Understand the Importance of Prospecting

Learning Objectives 

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Explain the importance of prospecting.
  
• Describe where prospecting fits in the sales cycle.
  

The Importance of Prospecting

Sales can be a challenging career. At a high level, selling is about getting someone to buy products and services. But as a sales professional, you know that the job isn’t quite as simple as that. 

Sales starts with finding and developing potential customers, which is called prospecting. Prospecting is an important part of the sales process, as it helps you develop the pipeline of potential customers. 

Prospecting, done right, not only creates a sales pipeline of potential customers, it also helps to position you as a trusted advisor. And it helps you focus on the right accounts. 

In this module you learn how prospecting fits in the overall sales cycle, and how to:

• Create a sales strategy for targeting the right accounts.
  
• Develop messaging for specific prospect contacts.
  
• Find the right time to reach out to contacts.
  
• Use voicemail and email effectively.
  
• Make prospecting a habit.
  

In many ways, sales is all about the numbers. When you practice strategic prospecting you don’t have to solely rely on the number of calls you make or emails you send. 

Realistically, you can make only so many calls and send only so many emails in a given day. When you know who to target and take a well-defined approach to reach them, you increase your chances of getting their attention and interest, and in turn you better understand their needs. This is what can help move them along in the sales cycle. Strategic prospecting gives you a measurably better return on the time and energy you invest.

How Prospecting Fits in the Sales Cycle

Let’s see how prospecting fits into the overall sales process. Here are the established four stages in the buying process (identified back in the early 1900s).

1. Attention: The customer is aware of the product.
   
2. Interest: The customer demonstrates a desire to learn more about the product.
   
3. Desire: The customer chooses to purchase the product.
   
4. Action: The customer makes the purchase.
   

Prospecting is focused on getting the customer through the first two stages: Attention and Interest. The end goal is getting a potential customer to say, “Yes, I want to learn more.” That's important to remember, because as soon as you start talking to the prospect about products, you’ve jumped past the first two stages and are already working on the third stage, Desire. 

If you position yourself as just trying to push a product, you miss out on the opportunity to become a trusted advisor, which can lead to fewer sales. Instead, focus on developing a relationship with your prospects and understanding their needs.

It’s also important to target contacts at the right level in the companies you’re working with. When selling a relatively complex solution, many people will be involved in the process. It’s essential to not only reach out to the people who will be using or implementing your solution, but also the people who control the budgets.

Now that you know what prospecting is and how it fits into the entire sales process, let’s look more closely at the approach you can take to make prospecting successful.