Before you encounter a potential customer and start leading them down the conversion funnel, your knowledge about the product and the prospect will determine the closure of a deal. Researching the specifics makes you more prepared for discovery calls or demos and makes it easier to build a good customer rapport. However, there are several ways to research a prospect and use the information obtained to your advantage in sales. We’ll look at some of them here and understand how the entire sales game is research-centric.
Different research channels for sales reps to use
When researching a prospect or a target customer group, understanding their actions and behavior will need more than one source. The information you’ll need to acquire a customer is not available in an organized manner. It’s staggered across multiple sources that’ll need some digging to find. To reduce the effort, we have compiled a list of all that’s essential for researching a prospect.
Internal data
The data you already have from your organization is called internal data. Target audience’s past behavior with the campaigns launched and all other prospect history data fall under this category. All clicks made, pages visited, downloads, and form responses from the prospect could be relevant from a research standpoint. For example, suppose a customer has repeatedly visited a particular page of your company’s website repeatedly and periodically. In that case, it indicates interest in purchasing that product and gives you a base to start building your funnel.
Outsourcing other important prospect info
While your internal websites are good at providing a ton of relevant sales information, you can use external providers for more information. Using the web traffic data of other websites allows you to identify your target audience quickly and reduces sales efforts by half. That’s because you’ll find people who already need or want what you offer. Hence, no time is spent on creating a ‘sales need.’
The only challenge in this channel is to find the relevant information rather than a whirlpool of data to get trapped in. Once you’ve tweaked your approach to get the most helpful info, start qualifying leads and kickstarting the sales funnel.
Read More: Key takeaways from lost deals that can help you evolve
Why research before qualifying leads
Qualifying leads is just as important as selecting the right players for a team game. If you get players with a hunger to perform and who are loyal to you, the chances of your team winning will be higher. Similarly, identifying the right prospects subsides half the challenge. Filtering your leads not only makes the process easier but also makes you more productive. So, it’s definitely a win-win. Here’s a list of all the important things you learn as a sales rep or manager when you research your leads’ background and history.
Understanding your target audience
Your target audience will find you provided you’re accessible to them. This statement means that you’ll have to understand where most of your target group lies and what markets are suitable for a particular product. The best way to get stellar sales numbers is to find people who need your product. The creation of need in sales and its importance is well-studied and talked about. So, saying that research helps you identify the right audience for a product is an understatement. It does so much more than that. Once you clearly understand who to sell to, it’ll be much easier to map out your pitches, demos, and discovery calls.
Make forecasts or projections based on data
Once you have all the necessary data, making projections or setting targets will be much more doable. Making targets is a way to quantify things and a general qualitative indicator of how well the market’s doing, where it’s headed, and any future challenges you’ll have to deal with.
Assess competitors performance
By researching a prospect’s behavior using the channels described above, you’ll be able to see their interest in your organization and your competitors. Having this information is more valuable than you’d assume. That’s because markets are competitive, so understanding your competition more will help you sell better. Not just your competitor but their customers will prove to be great treasures for you. They’ll make you deeply understand your product’s value, the scope for improvement, and customer pain points for your product or service.
Conclusion
Research gives you the most crucial asset in sales, i.e., information. The correct information gained at the right time can open up a series of opportunities for you to take advantage of. Being more prepared, focused, and fast in your sales and discovery calls will also result from proper prospect research. So, utilize the data you have to perform closures like never before, keeping the above pointers in mind.
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