As I lay in my bed this morning, trying to get back to sleep, made the mistake of grabbing the mobile and looking through to-do list and past memories. Then I found a snapshot from an email that I sent to our CEO a few years ago summarizing key trends in the sales team. The email detailed the following:
Steve, team has achieved the following:
- 84% increase in accounts touched in first two weeks since the leadership change vs prior two week period.
- 32% increase in activities (emails, calls, and meetings with prospects and accounts)
- 24% increase in unique contacts touched (expanding who we nurture and reach out to)
- 67% of team achieved activity targets in the first two weeks
- All leading to 12% increase in opportunity pipeline with 15% of pipe showing advances through the sales process. One op had contract executed.
- Finally, all achieved with two less sales executives on the team.
Look, we all want growth. What would an extra 12% in your opportunity pipeline in two weeks look for your revenue growth in a month, a quarter, a year?
So a key question that I have when I enter or consult with a CEO or Heads of Sales/CRO, what are the daily, weekly, and monthly habits or discipline do you place around the prospecting process?
One habit to focus on, the statement pictured below, especially in 2023 as many teams and sales professionals are challenged more than ever to get meetings with the buying decision team.
Taking from my Feb 2021 blog post, B2B sales prospecting isn't always as exciting and glamorous as other parts of the sales process or routine, as you can imagine; it's far more behind the scenes and challenging. In fact, sales heads/managers agree that prospecting is the hardest part of the sales process. But the value of sales prospecting should not go unnoticed, and doing it right can be just as rewarding as the challenge.
Unfortunately, in full-cycle sales organizations, salespeople usually don't pay enough attention to prospecting until the sales pipeline dries up. They don't realize that filling up the pipeline with leads early in the sales cycle is a vital part of the process. This ultimately puts a ton of pressure on your sales team to get prospecting right. But how do you know how to proceed when the rules of B2B sales prospecting continue to evolve as we enter 2023?
By utilizing the best techniques, your B2B sales prospecting can become less of a burden and far more exciting than you may think. Just follow these tips we use at M. Allen to improve your sales prospecting and get noticed from the start.
Download some our key insights and briefs over the past few years on this key topic below:
Contact Matt via mslonaker@mattallendevelopment.com for additional insights or details on growing the pipeline.
