Prospecting is a crucial step in the life of a company. It is what allows you to look for new customers and guarantees its profitability and prosperity . It is therefore not to be taken lightly.
Prospecting does not mean contacting just anyone to try to convert him or her into a customer . You need to have a good sales strategy and rely on a reliable and targeted database to obtain appreciable results.
The key tool to implement for this purpose is the prospecting file . What is it? What does it contain, why use it and how to establish it? Optimize your chances of commercial conversion. Discover everything you need to know about the prospecting file in this guide and the advice for building it.
What is a sales prospecting file?
The prospecting file: definition
The B2B or B2C sales prospecting file is a list of potential customers for the products or services offered by a company.
It lists relatively general information about contacts who have not yet made a purchase, but are likely to do so over time.
This probability of taking action is assessed using qualification criteria . And the assessment in question is done in the short, medium and long term.
How is it different from other files?
The prospecting file must be differentiated from the customer file and the prospect sheet :
The customer file
A customer file is a list of the company’s current or past customers . Salespeople already know their preferences, financial possibilities, needs, buying habits , etc. This is not the case with prospects. They are still to be discovered and there is no guarantee that you will sign them all!
The prospect sheet
While the prospecting file contains information about multiple prospects, the prospect card is a comprehensive view of the information you have about a single prospect. It is generally used to view, create, or modify the prospecting file information for a given prospect.
Why create a prospecting file?
The prospecting file is the basic tool that sales teams refer to when prospecting.
This database allows them to establish an effective and efficient commercial prospecting plan . It provides them with all the information they need to optimally manage their marketing and sales actions . Ultimately, the goal is to increase sales or turnover.
A plus for salespeople
Thanks to the prospecting file , salespeople know exactly at what stage the prospect is in the sales process or the company’s purchasing journey . Is he ready to take action or does he still need to be educated ( lead nurturing )?
The salesperson can thus direct his speech or adjust his approach according to the case. And more importantly, the salesperson can focus his efforts on the sales opportunities that are most likely to succeed and create value for the company .
A solid database of contacts and prospects
The notion of qualification is, moreover, very relative to the context of a given company and the product for which you are going to prospect. A prospecting file qualified for a given company is not necessarily qualified for another even if the activities are very similar.
Warning! To succeed, do not just acquire a standard file in free circulation. In addition to GDPR issues, you risk wearing yourself out on a file that will move away from your target. It is therefore preferable to create your own prospecting file or to get help based on targeting that is consistent with your activity.
What elements should be included in the prospecting file?
The content of a prospecting file is not the same for all companies. However, some information remains constant to have quality files :
- Name and first name(s);
- Professional email address;
- Phone numbers;
- Name of the company the prospect works for;
- URL address of the company’s website if it has one;
- Geographic location and postal address.
Depending on the needs, there may be information regarding the prospect’s profile on different social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook , Twitter, etc.), their interests, etc.
The goal is to gather all the useful and relevant information that can help salespeople move prospects through the company’s buying journey.
What are the prerequisites for creating such a file?
To establish a usable and relevant prospecting file, you must:
- choosing the right tool to store your prospecting file
- Define your buyer persona
- set up a good prospecting strategy
Choosing the right software for your prospecting file
It may be tempting at first to settle for a simple Excel sheet, but you will quickly find that this choice has its limits . Indeed, it is not suitable for use by several people at the same time (file locked to writing by one user at the same time). In addition, data protection is poorly ensured against handling errors that can alter the reliability of the data in the file, or even the theft of the file by an employee who leaves the company.
It is therefore recommended to choose CRM software adapted to the size and needs of your company to store and manage a prospecting file.
For VSEs and SMEs, CRM software like Teamleader Focus will allow you to centralize information on prospects , and enrich it with external data on the companies you wish to contact (example of prospect file below).
CRM software will also allow you to track the progress of sales opportunities , assign tasks to sales team members, and generate reports to assess the effectiveness of prospecting actions . It also protects your data from mass alteration or theft through a rights management policy and data backup.
Define your persona or Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
The persona or Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is the profile of the company’s ideal customer . This is the one for whom the company’s offer is made. This is the one that the company wants to conquer.
The definition of the persona must be as precise as possible and in line with the company’s current objectives. Its characteristics can therefore evolve over time to refine the marketing and sales strategy .
