It’s important to give attention to common sales prospecting mistakes and activities that lead to inefficiencies in targeting sales leads.
The following is an overview of several sales prospecting mistakes so your business can optimize its lead generation efforts the right way.
1. Not Defining Your Most Qualified Targets
Nothing else matters in sales prospecting if you don’t have a clearly defined target market. You won’t attract very qualified leads if you don’t define a qualified lead. Marketing gets the ball rolling with a marketing-qualified lead, which establishes criteria for promoting your business and solutions to gain interest. Sales picks things up by identifying leads that present the best opportunities for profitable sales.
The best place to begin in defining qualified leads is your existing customer base. Run analytics reports to determine the demographic, geographic, firmographic, and behavioral traits common among your most profitable customers. Create a precise profile and go after prospects that closely match.
2. Buying Low-Quality Lead Lists
Sourcing high-quality leads is possible. However, there are a lot of low-quality peddlers of contact lists that muddy the waters. If you see an offer to acquire 10,000 leads for $39.95, there’s a pretty good chance this list is ripe with duplication, errors, and unqualified leads.
Ideally, you can leverage the best marketing and sales channels to connect with the qualified leads you define. It is possible to grow your business faster by acquiring targeted leads, but choose your source wisely. Look for a provider that invests time and resources in validating and verifying contacts from the beginning, and on an ongoing basis.
3. Lack of Consistent Follow Up
Imagine getting a bite on your fishing line and not reeling the fish in. At some point, a fish desperate for survival is likely to free itself. In much the same way, sales organizations often fail to reel in qualified prospects because they don’t follow up after the initial communication. They leave the intrigued prospect on the hook to eventually free them to explore other options.
Have a planned system for following up with prospects after the initial contact so you can keep your brand and message in front of them. Align your communication flow with the sales funnel, so the content evolves as prospects move from awareness to consideration, decision, and post-purchase evaluation.
4. Misaligned Marketing and Sales Functions
Marketing and sales are closely aligned inside organizations that achieve prospecting success. Sales reps rely on marketing to attract optimal sales leads, and marketing relies on sales to close deals and input additional data as communication occurs during the nurturing process.
The conversation about defining qualified leads, establishing a communication flow, and implementing prospecting activities should involve leaders in both functions. Only then can these teams operate in unison to attract and convert ideal customers.
Conclusion
These are four of the most common sales prospecting mistakes that your business should avoid. Prevent or eliminate these and see improved selling efficiency.
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