Any good marketer will know that being ‘besties’ with the sales team is the only way to gain insight into markets, knowledge, customer behaviour and importantly, build trust in marketing.
Salespeople are great at sales (obviously), and they love a good lead to follow up on, but most will tell you that they don’t enjoy sales prospecting. Cold calling, sending cold emails, and connecting with prospects on social media is no fun for them but it is part of their job.
Sales teams need tactics, tools and a dollop of inspiration, so how can sales prospecting be made more interesting and rewarding?
Here are 6 motivational sales prospecting ideas to boost sales results
1. Segment data
This might sound dull to most, but salespeople are always happy to share knowledge and stories about customers, experiences, behaviours, successes and even failures.
Work with your sales team to segment data into specific groups; sector, location, contact type, etc. From the segmented data you can then create niche messages around customer pain points.
By creating smaller groups of sales prospects, you can begin to create specific tools and tactics that are relevant and measurable.
2. Personalised emails
Smaller groups of contacts are far easier to personalise in terms of communications. If you don’t have first names, these are often easy to find on LinkedIn, websites or by calling main offices. Whilst call handlers may not give email addresses, it’s always worth asking so that you can check it with your records and, at the very least, they will give you a first name.
Personalised emails can include their name, company name and even specific sector or problem-related keywords that are relevant to them. Subject lines with a strong 'hook' are essential so if you want your emails to be opened, always ask your copywriter to write your emails.
3. Embed a personalised video
Sending someone a personal video message is a great way to get someone to open an email or text message. Although it isn’t really practical to record a video for hundreds of prospects, you can do them for individuals or small groups of contacts.
Your salesperson should be more than willing to record a 30-second pitch that begins with a catchy hook - again, ask your copywriter to write you a script. The video can also be used for social media posts, and you can link them to email footers.
4. Write scripts for social selling
A close relationship with your sales team will enable you to learn about their specific skills, knowledge, education, background, and even personal hobbies and goals. All of these things can be used to create individual scripts for them to use on social media – especially LinkedIn. Scripts help salespeople to say things in the right way, or they give them a starting point (remember, sales teams are often brilliant at selling but not always great at writing!).
Your copywriter can also write templates for sales emails and sales letters – salespeople will appreciate any help if it gets them good sales leads!
5. Customer referrals
We all know that word of mouth is a powerful sales tool, and case studies are commonplace. However, personal references are equally important so never be afraid to ask customers if they would be happy to provide a reference. You don't even need to use their personal or company name - the reference, along with their job title and company type will suffice.
Sales referrals or references are not only great for use on social media, but they’re also great for personalised emails, brochures, editorials, case studies, and even advertising.
6. Referral videos
If your company has done a great job for a business, use it as an opportunity to ask them if you can come in and shoot a video about their new solution or offer to film their wider business so that you can tell their story for them whilst promoting your service. They won't all say yes, but many will see this as free publicity so you will do no wrong by asking.
Your sales team can then send the video out to individual prospects via email, follow up with a phone call, and they can share it on their social media platforms.
Sales prospecting needn’t be dull – it can be highly rewarding for sales teams and importantly, great initiatives will build real trust between marketing and the sales team.
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