. Take advantage of your LinkedIn Headline in conveying these points.
- Are you engaging the right way? On your first two InMails, are you asking for too much too soon e.g. asking them to click on your links or drowning them with an intro of your company or product?
What is in it for them to reply when you haven’t even liked their post or shared a thoughtful comment on their wall?
So if you need that extra push or a major tweak on your routine, I’ll be glad to help.
xxx
About Liselle
I assist B2B business owners to authentically connect and engage with their target market through LinkedIn Prospecting and niche-driven content solutions.
