B2B prospecting: why is it difficult?
B2B Prospecting: The Ultimate Prospecting Plan
B2B prospecting is an activity that doesn't always have a good reputation. For salespeople, the process often seems time-consuming, tedious, and off-putting.
Indeed, in B2B, decision-makers are already bombarded with requests. When possible, they try to avoid new sales pitches. When a salesperson does manage to make contact despite all the obstacles, their interlocutor's attention span is very limited.
To reach a decision-maker, you have to make multiple contacts. In 2010, it took an average of 4.7 attempts to make contact. In 2016, it took 8.2. In 2020, 10? 11?
In short, B2B prospecting requires a lot of time and energy to establish contact. And a large proportion of the contacts made end in a refusal to continue the conversation.
We can also add to this the fact that salespeople are generally paid on signed contracts, therefore on closing rather than on B2B prospecting.
The second challenge of B2B prospecting lies in the length of sales cycles. Since B2B sales cycles are often long, the salesperson must maintain the conversation over time and have regular interactions with the prospect.
Meanwhile, he must assess the prospect's maturity level. Traditionally, the BANT method (Budget, Authority, Needs, Timing) is used in B2B prospecting to:
- verify the existence of a budget,
- to ascertain the identity of the final decision-maker,
- validate the existence of a real need
- estimate the timeframe within which the project would be completed
Finally, B2B prospecting requires salespeople to be trained in new practices. Indeed, traditional B2B prospecting now coexists with new digital methods such as inbound marketing, social selling, and account-based marketing.
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How to build a B2B prospecting plan to meet new clients?
B2B prospecting is not an easy activity. To achieve your acquisition goals, thorough preparation is essential. In B2B prospecting, especially in B2B, the planning phase is crucial. The sales prospecting plan serves to define all the actions that will enable the company to achieve its business objectives.
In particular, it helps to identify the best methods for:
- attract more prospects
- gain speed on sales cycles
- help salespeople close deals faster
How to succeed with your B2B prospecting plan? Here are the 7 steps to follow to build an effective prospecting plan.
#1. B2B prospecting plan: defining prospecting objectives
B2B prospecting addresses different challenges:
- build a prospect database, acquire new prospects
- quickly find leads qualified enough for a sales contact
- re-engage existing contacts to boost sales
Most of the time, these marketing issues are intertwined. To what extent?
Before diving headfirst into B2B prospecting activities, you need to define clear objectives. To be precise, we even talk about SMART objectives:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Temporarily defined
B2B prospecting objectives are directly dependent on the company's business objectives. One way to set them is precisely by starting with the internally defined revenue target.
Based on this projected revenue and data such as Customer Lifetime Value and churn rate, we will define a target for the number of new customers to acquire over a given period.
Then, based on the conversion rates of previous B2B prospecting campaigns, we can continue to break down the objectives: number of sales meetings conducted, number of appointments obtained, number of prospects contacted, number of prospects to be processed, etc
For example, if we convert 10% of our qualified contacts into customers, and our goal is to make 30 sales, then we know we need to have 300 qualified contacts.
Setting SMART and motivating objectives for salespeople requires a process that cannot be random. It must be based on an external and internal analysis of the situation.
Analyze your market, your competitors and your customers
Setting goals randomly is not a way to build an effective B2B prospecting plan. If the goals are too high, salespeople will become discouraged and productivity will drop. If they are too low, the company won't prospect at full capacity.
To find the right dosage, it is necessary to have a clear vision of your market:
- What are the main market expectations?
- What are the recent developments in the market (legal, technological, etc.)?
- Who are the main players in the market? How do they prospect?
- How does the company position itself in relation to its competitors?
- What is our customer profile?
This preparation phase is fundamental. In particular, the question of which target customers to address largely determines how to prospect.
Indeed, if we are dealing with prospects who do a lot of research on the web and are very independent in their search for information, we will favor digital B2B prospecting such as email marketing , inbound marketing or social selling.
On the other hand, if we are targeting a less connected audience, accustomed to direct contact, we will turn more towards B2B telephone or field prospecting.
A thorough understanding of your target audience is also an advantage when building your B2B prospecting pitch. You'll have a better chance of establishing the climate of trust conducive to a sale if you base your initial contacts on a solid understanding of your prospect's challenges.
Similarly, a differentiating message can only be adopted if one is fully aware of the offers, strengths and weaknesses of one's competitors.
Conduct an internal analysis of its strengths and weaknesses
Once the opportunities and threats related to the context and competition have been determined, introspection is necessary.
