Sales Prospecting – Your Lead Generation Machine

​In the last decade, business has been completely transformed by the spread of the internet.  Around 90% of businesses research online prior to making purchasing decisions.  Inbound selling is crucial for many industries.

However, many businesses lack an outbound sales prospecting system for lead generation.

‘Do I even need this?’  many business owners ask.

Yes, you do.  Here are 10 reasons to use outbound sales prospecting for lead generation:

  1. There is so much information available on the internet.  Reaching out to customers, especially with a question which directly pricks their main pain point, will help your business stand out from the plethora of information on the internet.
  2. Customers currently searching online are ready to buy very soon or now.  Reaching out to your ideal customers who have not yet realised their buying need will put your business ahead of the competition when your ideal customer is ready to purchase.
  3. With such a concentration on inbound sales, many businesses have neglected outbound sales.  Your targeted lead generation campaign will cut through ahead of the competition, because your competition has probably taken their focus away from outbound sales.
  4. Sales cycles are becoming more complex, as buyers engage in research, consultation, and possibly more research before finally engaging with possible suppliers.  All this time is costing companies money.  If you can help them short-cut their purchasing processes by providing timely, relevant solutions – they’ll thank you for this, most likely by purchasing from your business.
  5. With increasing complexity in the sales process, and busy customers, salespeople can need more touch-points to get close sales.  Use lead generation and combination selling to break through in complex sales situations – targeted customer approaches, research, well-written emails and sales collateral, video clips, telemarketing and face-to-face meetings or skype sessions.  Close that sale without your customer feeling overwhelmed by an over-emphasis on one sales approach.
  6. Lead generation and the engagement that results will help you to flush out which customers to spend time on, saving you time and saving your business money.
  7. Customers like dealing with businesses who meet their needs.  If your business can proactively demonstrate how you will meet their needs, they’ll know that you will be looking out for them, advising them of opportunities.  Who wouldn’t want to deal with a business like that?
  8. Your salespeople are probably so busy dealing with inbound enquiry that they don’t have time to focus on outbound sales.  Don’t leave this for your competition – get in there and get a piece of the action!
  9. Outbound sales prospecting doesn’t have to take a lot of time.  With great lead generation processes and a little bit of automation, you can enjoy streamlined lead generation that helps you focus on genuinely interested prospective customers.
  10. If you’re not talking to your customers, then someone else is.  It’s as simple as that.

Are you aware of gaps in your sales processes, especially with lead generation?  Assess the sales needs for your business.  If you need extra help, you can always outsource all or part of your sales and lead generation for 2018.