For a sale to happen it is essential that there are two elements: the customer and the product.
One of the biggest difficulties for a salesperson is to attract customers who really want to close a purchase, since several opportunities can paint in the sales funnel of the seller, and not all are qualified.
Therefore, the seller needs to carry out prospecting for customers , that is, a process of research, survey and attraction in order to create ties and sell the product.
If you work in sales you know how difficult this process can be. However today I am here to clarify this process and give you some surefire tips that will improve your sales process .
Come on?
Customer prospecting: how to get a customer into your sales funnel
As I already mentioned, the prospect of customers is the process in which you know and create a bond with the customer.
However, before starting the prospecting, understanding what goes on in the consumer’s mind is crucial for the negotiation to unfold, otherwise the efforts that you direct to a customer may be wasted.
This knowledge can be acquired from a previous study of the ideal consumer profile to which you can adjust and validate the persona according to your product and the needs of consumers.
Designing how your ideal customer would be contributes to the actions of attracting the customer to work.
Not to mention that by knowing this persona , it becomes easier to identify leads willing to move on.
After defining a persona, the channels of communication with that client are the next item on the list:
- What channels do they browse?
- What topics are they interested in?
- Do they know the company?
- How and where to approach the customer?
These questions have the role of guiding when it comes to identifying channels, but much of the mapping strategy will depend on how the customer reaches your company .
Understanding the pains, desires and places where these customers are makes it easier to probe the field and attract these consumers.
Prospecting has to make your company stand out , so the content created for customers needs to be explanatory.
The customer may know your company and be indifferent to it , or have never heard of it. In both cases, the concept of value needs to be worked on constantly.
All knowledge acquired about personas should be invested in this phase, as this is where prospecting is structured .
The main objective of prospecting is for the customer at the top of the funnel to enter it . Therefore, if only a few customers move to the next phase and the rest do not, this cannot be considered a negative thing, but a victory.
So the best way to get the customer into your funnel is to take the time to get to know the lead and use that knowledge to create a bond. And when he shows interest, it is time for pre-sales to approach and unfold the sale.
For good prospecting to happen, some details and actions need to be considered:
- Contacts qualification
- Market moment
- Knowledge about the market
- Correct approach
- Current customer referrals
- Company strategic planning
All this investment is worthwhile, since prospecting is the only safe way to attract qualified leads into the company.
The qualified lead makes the efforts put into the process worthwhile.
For example: a company that sells handmade dog soaps is interested in dog owners or lovers. When their salespeople get in touch to publicize the service and attract customers, owners of ducks, cats and horses cause time to be wasted, as these people are unlikely to purchase the products. This company, then, needs to define the parameters of its client well, so that it would gain time to go after qualified leads, which consequently will increase its sales.
Did you understand the power of prospecting?
What happens when you don’t ignore the prospectus
Although it has already been implicit how important it is to prospect for customers, many companies prefer not to make efforts and ignore this process.
However, in doing so, they are harming themselves.
The consumer is increasingly demanding and the market is not far behind, since every day it is possible for a new competitor to paint around.
By not making a prospect of customers, the company misses real sales opportunities . The lack of a medium where the customer is attracted by what the company sells and can do for him opens loopholes for uninterested consumers to enter the top of the funnel.
Not to mention that the time that is spent with unqualified customers could be well spent on those who are really interested in the company.
But that is not all.
Some unqualified leads may even enter the sales funnel and make the purchase, but over time your experience will become negative and the weight of his opinion can and will influence others.
Without a doubt, the prospect of customers is a fundamental step in the sales process.
