Scouring for sales prospects? Here are smart ways to go about the process
Finding sales prospects is a tedious and time-consuming process. However, life for salespeople begins and ends at the number of prospects they have lined up in the pipeline. While salespeople can't avoid prospecting, they can certainly make the process easier for themselves. By maintaining a procedure for each platform and having a go-to list of places to search prospects, salespeople no longer have to think long and hard about where to look for prospects.
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Here are five simple ways to find prospects and keep filling your pipelines month after month.
Make the most out of Twitter by preparing a list of the top three or four keywords your target prospects care about. Then run Twitter searches on variations of the selected keywords to find people who are talking about those topics. You'll find that some people will be asking questions and some others will be complaining. Whatever it is, jump in and add value to the conversation and pick up some prospects along the way. Once you have got a few leads, keep an eye on them through private Twitter lists.
Business journals
Local business journals cover news on big events taking place at companies in the surrounding area, whether it is a new location, a lawsuit or additional funding. When you keep a close eye on these events, you come across businesses you might not have heard of till date. Discover relevant trigger events on which you can base your outreach and use them as point of reference while contacting them.
Industry forums and blogs
Subscribe to forum newsletters to stay updated about new companies and to learn about businesses that are doing well. Subscribing to these newsletters also helps you stay in the loop on industry trends and strategies. Even if you don't find a new prospect directly through a blog or forum, the knowledge you gain will point you in the direction of leads.
Crunchbase
Crunchbase provides information on company exits, funding and tech events. Start by finding out which companies recently got funding and then explore whether or not any of these companies would be a good fit for your products or services. You can also make use of the advanced search feature to narrow the search results down to companies within your category.
LinkedIn can be a gold mine of prospects if used correctly. Salespeople should be a part of the conversations and help the community in any way they can. While selling right off the bat isn't the brightest idea, keep these individuals on your list of prospects to watch out for.
Use the above mentioned five ways to find new prospects. Once that's done, plan what your next step will be so you can gain maximum from contacting them.
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