Research shows that 95% of buyers will research online before engaging with a business of choice. This means that most people will first look for information on the internet before deciding to engage a sales professional. 

But interestingly, another research also indicates that 91% of buyers don’t mind engaging sales people during the initial stages of their purchasing journey. So, if your sales team wants better results, they need to engage at the point where it’s more likely to change a prospect’s mind. This is mostly at the awareness stage where buyers are still deciding on companies to engage.  

In this article, we’ll discuss the top ten strategies you can use to get more prospects and clients to your business- even if you are a startup with little to no experience in sales.

1. Segment your target audience

During prospecting, you’ll be dealing with different groups of people. There are also many industries and company sizes you will be targeting. Because of this, it’s essential to create and send the right messages to the correct audience.

To ensure you are sending the right messages, start by segmenting your audience. You can profile your audience based on location, demographics, and interest. From the list, you can then create a problem-solution framework that illustrates how to approach each team.

The importance of segmenting is that it makes it easier to identify industries likely to use your services. Segmenting also ensures that you attract the most profitable prospects and clients to your brand. Profiling is essential for developing a probability scale that enables you to measure how likely you are to convert to a lead.

2. Prioritise on the most promising leads

Sales is a game of numbers and time. By prioritising promising leads, you can save time and get more prospects and clients for your business.

Your prioritisation routines will mostly depend on the type of business you run. For example, a startup business may focus more on local markets, unlike the established brands with a global audience. 

In the same aspect, your prioritising routines should focus more on activities that have the highest rating. For example, if your prospect matches your customer persona and has challenges that your business can resolve, then it’s more likely they’ll interact with your salesperson. But if you can’t connect with a lead in any way, or they are never interested in your online platforms, the possibility of closing a deal is almost impossible. 

The purpose of prioritisation is to ensure you don’t waste time on deals that will likely not translate to sales.

3. Tailor your emails to suit your audience

One of the best ways of building and nurturing relationships is through emails. But for emails to work right, they need to be tailored to suit the audience’s preferences.

When creating emails, make sure that you understand the interests of your target. Carry out market research to determine what may attract more visitors to your company. For success in prospecting, ensure that you have different email profiles for the various clients you will be reaching. 

Additionally, be mobile-friendly. With more than half of the world’s population using mobile phones, it’s essential that your emails are readable on all devices. Also, check on time. Be sure that the emails arrive on devices when the subscribers are more likely to open and read them. 

Lastly, share relevant messages. Avoid jargon or elements that make your emails challenging to understand. Remember that for better conversions you need to keep everything simple and straightforward. 

4. Be consistent with your deliveries

As a salesperson, most of your success is measured by how consistent you are acquiring new clients. Sales are all about bringing in new numbers, and if you can’t, the livelihood of a business in terms of revenue and conversions is dead.

And since getting more prospects and clients involves creating new relationships, it’s essential to be consistent. A good prospecting routine requires daily commitment to ensure the continued growth of a business. 

For consistent prospecting, ensure you have a plan. This can be a daily routine that boils down to weekly, monthly, and annual goals. Additionally, have a regular evaluation of your prospects. This way, you’ll know what to change in your routines to ensure positive results.

5. Ask for referrals

The best people to vouch for your brand are customers who’ve happily interacted with your business. These are opportunities that, if well utilized, could bring sales from areas you never thought of searching. 

In fact, it is estimated that 91% of buyers are influenced by word-of-mouth. And sadly enough, very few sales professionals take the time to ask for referrals.

The best chance at getting good referrals is immediately after a sale. This is the time that a lead is most excited about your products and services and can genuinely give good referrals. 

6. Use social media to build relationships

Social media is vast. With over three billion people using social media today, you wouldn’t want to miss on opportunities to grow your business from there. 

An important aspect of social media is that it converts. And another element is that building a social profile is cost-effective and straightforward. With a profile, you can easily segment, target, and reach the intended audience. 

But remember that prospecting on social media requires that you integrate with other online sites. For example, your website could be a great place to share detailed content that brings or takes prospects to social sites. Also, emails could be an excellent platform for nurturing relationships built on social media. 

Keep in mind that different social media sites attract various audiences. So, as you prospect, learn the best fit for your sales team and use it to get new clients.

7. Add videos to your outreach tools

We can best explain the importance of videos through numbers. This is because the current growth in the use of videos for sales and marketing has dramatically shifted the industry.

For example, 85% of buyers have said they are more likely to buy if they view the product’s video. Another research also shows that 96% of clients find videos to be helpful when making purchasing decisions. 

From the research, it’s clear that any sales professional not taking advantage of videos may be missing out on opportunities. This is especially so for startups that need to introduce new products in the market. 

8. Use all available methods to interact with prospects

The most exciting part about prospecting is that you are not limited to just becoming a seller. You can be a confidant, researcher, and even expert in other prospecting fields. By wearing many hats, you improve engagements, build trust, and eventually loyalty to your brand.

When looking for prospects and clients, think of using all the methods available to convert them. If you are new and need to employ a startup marketing agency to reach a larger audience, make sure to do so. Outsourcing marketing tasks is helpful as agencies will already have contacts that will benefit your business.

Even if you are good in certain fields like emails, it’s essential to include professionals in other aspects like social media marketing to boost your performance. By having all possible methods, you ensure every opportunity to close a deal is utilized to the best of its ability. 

But in all this, remember to analyse your results. Analyzing your products will help you diversify your reach and avoid activities with minimal effects.

9. Nurture relationships

Getting prospects and clients is a continuous process. More often, you’ll have to build relationships that span for some time before converting an audience into leads. And for this leads to convert to clients, you must continually share valuable insights. 

And as a business looking for long-term relationships, it’s essential to stay on top of the game. Your emails, website, social media accounts should all show commitment to helping the client. If you are sharing a post, make sure that it delivers short and long-term value to the client. That way, a clients’ future interactions with your sales team will always be a win for your business. 

Ultimately, have a nurturing plan. In your project, you can indicate your expected clients, how you plan to reach them, and when to start nurturing the relationship. By knowing what you want to achieve, you will understand how to approach it when the time comes.

10. Don’t forget to monitor your results

You may never know how much you have achieved until you check the numbers. By looking at the deals closed, you can tell if current strategies are yielding the right results. Through evaluation, you can know which activities generated the most value for prospects, clients, and your business.

Monitoring also uncovers your challenges. It helps you repurpose most decision-making processes to ensure better success. It’s also through tracking that you can identify missed opportunities that are worth considering.

Conclusion

Getting more prospects and clients opens excellent opportunities for a business. It ensures consistent development and growth of a brand. Getting new leads is a demanding process, but it delivers positive experiences in sales if done right. By following these top ten strategies, you can get more prospects and clients for your business.