Best Practices for Creating a Successful Prospecting Funnel
Sandeep TM, Head of Inside Sales, Outplay - the multi-channel sales engagement platform - shares his top tips on perfecting your prospecting funnel
Tell me how you got into sales.
I started my career with Goldman Sachs. I was in an operations job, but I wanted something more exciting. Early in my career, I met sales reps from the Goldman Sachs team and liked what they were doing; sales was something different every day. That changed my career direction into sales.
After Goldman Sachs, I had my own startup where I had to wear multiple hats - the founder and the CEO, but I also had to make most of the sales. Every day I talked to new people and tried to convince people about a vision or idea. Since I got bitten by the sales bug, I will be doing something in sales, even if not for my venture. I'm built for the pleasure of sales, and I'm okay with taking the pressure of sales.
What are the top best practices for creating a successful prospecting funnel?
My first and foremost tip for a successful prospecting funnel is to be meticulous about your follow-ups. I believe sales is like a science experiment. If I have the right competence at the right point in time, the result is predominantly going to be something that is expected. It is essential to get the process right, be meticulous about it, and do it daily.
You should be open to taking a no as a salesperson. You cannot get bogged down by the 100 nos that might come your way. Always expect that yes, even after the 100 nos. That will make you build that sales funnel.
Cold outreach will never work. You must do the right amount of background work to get to know your prospects. Research will be a significant factor in whether your outreach is successful.
Being in the right time and the right place will make a big difference. If I'm selling insurance, and gone to a person who's just bought insurance, then I've already lost my opportunity. Making sure that I know when that insurance contract will expire and when to reach out to the prospect will give me more success than not knowing when to reach out to them.
All these factors will make a big difference in ensuring that you're successfully building a pipeline and closing those deals.
How does outreach personalization play into that prospecting funnel and its success?
It does play a major role today. I don't think the cold outreach has evolved into an entirely different version of itself. Now, when you're reaching out to a prospect for the first time, you've already done enough research about that person to have a lot of information that will make sure that they feel that the email was meant for them and not a generic email that was sent like to 1000 people.
That kind of personalization has to be done in every outreach. Every outreach you do must ensure that the person at the receiving end of things will feel that it was meant for them because everyone has a unique problem.
When I reach out to prospects, we have to discuss the person's challenge and how your solution will cater to that particular problem. That kind of research and personalization of your prospects will help you get the right sales results. The mass email has evolved into something that has to be personalized to allow your prospect to feel that it was meant for them.
What are the top qualities a sales leader should have?
Number one is definitely to be number-driven. A sales leader has to be number driven. The second thing, a real sales leader has to be compassionate and have an understanding of how the team needs to be managed. Just by being number-driven, you can be a salesperson, but to be the sales leader, you have to understand the team dynamics, what will motivate them when their morale is down, and how to bring that morale back up.
What are the biggest challenges sales teams are battling today?
Some sales targets are very, very ambitious. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious, but when sales targets are set for teams, sometimes they are given unachievable targets. This leads to a lot of morale issues.
It is vital to get your numbers spot-on. Make sure that whatever sales goal you're setting could be aspirational, but it should definitely be achievable. Most teams have struggled with unrealistic sales goals. Have a more scientific approach to setting sales goals, and have some data-driven, stats by setting targets. Then base your targets on those statistics, which will help you develop a slightly aspirational but realistic target.
Is there anything else that you wanted to add?
It will never be smooth sailing when it comes to sales; you have to be built for it. So, for anyone getting into sales just starting their career, I can tell you it's okay to fail. At any point in time, even the best salespeople will fail. They will have a downturn, but the good ones will always ensure that the downturn is not for an extended period. Be open to that failure, and ensure you get the process right.