In the case of BtoB exchanges, for example, it is necessary to have information concerning the target structures. What are their sector of activity, their geographical area, their size, etc.?
In the case of B2C exchanges, it is necessary to have geographical data , social characteristics , character traits (psychologist), behavioral habits , problems, etc. The more precise and complete the information available, the higher the chances of conversion.
Note: always keep in mind that there is not just one persona, there can be several especially if the offer proposed is complex and broad. So always plan for 4 to 6 so as not to miss out on certain business opportunities.
Also remember that over 90% of the success of marketing and sales actions depends on the target. The more qualified it is, the greater the probability of achieving the expected results.
Prospecting strategy
It is the prospecting strategy or schedule that defines the direction to follow and what to do during the prospecting phase . It is also what provides details as to what should or should not appear in the content of the customer prospecting file .
If, for example, you plan to communicate on a particular social network because you are very active there or because most of your targets are very active there, you must have information about their profile on the social network in question in your customer prospecting file.
If not, how will you proceed? Same thing if you plan to prospect by phone or email. You must have the phone number and email address of your potential customers.
What are the 7 techniques for building your customer prospecting file?
After defining the target clientele and the prospecting strategy , you can move on to the actual development of the customer prospecting file. Find below the different options and techniques available to you to do this.
1. Play on your network
The easiest, fastest and least expensive way to build a database of qualified prospects is to use your network.
Communicate with your friends , colleagues (former and current), family , etc. to see if they are interested in your offers. If they express their interest, they will be the first contacts on your prospecting file .
Over time, when they become loyal customers of your business, they will help you replenish this list. They will become ambassadors for your products and services. They will recommend you to their network. Their acquaintances, friends, colleagues, etc. will in turn enrich your prospecting file and so on.
2. Use the SIRENE base
Using the SIRENE database is very effective when you want to create a contact database for BtoB commercial exchange purposes.
The SIRENE database is the INSEE database , it is more than qualified since it is a government file. It lists all active companies established in France. With it, you can carry out a very targeted and very precise search for the companies you are looking for: geographical area, size, turnover, sector of activity, APE code, etc.
Once you have selected the companies, go to LinkedIn and type in the name of the company in question to discover all the people who work there. All you have to do is choose the person who best matches your buyer persona and contact them.
By enabling the feature that makes LinkedIn suggest similar profiles to you when you visit a profile, you will save time by being able to identify multiple targets in a single search.
3. Le social selling
Social selling is the technique of prospecting and generating leads via social networks. It is mainly used on LinkedIn, the first professional social network . You can:
Do inbound marketing : create engaging, interesting, relevant and high value-added posts to bring your targets to you.
Do outbound marketing : contact your target customers directly by private message on the social network. You can also contact them by email, phone or other if you use extraction software like Phantombuster. The latter extracts the contact details of the customers you want to prospect for a monthly or annual subscription.
Join thematic groups : they bring together different people interested in the topic in question. If these are part of your targets, you will find a gold mine there.
Scroll through high-engagement posts : If the topic of the posts in question is a topic that might interest your target audience, you will find your prospects in the list of those who reacted, commented or shared said posts.
Warning! If you decide to use extraction software to obtain the contact details of your contacts, always be careful. Use them wisely. Social networks are not very fond of them, they can block your account.
Note: To do social selling, you must have a profile on the social network on which you want to prospect . The profile in question must inspire confidence, be neat and professional. Remember that it is in your image or in the image of the company for which you work.
4. Recruitment advertisement sites
Job boards are a reliable source of B2B contacts . You will find all the companies that may be interested in your products or services.
And by choosing this route, you can be sure that your prospects will be qualified since they themselves have expressed their interest.
5. Specialized trade fair sites
The idea behind specialized trade fairs is to bring together players from the same sector in order to attract prospects . So do some research on trade fairs related to your sector of activity and register for them. You will meet many prospects there .
You can also reverse the principle and look for trade shows where your targets could participate as an exhibitor. Ask for the list of participants and contact them to see if they are interested in your products or services.
6. Google Maps & My business
In recent years, Google has deployed colossal means to convince artisans to register on Google My Business . Also, even if they are not for the most part digitalized, they have a small online presence.
By doing a quick search on Google Maps , you can see where they are and get their name, address, phone number, etc.
So you will find many companies that might be interested in the solutions you offer by taking a little tour on it. Who knows? Maybe your target is just a few steps away from where you are.