What is B2B Prospecting: 6 Best Practices for Salespeople

B2B prospecting is the process of identifying and reaching out to potential customers or clients for your products or services. It’s a crucial step in the sales process, as it helps you build a pipeline of leads that can eventually convert into customers.

Effective B2B prospecting involves using various strategies and techniques to find and engage with the right prospects for your business.

According to HubSpot, 42% of salespeople consider prospecting the most challenging part of the sales process. With this in mind, it’s best to know the different activities you can do to make your prospecting efforts successful.

Best B2B Prospecting Practices

Prospect list building

Building a high-quality list of prospects is essential for gaining leads. You can begin by developing your ideal customer profile (ICP) with characteristics like company size, industry, or geography.

Prospect list building is when you create databases of prospects who fit your target market metrics. These people are likely interested in your product or service. The process involves identifying and collecting relevant information to use for outreach.

Where can you get B2B prospecting data from?

There are various avenues where you can get prospect data. These range from websites to data providers.

Company Websites: Visit company websites to gather contact information for key decision-makers, such as CEOs, CMOs, and CFOs.
Industry Events and Conferences: Attend industry events and conferences to network with potential prospects and collect contact information.
Social Media Platforms: Monitor social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to identify potential prospects and engage with them.
Customer Referrals: Ask existing customers for referrals to other businesses that may be interested in your products or services.
Professional Networking Groups: Join professional networking groups and forums to connect with potential prospects and expand your network.
Data Providers: Purchase prospecting data from reputable data providers to supplement your prospect list.

Sales cadences

A sales cadence is a structured sequence of touchpoints with a prospect designed to engage and move them through the sales process. These touchpoints can include emails, phone calls, and social media interactions.

The goal is to build rapport with the prospect, provide value, and ultimately convert them into a customer. There are different sales cadence strategies that you can employ for your prospecting efforts.

How can you use a sales cadence to succeed in B2B prospecting?

Sales cadences are great for keeping track of the different stages that prospects go through within the sales process. These are some tips to ensure that your sales cadence is effective.

Define Your Cadence: Include the number, time, and content of each touchpoint. Tailor the cadence to the prospect’s industry, role, and interests.
Provide Value in Each Interaction: Your touchpoints should provide value to the prospect. This could be with helpful information, industry insights, or solutions.
Use a Multichannel Approach: Variety is important in a sales cadence. Use a mix of email, phone calls, and social media interactions to engage with your prospects.
Monitor and Adjust: Monitor the effectiveness of your cadence and adjust it as needed based on responses. If a prospect is not responding to your emails, try reaching out via phone or social media instead.

Here’s an example of a sales cadence using a multichannel approach.

“In comparison to single channel sales cadences, the best performing sales cadences combine multiple channels for better conversion rates.”
Santtu Seppänen, CRO & Co-founder of Clevenio

Social selling on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the best platform for B2B social selling. It’s a platform that has the largest number of users who are sales professionals. You can leverage this by connecting and building your network and sharing valuable content.

Social selling is about building credibility, establishing trust, and positioning yourself as a valuable resource in your industry. According to 2024 data, 31% of B2B professionals said social selling allowed them to build deeper relationships with their clients.

How to use LinkedIn as a tool for B2B prospecting?

Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile: When creating your LinkedIn profile, it’s best to optimize it to showcase your expertise and value proposition. Use a professional photo, write a compelling headline, and include keywords relevant to your industry.
Share Valuable Content: Share articles, blog posts, and other content relevant to your target audience.
Join LinkedIn Groups: Join groups relevant to your industry and participate in discussions. This allows you to connect with like-minded professionals and look for prospects for your business.

Cold calling

Cold calling is a proactive outreach approach where you directly call prospects to connect and build relationships. The goal of cold calling is to introduce the product or service, generate interest, and secure a meeting or sale.

There are varying opinions regarding cold calling, according to data, cold calling has an average success rate of 2 percent. However, another research states that 82% of buyers accept meetings with sellers who proactively reach out. Ideally, you should employ social selling and cold calling for your prospecting.

How can you use cold calling effectively for B2B sales prospecting?

Prepare a List: Research and create a list of potential prospects who fit your ICP. This will help you focus your efforts on leads who are more likely to convert.
Use a CRM System: Use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to track your cold calls, follow-ups, and interactions with prospects.
Develop a Script: You can create a script to give yourself some guidelines for starting conversations with people.

Cold emailing

Cold emailing, similar to cold calling, is the process of sending an email to prospects who have no prior connection with you. It’s one of the main methods of prospecting for B2B salespeople.

Tips for using cold emailing for B2B sales prospecting

Try Cold Email Templates: Templates are great for streamlining your cold emailing process. It can reduce the time you need to write emails for every prospect on your list.
Track and Analyze Results: Use cold email software to track the performance of your campaigns. Monitor open rates, click-through rates, and responses to see what’s working and what’s not.
Keep it Concise: Keep your cold emails short and to the point. Cold emails with 50 – 125 words tend to have the highest response rates.

Follow-ups

Follow-ups are crucial for B2B prospecting because they allow you to keep communication open with your prospects. This is the backbone of any successful sale in the B2B space. According to data, 80% of sales require five follow-ups to be successful.

There are four main types of follow-ups, these include:

Email Follow-ups: Sending a follow-up email is one of the most common ways to follow up with a prospect. These emails can be used to provide additional information, address any concerns, or simply check in on the prospect.
Phone Follow-ups: Following up with a phone call can be a direct and personal way to engage with a prospect. Phone calls can be used to clarify information, gauge interest, and schedule further discussions or meetings.
Social Media Follow-ups: Engaging with a prospect on social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter can be a casual yet effective way to follow up. Liking, commenting on, or sharing their posts can help keep you on their radar.
In-person Follow-ups: For more high-value prospects, an in-person follow-up meeting can be highly effective. This allows for a more personal and interactive discussion, which can help strengthen the relationship.

Best B2B Prospecting Tools

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a powerful premium tool for B2B prospecting due to its advanced search filters. This allows you to find prospects based on various criteria. Additionally, it also allows you to track and manage their prospecting activities.

Clevenio

Clevenio is a sales engagement tool that allows you to create curated lists of prospects. You can use the tool to employ your sales cadence strategies and create sequences for cold outreach.

Zoominfo

Zoominfo is a go-to-market (GTM) platform that allows you to quickly identify prospects for your outreach. You can maximize your productivity through their tool which specializes in B2B sales.

Why is B2B Prospecting Important?

B2B prospecting is important because it helps businesses identify and connect with potential customers who are likely to be interested in their products or services.

By focusing your efforts on high-quality leads, you can increase your chances of generating sales and growing your customer base. Effective B2B prospecting can also help you build relationships with prospects.