The question now is what the strengths of our brand and our offerings are, and conversely, what the weaknesses are that are working against us.
Let's go. All together, marketers and salespeople, we brainstorm and fill in the two columns.
What is the purpose of this approach?
Obviously, the "pros" column will serve as the basis for our argument. Since this is precisely where we excel, we will focus our interactions with prospects on this area.
Conversely, listing our weaknesses allows us to anticipate prospects' objections. If we don't know them, we'll be caught off guard when they raise these points. These objections could spell the end of the relationship. However, by listing them early in our B2B prospecting plan, we'll be able to develop responses to counter them.
#2. A B2B prospecting plan to segment your market and build your prospect database
Once you've thoroughly analyzed your market, the second step is to segment it. Depending on your B2B prospecting objectives, you won't treat all contacts in the same way.
Not all contacts or leads are created equal. One of the goals of B2B prospecting is precisely to assess which ones sales efforts should be focused on.
What is the objective of segmentation?
Segmentation involves dividing your market into several groups composed of prospects with similar profiles, characteristics, or behaviors.
For example, a market can be segmented based on company characteristics:
- Types of companies (startups, SMEs, mid-sized companies, large groups)
- Business sector
- Geographic location
- Number of employees
- Revenue
You can also segment your contact database based on behavioral criteria or maturity level if you use a solution with a lead scoring feature.
This way, we will be able to target groups who are genuinely interested in our offer and have a better probability of making a purchase.
The consequence of segmentation is that we will have different actions for prospects who do not have the same level of maturity.
For example, hot leads, identified as "almost ready to buy," may be targeted with cold calling using a specific sales pitch. At the same time, leads further along in their buying journey will be contacted by email to maintain contact.
#3. A B2B prospecting plan must define its conversion funnel
Most of the contacts or prospects in a database are not ready to buy.
The art of B2B prospecting lies in accurately identifying a prospect's position in the sales funnel and defining actions tailored to that position.
To do this, it is necessary to define a sales funnel.
The sales funnel (or conversion funnel) refers to the process through which a company will guide its potential customers from the discovery of their need to the purchase.
In other words, this corresponds to the representation of the successive stages of the progression of a sale, from the moment the prospect's contact details are obtained until the sale is concluded.
For example, a conversion funnel can be defined in 5 phases:
- Discovery: The prospect doesn't yet have a clear idea of how to solve the problem they're facing. Their attention span is still quite low since they don't know you yet
- Interest: The prospect is starting to research their issue and is showing interest. At this stage, we will try to capture their attention by demonstrating our ability to support and advise them.
- Evaluation: the prospect examines the different solutions available on the market to address their problem.
- Decision: The prospect chooses a solution and embarks on a commercial negotiation process.
- Purchase: the deal is signed but the business relationship can continue in a logic of cross-selling or additional sales, for example.
For B2B prospecting to be truly effective, it is necessary to precisely define the stages of the funnel, always know the position of the prospects and, ideally, measure its conversion rates and velocity at each stage.
#4. Succeed with your B2B prospecting plan by preparing your approach and sales prospecting materials
To prepare sales arguments (in the plural), it is necessary to rely on the target customer typologies that we mentioned above.
First and foremost, you need to understand your prospects' challenges. The initial interactions should therefore be about listening. The time to sell will come later. But first, you must adopt a questioning attitude to identify your prospect's challenges.
Once we have identified some of the issues that our offer addresses, we will be able to use these elements to build a discourse of advice and support.
The meeting at a trade show, the first qualifying phone call or the initial phase of an inbound marketing strategy serve this objective: to gather information on the prospect's challenges.
If we're targeting prospects who are already ready to buy, we'll need to have a well-structured sales pitch to close the deal. If we understand their needs, it's quite simple.
If contact is made with prospects who are less advanced in the sales funnel, the focus is on providing support. The salesperson's role will be more about offering advice and positioning themselves as a key contact on the subject.
Ultimately, rigid sales pitches are no longer effective. What makes the difference is the salesperson's ability to adapt their message to the stage of the sales funnel the prospect is in.
Depending on the choice of prospecting method, B2B the salesperson can use marketing materials (web content, printed documents, catalogues, etc.) to convey their messages.
#5. The B2B prospecting plan must allow you to choose your prospecting methods
There is no shortage of B2B prospecting methods and tools. We will discuss them in detail in the following paragraphs.
But, for now, the question that interests us is this: how to choose the B2B prospecting tools that will guarantee the best results.
Today, two main prospecting methods coexist.
