Ready to dive headfirst into the ocean of sales prospecting strategies that will rule the roost in 2024? Buckle up, because we're about to go on a hyper-speed journey through the cosmos of B2B sales prospecting.

Defining the sales prospecting universe

Before we jet off, let's take a pit stop to define what sales prospecting is all about.

Sales prospecting is like space exploration for lead generation. It's the process of scanning the vast universe of potential customers and initiating contact with those who are most likely to buy your product or service.

Through sales prospecting, you're looking for new worlds (or markets) to conquer, laying the foundation for the entire sales process.

It's the first step in a longer journey that includes lead qualification, nurturing, and closing.

Sales prospecting techniques

There are countless stars in the sky, and similarly, there are numerous sales prospecting techniques available for use.

These techniques can take various forms, from researching potential leads online and offline, identifying the most suitable leads for your business, generating leads through your website, networking at events, to making the first contact through cold calling or sending emails to a targeted list of prospects.

The choice of methods often depends on a company's strengths, tools, and circumstances.

However, the most effective strategies are those that adapt and evolve with time, just like how stars and galaxies change in the universe.

Decoding the sales prospecting lingo

In the world of sales prospecting, you might often hear terms like 'sales prospecting techniques' or 'sales prospecting methods'. Don't let these phrases confuse you.

They are essentially two sides of the same coin, used interchangeably by salespeople to talk about their strategies to find and contact potential customers.

Distinguishing between leads and sales prospects

One common point of confusion in the sales prospecting universe is the difference between a lead and a sales prospect.

Leads are potential customers who have shown some level of interest in your brand but have not yet passed through the lead qualification process to become sales prospects.

On the other hand, sales prospects are leads that have been evaluated and qualified based on factors like their job title, buying history with similar products or services, and their current needs and interests.

They are the ones who fit your ideal customer profile and have a higher likelihood of becoming a customer.

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Navigating sales prospecting in 2024: 17 need to know techniques

Now that we've covered the basics of the sales prospecting galaxy let's zoom into the future and check out the top prospecting strategies that will take centre stage in 2024, from warming up with cold calls to digital sales rooms.

Remember, the future of sales prospecting is as vast and varied as the cosmos itself, so don't hesitate to experiment, adapt, and find what works best for you!

1. Crafting detailed personas and profiles

As we move forward in our sales journey, it's crucial to know who you're navigating towards. Understanding your ideal customer is akin to having a map of the stars.

Creating profiles of your ideal customers can help streamline your sales efforts and increase your chances of closing deals.

This process typically involves researching the demographic, psychographic, and behavioural characteristics of your target audience.

2. Diving deep with research

Once you've identified the type of customer you're looking for, it's time to dig deeper.

This step involves getting a detailed understanding of your potential leads - their recent activities, customers, past interactions with similar companies, and more.

This additional information can make your pitch more personalised and effective, helping your message stand out among a sea of generic sales pitches.

3. Harnessing the power of social media

Social media is not just a platform for cat videos and memes; it's also a gold mine for sales prospecting.

Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn provide unrivalled access to potential leads, making it easier to connect with them in a personal and engaging way.

Social selling is key in 2024. Daniel Disney, Founder of LinkedIn's most popular page for salespeople, The Daily Sales, explains on an episode of The Sales Soundcheck:

"Buyers are consuming content as part of the research process, but they're not just consuming content from the company. They’re consuming content from people. Personal branding is one of the biggest anchors that a salesperson can leverage and an absolute game changer."

How to kick off your social selling journey? 

1. First stop, check out Daniel's episode on The Sales Soundcheck 'Why you should be social selling in 2024'. He's got some killer tips for kicking things off.

2. Dive into our Comprehensive Guide on Social Selling. To find out why it’s a big deal for sellers today.

3. Use LinkedIn’s scheduling tool to get things in order and prep a bunch of posts to go live without you having to lift a finger.

4. Tune into Linkedin’s sales influencers for trending topics and use tools like WriteSonic to sort out that caption for you.

4. Warming up with warm calls

Warm calls refer to reaching out to leads who are already familiar with your business in some way.

Since these prospects are already aware of what you have to offer, warm calls have a higher chance of success compared to cold calls.

5. Keeping the cold calls in the pipeline

Cold calls still have a place in the sales prospecting universe. They can help you expand your reach and add more leads to your pipeline.

However, they should be used in conjunction with other techniques, not as the sole strategy for generating prospects.

6. Leverage digital sales rooms for a more personal touch

Email remains a powerful tool in the sales prospecting toolkit. With today's sophisticated platforms, you can send highly personalised emails that effectively engage prospects.

If you want to take personalisation one step further, embed a digital sales room link preview into the email.

Instead of adding multiple links and attachments in long email threads, place all of that sales content in one centralised and trackable space. In trumpet, sales reps can:

• Pull prospect data (name, company name) into the Pod from the associated CRM deal to populate custom variables in one click.

• Use the prospect’s company URL to auto-brand the Pod with their logo and colours.

• Film personal video intros with our Loom-style video/screen recording tool.

