The Ultimate Guide to B2B Sales Prospecting: 4 steps to unlock your hidden market

by Richard Forrest

Overview

The Digital Age has brought with it a host of marketing and sales tools. When these tools were still new, they were remarkably successful, but today, e-marketing campaigns are no longer generating the cut-through they once enjoyed. Sales teams are struggling with a shrinking number of prospects and have become conditioned to work almost exclusively with late-cycle prospects—those who are ready to buy now. These prospects are savvier than yesterday’s prospects: they have done all their research online, they know the competition, and they know what they should expect to pay. In many cases, they have already decided what product they are going to buy and from whom. They’re merely speaking to suppliers as part of their due diligence. To win these sales, today’s B2B organisations are lowering their prices, which is placing substantial pressure on margins and on the business as a whole. It’s time to change the paradigm.

The Ultimate Guide to B2B Sales Prospecting introduces a powerful prospecting strategy that brings person-to-person conversation back where it belongs: at the heart of the sales process. At the same time, it allows companies to explore a huge market that is invisible to the vast majority of today’s B2B sellers: early-cycle buyers. These are the prospects who are living with a problem that you can solve, but who haven’t got round to looking for a solution yet. With a simple and intuitive four-step process, you’ll learn the art of early engagement. You’ll go from a trickling pipeline to a steady flow of qualified prospects, often in as little as a few months. You’ll learn how to define your market, craft your pitch, and how to manage your prospecting team in ways that will produce dependable results. By following the steps outlined in this book, you’ll be guaranteeing sales tomorrow, sales next month, and sales next year.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781925648355
Publisher:	Michael Hanrahan Publishing
Publication date:	08/24/2017
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.41(d)

About the Author

Richard Forrest started life as a Biochemist and Forensic Scientist, but when he was first introduced to the world of sales in 1989, he realised that this was his true calling. Since then, Richard has managed and coached sales teams around the world, and in 2006 set up Forrest Marketing Group, which is now recognised as one of Australia's top B2B sales prospecting companies. Does his approach work? The numbers speak for themselves. Over 4 million phone calls made, more than 150,000 appointments set, and hundreds of millions of revenue for his clients.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Section 1: Your market, the iceberg

Chapter 1: The tip of the iceberg 9

Chapter 2: Below the waterline 23

Chapter 3: The lost art of P2P prospecting 35

Section 2: Managing your data and identifying your prospects

Chapter 4: Consolidating your data 51

Chapter 5: Building a new list 65

Chapter 6: Preparing for first contact 85

Section 3: 4 steps to consistent sales through P2P prospecting

Introducing the four-step method 99

Step 1: Define your prospecting value proposition 103

Step 2: Refine your pitch 119

Step 3: Streamline your process 147

Step 4: Align your follow-up 167

Conclusion 175

About the Author 181

Where to go from here 183