The inbound methodology relies on digital tools. It's based on the principle that prospects have become independent in their information searches. Consequently, it would be pointless to initiate sales contact too early. Instead, the focus is on attracting prospects using content marketing, SEO, and social media. Then, once the prospect has provided their contact information, they are guided through the sales funnel until they are ready for a sales call.
Conversely, outbound marketing encompasses more or less traditional prospecting techniques. In this approach, the salesperson goes to the prospect, for example with telephone prospecting campaigns or cold email campaigns.
In reality, the two approaches aren't truly opposed. Few companies operate with 100% inbound marketing. Most organizations that use inbound marketing combine it with outreach efforts targeting prospects.
Furthermore, in some sectors that are still not very digitized, it is still impossible to find clients with an exclusively inbound approach.
#6. Plan your B2B prospecting activities using a good prospecting plan
We have now defined:
- B2B prospecting objectives
- Targets to prospect
- The sales funnel
- The main elements of the speech according to the stage of the funnel
- B2B prospecting methods to use
All that remains is to schedule the B2B prospecting activities. This phase should conclude with the creation of a B2B prospecting forecast.
Why is this important?
First, we need to coordinate our B2B prospecting strategy with a number of key dates on the calendar: periods of high commercial activity (seasonality, special dates like Christmas or Black Friday if applicable), trade shows, etc
Furthermore, some marketing actions take place over a long period. If you opt for an inbound strategy, the first results will only be visible 3 to 6 months after launch. Time is needed to build an editorial calendar, create and distribute your initial content, and improve your search engine optimization (SEO).
Therefore, while waiting for these results, other actions will need to be planned to generate leads in the short term.
Finally, the forecast schedule is a tool for internal communication and team coordination, for example between marketing and sales.
#7. Launch and manage sales prospecting effectively to achieve your objectives
Everything is in place. It's time to launch B2B prospecting activities.
In the daily efforts of marketing and sales teams, it is important to stick to the established plan.
If the strategic and operational planning of B2B prospecting has been carried out correctly, any dispersion could result in less efficiency.
Furthermore, the projected schedule includes dependencies between actions. If we deviate from what was planned, it could have consequences for the entire project.
At this stage, the role of managers is obviously crucial. It is up to them to keep the teams focused, through a precise plan, on their tasks and assigned objectives.
But their mission also involves managing B2B prospecting activities. To do this, they must rely on key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the progress of actions against objectives. For example, they can use the OKR method, which consists of assigning ambitious goals and linking them to easily measurable intermediate key results.
Based on the observed KPIs, they will be able to identify any potential weaknesses in the B2B prospecting process and implement corrective measures.
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How to optimize your B2B prospecting to reach more prospects?
Even with a well-constructed sales prospecting plan, B2B prospecting is not a smooth ride, especially in B2B.
At each stage, it is therefore necessary to look for ways to improve one's performance.
The first step is to improve your understanding of your prospects. As B2B prospecting becomes increasingly digital, mastering data is emerging as a clear area for improvement.
Depending on the methods chosen, the following will be prioritized:
- This includes data acquired internally, which is collected for example with inbound forms.
- This includes third-party data purchased from companies offering B2B data intelligence solutions
But above all, it's how we use data that determines the success of our prospecting efforts. The ability to aggregate and analyze data and leverage it for strategic actions is a key differentiator.
A second area for optimization involves being innovative and testing new prospecting methods. The "we've always done it this way" approach is no longer acceptable. Buyer behavior, and therefore methods, are evolving. It's essential to adapt your habits.
To achieve this, it is necessary to continuously train in new prospecting methods and tools. But it is also essential to be able to promote these new prospecting approaches internally.
Finally, the third point is that it is essential to strengthen one's resistance to failure, especially when using techniques such as cold calling.
B2B prospecting tools: field sales prospecting
In B2B, prospecting can be carried out using various tools. Field prospecting, telephone prospecting, digital prospecting: what do these different tools consist of and how can they be used most effectively?.
Let's start with the technique of field prospecting. What practices does it encompass and what are the means to implement it?
Traditionally, field prospecting consists, for a salesperson, of going directly to a company to speak with a decision-maker.
This is a practice that is falling out of use for obvious reasons:
- Decision-makers are reluctant to interrupt their work to receive a salesperson on the fly, without a prior appointment.
- Unless you are working in a limited geographical area or have a very dense territorial network, this method allows you to contact relatively few prospects over a given period.
