Commercial prospecting: The means of prospecting in 2024

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To meet the challenges of sales prospecting in 2024, it's crucial to understand best practices, adopt new techniques and integrate innovative tools.  

This article, co-authored with andzup, Europe's B2B data experts, explores trends in sales prospecting in 2024, highlighting the must-have strategies for winning new customers.  

What is commercial prospecting?

Sales prospecting is the initial and crucial phase of the sales cycle, when sales teams actively engage in identifying and contacting individuals likely to be interested in their products or services. The fundamental aim of this strategic approach is to create and enrich a database of qualified leads. These qualified leads play an essential role in fuelling the conversion process, helping to boost company growth by attracting new customers into their ecosystem.

The advantages and challenges of a good prospecting method

In addition to expanding the customer base, prospecting offers a series of significant advantages for companies. These include the ability to compensate for lost customers (churn), diversification of the customer portfolio, increased preparation for sales meetings, reduction of unnecessary expenses, improved profitability, and enhanced adaptability to market dynamics.

Prospecting techniques in 2024: how to find your future customers?

Preliminary preparation of the target database :

In a context of incessant solicitation, preparing prospects in advance becomes crucial. Making them aware of the company's world, brand and achievements greatly facilitates the first contact when canvassing, thus establishing a warmer approach to prospecting. The "one-to-one" aspect and ultra-personalization play a decisive role, implying the implementation of communication and marketing pillars in the prospecting strategy of your development managers.

Ophélie Chollois, Sales and Marketing Manager at andzup, explains:

"Sending a prospecting e-mail to 4,000 people is a way of communicating, not prospecting, which requires a one-to-one approach.

Multi-channel prospecting, the pillar of outbound marketing, is used as a prospecting technique:

Direct marketing continues to be of undeniable relevance. By merging different prospecting strategies, such as e-mail prospecting, SMS, social networks and telephone prospecting, it's possible to optimize results considerably.

Participation in trade fairs - physical or virtual events, as a means of prospecting:

Trade shows are great opportunities to discover new prospects. By bringing together people already interested in similar products, these events create opportunities for direct contact. Prospecting through virtual events can also be an effective strategy for broadening your customer base and building relationships with potential customers. However, once again, the key lies in the database as a starting point. If a Growth Hacker manages to collect the contact details of all attendees, a flurry of opportunities will follow, offering a more relevant hook.

If not, become the actor, because planning webinars is also an effective strategy for acquiring leads. It's an excellent opportunity to engage prospects and showcase your expertise and know-how on issues relevant to their daily lives or, in the case of B2B, their professional activity.

To increase your visibility, consider co-marketing webinars with partners who are experts in their field. This collaboration reinforces the perceived value and extends the reach of your potential audience.

Inbound marketing strategy or how to attract organic leads

Inbound marketing, based on the creation of high-quality content, is positioned as a prospecting technique and an attractive strategy aimed at capturing prospects' attention by providing them with relevant information. The main objective is to build trust, demonstrate sector expertise, and ultimately convert simple visitors into leads through strategically placed contact forms and judiciously designed calls to action.

The integration of social networks is one of the means of prospecting, in this approach networks offer an additional dimension to prospecting. Social networks are no longer simply sharing platforms, but are becoming powerful prospecting tools, particularly on Linkedin and Instagram. Their ability to precisely target relevant audiences, carry out real-time competitive intelligence, facilitate direct interaction with potential buyers, and quickly identify emerging trends make them essential elements in the modern prospecting professional's toolbox.

Aligning an Inbound strategy with an active and engaging presence on social networks creates a synergy where the dissemination of quality content on these platforms helps to generate qualified traffic to the website, promoting the conversion of prospects into customers. The combination of these approaches offers a holistic solution, boosting visibility, credibility and overall prospecting efficiency.

The 3 most important techniques in Inbound Marketing :

1. Content creation: The regular production of informative, educational or entertaining content in the form of blog posts, videos, infographics, etc., attracts prospects looking for relevant information.

2. SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Optimizing content for search engines improves online visibility, increasing the chances of attracting organic traffic.

3. Lead Magnet and Landing Pages: The creation of attractive offers (lead magnets) such as ebooks, webinars or free trials, combined with conversion-optimized landing pages.

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What are the two main types of prospecting?

Sales prospecting is basically divided into two distinct approaches:  

inbound marketing and outbound marketing. The challenge is to understand how to develop both approaches at the same time.  

"Allbound" is a combined marketing and sales strategy that requires near-perfect alignment between your sales and marketing departments. It's about bringing together the best of both worlds: inbound and outbound. Your marketing department will attract potential leads with high value-added content and nurture these leads with content tailored to their needs, and when they're mature, your sales departments will take over, continuing the marketing actions and tailoring their approach to each prospect according to the content they've consumed, to offer them a 'tailor-made' solution adapted to their needs." Pierre, Head Of Growth.

How to prospect effectively?

To improve prospecting efficiency, it's imperative to set up standardized processes - your own prospecting method, because it's just like you. The judicious use of sales scripts, the automation of processes, the creation of e-mail templates, the writing of prospecting guides and the adoption of tools that identify the most effective strategies all contribute to a more structured and successful approach.

In an increasingly customer-centric business landscape, the personalization of the customer experience is becoming a decisive factor. The strategic exploitation of customer data, combined with the intelligent integration of artificial intelligence, not only makes it possible to anticipate individual needs, but also to create unique and memorable experiences, thereby strengthening customer loyalty.

Andzup is the undisputed B2B data solution in its market. It enables you to obtain sector-specific databases based on your criteria of

It also saves a considerable amount of time on certain business levers, such as job changes. Modern companies take advantage of available data to refine their prospecting strategies. In-depth analysis of the behaviors and preferences of existing and potential customers is an excellent way of adapting approaches, maximizing the effectiveness of appointment-setting campaigns, right through to the act of purchase.

To sum up: How do you prospect?

Discover below, ten effective methods for successful sales prospecting thanks to a qualified, verified and certified database.

1. Define precise targeting: Clearly identify your target audience by determining the relevant characteristics.

2. Opt for a qualified and certified database to access rich, up-to-date information.

3. Leverage digital marketing: use social networks, e mailing campaigns, webinars and expert content to attract leads.

4. Attend trade events: Trade shows and conferences offer opportunities to meet potential customers face-to-face.

5. Personalize your approach: Analyze your prospects to personalize your messages and anticipate their needs.

6. Use inbound marketing techniques: Publish relevant content to naturally attract interested prospects.

7. Explore professional social networks such as Linkedin and LinkedIn Sales Navigator for prospecting.

8. Dare to use telephone prospecting or teleprospecting: This is still an effective way of establishing direct relations with prospects and obtaining appointments.

9. Offer demonstrations: Presenting your product or service can speed up decision-making.

10. Set up regular sales follow-up: Keep in touch with prospects to maintain the relationship after the act of purchase.

11. Use a CRM: A CRM system makes it easier to manage and analyze business relationships and increase sales.

12. Be persistent, assiduous and respectful of customers' needs: Sales prospecting is an ongoing process that requires patience.

By combining these methods and adapting your approach to your business sector, you'll increase your chances of success in sales prospecting. If you'd like to refine your approach, contact Andzup.