• Track prospect engagement with the content in the Pod. What did they click on? How long did they look at it? Did they share the link or download any attachments? Get access to all of this and receive notifications via Slack, Teams, or email in real-time.

• Use ready-made templates to create outreach Pods, saving even more time.

Account Executives at Otta are using Pods to send hyper-personalised outreach, with open rates ranging from 64-84%. Their Sales Lead, Stephanie Guerin, explains:

"Pods have become our single source of truth when communicating with clients."

Delivering a fresh, new way to share information after discovery without long email chains.

trumpet has 9 different outreach templates to pick from to whip up a personalised digital sales room in seconds!

7. Reassessing your tone

As we move forward, it's important to reassess and adapt the tone of your sales pitch.

A conversational and humanised approach can help you connect with leads on a deeper level and cut through the noise of generic sales pitches.

8. Engaging in real-world interactions

In an increasingly digital world, real-world interactions can still be a powerful way to connect with prospects.

Attending events and conferences can provide opportunities to build relationships and engage with potential leads.

9. Tapping into LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a treasure trove for B2B sales prospecting. It allows you to connect with leads, build relationships, and stay updated on industry trends.

Tools we recommend to kick off your LinkedIn journey:

• Apollo: Apollo’s living database of 275M+ contacts gives you access to rich buyer data, lead scoring and Use sequence to email, call and connect on LinkedIn.

• Linkedin Sales Navigator: By implementing LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you can access the user’s LinkedIn profile from contact, account or opportunity pages in the CRM.

• Trumpet: Embed an auto-personalised digital sales room as a link preview in LinkedIn DM’s to prospects. Trumpet Pods have a 76% open rate and are sure to intrigue the prospect. The best bit? You’ll know if the Pod has been clicked on through buyer signals.

• Lavender: Write better outbound messages faster and get more replies in less time. They also analyse your messages and fix anything that hurts your chance of getting a reply, using generative AI.

10. Adopting a multi-channel approach

In 2024, a multi-channel approach to sales prospecting will be more crucial than ever. It allows you to cover more ground in less time and create a targeted strategy that fits your business.

11. Leveraging data and buyer signals

Modern sales platforms provide a wealth of data that can help you understand which strategies are most effective. Make sure to use this data to enhance your prospecting efforts.

Unfortunately, with email, you're limited to the CRM's insights (opens, clicks on links) which don't tell you how the prospect has engaged with the content shared. Sharing a digital sales room link like trumpet allows you to track:

• Pod Views/pages viewed

• Number of times they returned

• Session duration

• Shares

• Clicks on content

• Downloads

And a lot more! Leveraging these insights helps you understand buyer intent from day one and send more targeted follow-ups. "Hey Amy - Noticed you watched my intro to Acme and shared it with John, let me know if you have any questions".

12. Asking for referrals

Referrals can open doors to new prospecting opportunities. By cultivating strong relationships with your existing customers and asking for referrals, you can tap into their networks and reach potential leads.

13. Seeking partnerships for co-selling

Partnerships can help you expand your reach and build relationships with prospects.

Co-selling involves partnering with another business in your industry to access their customers and open up new possibilities for your own customer base.

14. Planning Calls and Discussions

Planning your interactions with leads can make your prospecting efforts more effective. It ensures that your communication is organised and professional, and it can help you better engage with potential customers.

15. Offering incentives

Offering incentives can be a great way to entice prospects and boost your chances of making a sale. These incentives could include free consultations, discounts, or exclusive access to content or services.

16. Building a repeatable process

Having a streamlined, repeatable process for selling your product or service is crucial for success.

This process should be tailored to each customer and should include essential steps like customer onboarding and product demonstrations.

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17. Setting up a follow-up process

Following up with prospects is a crucial part of sales prospecting. It helps maximise your chances of success and enhances the effectiveness of your personalised email campaigns.

It's important to make post-discovery and post-demo follow-ups as buyer-friendly as possible.

Sending an email with PDF attachments and multiple embedded links, along with a call summary and action list, doesn't allow for much tracking and can be overwhelming for the buyer.

Instead, consolidate all that content in one place.

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Embed call recordings, add summaries, mutual action plans, PDF documents, pricing, case studies, and much more on one link - then track how the prospect engages with this content in real time.

Before using trumpet, Lunio used to send regular follow-ups to check if the prospect had reviewed the sales assets, links, and documentation after the initial post-demo follow-up.

Today, Lunio uses trumpet's sales intelligence and buyer signals to gather insights on Pod views, the length of time spent viewing content, and link clicks, among other metrics.

This allows them to remove lower-value emails from their sales cadence and enables their team to be more direct in their communication.

Choose from 8 different post-call follow-up ready-made templates to auto-personalise the follow-up process in a trumpet's digital sales room.

Final thoughts

That wraps up our journey through the 2024 sales prospecting universe.

By leveraging these techniques, your sales team can optimise their efforts and reach new heights in the coming year.

Remember, the future of sales prospecting is as vast and varied as the cosmos itself, so don't hesitate to experiment, adapt, and find what works best for you!