- The method is expensive (significant travel costs) for inconclusive results. Its ROI is rather low
On the other hand, there are other field actions that are much more effective: events or trade shows.
This type of setup offers a major advantage, provided you target the right events: several potential clients (or prospects) are gathered in the same place at the same time. It's a rare opportunity to conduct field prospecting while optimizing your time and resources. Trade shows are therefore an ideal opportunity to build your B2B prospect list and begin launching contact or follow-up campaigns.
Another advantage of trade shows is that prospects are more receptive to B2B prospecting than usual. Indeed, they attend with the aim of meeting clients, prospects, but also suppliers and service providers.
The golden rules of B2B prospecting also apply at trade shows. Beforehand, it's essential to carefully target the prospects you'll meet and identify a few key issues to initiate the conversation.
B2B telephone prospecting: to win customers
Telephone prospecting refers to marketing activities conducted by telephone to find new customers for a business.
Traditionally, telephone prospecting consists of trying to contact a potential buyer in order to obtain a business appointment.
How to prospect by telephone?
Cold calling is a delicate art. It requires a high tolerance for failure and perseverance. But you also need an plan of attack (commonly called a prospecting plan) to capture the prospect's attention and present your arguments, as well as good prospecting software to track your progress.
A good approach to telephone prospecting consists of 6 steps:
- Introducing yourself: Once you have your contact on the line, they will quickly decide if your call is worth their time. First and foremost, they need to be able to identify you. Therefore, a successful B2B prospecting call begins with a brief introduction: First name, last name, job title, company.
- Explain the purpose of the call: at this stage, the prospect doesn't yet know whether or not they will listen to you. They are wondering how your call concerns them. Therefore, you must clearly present the purpose of the call. For example, you could base it on a sector-specific challenge faced by decision-makers in their field, and to which your offer addresses.
- Keeping your prospect's attention: Decision-makers have little time to spare for prospecting calls. The mistake would be to launch into a long monologue extolling the virtues of your solution. Show interest in your contact, ask questions, and keep the conversation flowing while understanding their challenges.
- Addressing objections: Acknowledge the prospect's objections and respond point by point. If you have developed a solid prospecting plan, you will have already prepared for this step.
- Engaging your prospect: You've presented your arguments and addressed their objections. Now it's time to find out if the prospect wants to take things further.
- Specify the next step: at the end of the call, review what you have agreed upon and specify the arrangements for the next contact.
Is it still necessary to do telephone prospecting?
Cold calling has a rather bad reputation. In B2B, it often irritates decision-makers who consider it a waste of time. Many no longer answer calls or cut the call short, asking the caller to send everything by email. In short, without appropriate training tailored to the target audience, cold calling is difficult.
These reservations are mainly linked to practices such as "cold calling," which consists of making cold calls to prospects who have not shown any prior interest in the offer being made.
However, in some sectors, cold calling remains the norm. This is the case, for example, in professions that are less digitized. Prospects will prefer the telephone to have direct contact with the salesperson.
For other sectors, the telephone remains a relevant tool. However, it should certainly be combined with other approaches. For example, digital prospecting methods allow you to qualify a prospect and only make the first phone call when they have reached a certain level of readiness.
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Digital prospecting techniques
The web has profoundly changed the way businesses find new customers. By empowering buyers to search for information independently, the internet has forced companies to rethink their B2B prospecting strategies.
Traditional techniques like cold calling or mass emailing no longer meet buyers' expectations. Their results have diminished, giving way to less intrusive and more personalized B2B prospecting methods.
Email marketing
Email is a very effective channel for B2B prospecting. However, email marketing practices are evolving along with buyer behavior.
Mass emailing is now seen as an outdated digital technique. Buyers now prefer personalized messages that resonate with their profile, address their specific needs, and are tailored to their position in the sales funnel.
Inbound marketing and social selling
What is the inbound methodology?
Inbound marketing is a response to new buyer behaviors. Since they reject sales contact initiated by the company, it is no longer the company that should go to them.
Conversely, the company will seek to attract target customers to its website, particularly through content.
In practice, inbound marketing involves creating and distributing content to attract target customers (through SEO and social media) and then converting visitors into leads. To achieve this, marketers use online lead generation tools (calls to action, forms, lead magnets).
Once the prospect has provided their contact information, they enter the B2B prospecting pipeline. Marketing will then feed them content to nurture the lead and gather information.
Then, when the prospect is sufficiently mature, they are passed on to the sales teams for telephone prospecting.
Social selling
Social selling involves prospecting on professional social networks like LinkedIn. This method can complement inbound marketing.
