4 Quick Research Tips to Build a Warmer Pipeline for Teleprospecting
Let’s face it: Not every cold call campaign is created equal. Data integrity and relevance vary with each purchased list, and these new lists are far from free. In a sales world that’s becoming more social, it’s more important to target and personalize your messages to prospects, setting yourself apart from the rest and refusing to provide "another sales pitch." Below are 4 ways to quickly find and engage more relevant contacts, building a warmer pipeline for prospecting.
1. Use a top-down approach, then utilize contacts listed from out of office alerts.
Reaching allusive decision makers can be hard when they’re in the office, and impossible when they take a few weeks of vacation. The good news when someone indispensible to the company goes on a cruise or heads up to the Poconos for a week with their family? They usually include a trusted coworker in their out of office message, and include a way to contact them. Better yet, these new prospects are on call and are more likely to pick up live. Major decision makers put them in charge for the day because they trust their judgment. If you impress the boss’s second-in-command, you’re more likely to be granted an audience with your decision maker through a warm introduction upon their return.
2. Find people on LinkedIn that used to work for your current customer base.
Instant warm introduction. These people know who you are and what you’re capable of. Finding these prospects can be achieved by looking at the “past company” box in the advanced search area on Linkedin. Decision makers typically hold similar roles from company to company. If your company has a strong relationship with your customer, those decision makers can lead to quick repeat business when they go to a new company.
3. Use competitive or complimentary keywords to research what companies are hiring on job sites.
This typically signifies some level of growth or pain. No manager ever creates a position without growth in a certain segment, and no employee ever leaves if they’re completely satisfied with all aspects of their position. Open positions mean available budget within the company. Sometimes employees may leave because they’re not given the correct tools to help them be successful, and those tools may be close to what your company provides. This a great way to find out what an environment looks like from a technical standpoint as well, because the description will list everything the new employee will need to know.
4. Check out your competitors' list of key accounts on their website. Look at what their customers post on community groups.
Lots of companies will post a list of their customer base to promote new business. Looking at this list can give you an idea of what your prospects from this list are using in their office environment. Tailor your messaging to common pain points associated with your competitors for these prospects. If you catch a customer with a pain point strong enough to be posted on a community page, it may be a last ditch effort to fix problems and the tipping point for them to look at something else.
Overall, these tips should help you build a warmer pipeline when teleprospecting. Research your prospects socially, research the people surrounding your decision makers, research your competitors, and research your prospect company's hiring sites. You will find information that will help you have open conversations when teleprospecting. These enlightened and researched conversations will inspire prospects to consider your offer seriously, as they know that you put in the time and effort to make sure your product or service was the right fit for them.