Indeed, the drawback of inbound marketing is that it's time-consuming. Furthermore, salespeople are sometimes suspicious of the quality of inbound leads, since they are "contactless" leads. Therefore, a whole process of qualifying leads needs to be redone.
Social selling allows you to reach out online. Here too, the golden rules of B2B prospecting still apply: clearly identify target profiles, engage in conversation about their challenges, share relevant content to keep them engaged over time, and conclude with a contact.
B2B prospecting has many facets. It's essential to master all its techniques, but above all, to know when to use them. Tools also play a crucial role in helping salespeople win more clients. Automating parts of your B2B prospecting allows you to focus on the tasks with the highest added value.
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B2B prospecting: why is it difficult?
Expert references and credible studies
Studies and data
A Salesforce study reveals that 58% of B2B prospects consider sales approaches to be poorly targeted. (Source: Salesforce)
According to Gartner, only 24% of B2B prospecting emails are opened. ( Gartner link)
The Content Marketing Institute shows that 67% of the B2B buying cycle now takes place digitally ( Source: CMI).
Recognized experts in B2B prospecting
Jill Konrath, author of “Selling to Big Companies,” explains: “The complexity of B2B decision-making processes significantly lengthens sales cycles.” Official website
Mark Roberge, former CRO of HubSpot: “Effective B2B prospecting requires a data-driven and hyper-personalized approach” (LinkedIn article)
Bryan Kreuzberger, founder of Breakthrough Email: “The average response rate in B2B prospecting has fallen to 1.7%” Interview
First-hand accounts of B2B prospecting
“We had to contact 217 prospects before getting our first qualified appointment” – Pierre D., Sales Representative in the Pharmaceutical Industry, LinkedIn Testimonial
“Our response rate was 0.5% until we adopted an account-based marketing approach” – Sarah K., Tech Marketing Manager, Post Medium
“On average, 6.8 people are involved in a B2B purchasing decision at our clients’ company” – Marc L., Sales Director, Forbes article
“Half of our prospects never respond to our follow-ups” – Sophie T., Business Developer (Video Testimonial)
“We reduced our B2B prospecting time by 40% thanks to targeted automation” – David P., founder of SaaS Case Study
Stories and anecdotes in B2B prospecting
A salesperson spent 18 months prospecting a company before realizing that his contact had left the company after the initial meeting. (Harvard Business Review article)
A startup lost a €250k contract because its B2B prospecting email arrived during the decision-maker's vacation. (Twitter account)
A sales director discovered that 80% of his qualified leads came from content marketing, not direct prospecting. (HubSpot study)
A sales team tripled its conversion rate by personalizing each prospecting video. (Case Study: Vidyard)
A salesperson won a client by sending a personalized package after nine unanswered emails. (Sales Hacker article)
B2B Segmentation
| Type of segmentation | Features | Specific difficulties |
|---|---|---|
| Industry | Sector-specific characteristics | Technical language required |
| Behavioral | Analysis of interactions | Data that is difficult to collect |
| TPE | sole decision-maker | Limited budgets |
| SMEs | Simple decision-making process | Lack of digital maturity |
| ETI | Multi-decision-makers | Long sales cycles |
Diagram : Typical B2B decision-making process
[User] → [Identified needs] → [Solution research] → [Comparison] → [Collective decision] → [Purchase]
Questions and Answers about B2B Prospecting
1. Why are sales cycles longer in B2B?
Decision-making processes involve an average of 6.8 people according to Gartner, which considerably lengthens the delays.
2. What is the average response rate in B2B prospecting?
It is between 1% and 3% according to a study by Sales Insights Lab.
3. How to improve your response rate?
By massively personalizing messages and using news triggers, as recommended by Jill Konrath.
4. Why does email remain the primary channel?
Because 80% of professionals prefer to be contacted by email, according to a Demand Gen Report study.
5. What is the best time to prospect?
Studies show that Tuesday and Thursday between 10am and 11am give the best results.
6. Should B2B prospecting and content marketing be combined?
Absolutely, 67% of the buying journey now takes place digitally according to CMI.
7. How to handle common objections?
By anticipating the 5 main objections according to the MEDDIC model.
8. What is the ideal duration of a B2B prospecting sequence?
Between 8 and 12 contacts over 3 to 4 weeks according to Sales Hacker.
9. How to effectively qualify your prospects?
By using the BANT model (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing).
10. Can AI improve B2B prospecting?
Yes, for data enrichment and large-scale personalization according to Forrester.
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