Prospecting is the most important thing in gaining new customers. In fact, it’s the first and the most crucial step. It’s important to know what to look for and how to start and maintain a relationships with potential customers. In this article I will shortly describe the best practices to gain prospects.

Combine methods

If you are truly success-oriented, you absolutely must incorporate multiple methods in your prospecting process. If you’re only cold mailing your prospects, don’t expect good results! Combine many methods. Attain to conferences and shows, take part in networking meetings. Use different marketing ideas to reach people interested in your products or services. Diversification of contact sources assures you that your prospect list will be truly comprehensive. That’s the way to broaden the prospecting background and quickly gain more prospects.

Be consequent

Set a schedule and stick to it. You can’t expect positive results, if you’re prospecting irreguralry, once in a month or once in a week. The best outcome is when you set a little time every day to search for prospects and message them. Only this way you can assure yourself that you’ll get a steady inflow of new potential customers.

Following a consistent schedule has another benefit: it is a daily practice. This way, one day after another, you practice attracting people and you develop strategies that make your prospects more likely to make a transaction. Consistency pays off – metaphorically and literally.

Have a script

You may think that having a script might not be the best solution. It is, after all, constricting your creativity. It lacks flexibility. In fact it’s the opposite. Only with a well-prepared script you can easily monitor what works and what not works in the whole process. You can plan in advance what would you say and set a clear, consistent message to your prospect. You can also easily improve or change your script, accordingly to your effects.

Don’t sell

Remember, that prospecting doesn’t mean selling the product. Do not begin your relationship with advertising the product. Try to set up and maintain a meaningful connection first. Educate the prospects and listen to them. That way you’ll be able to create a trust in your brand which will facilitate making a purchase later. That’s especially important for B2B prospecting. You need to prove your worth first, and sell later.

Nurture relationships

If you once gain a prospect, that doesn’t mean it will stay that way. You need to constantly maintain and improve your relationship – and finally try to convert them into your customer. Offer your knowledge and support, educate your prospect and most importantly listen to his/hers suggestions. Only if you succeed in making a meaningful connection, you can start thinking about selling to the prospect. Remember that prospecting is not about your monologue. It needs to include opinions and questions of a prospect.

If you manage to follow all those steps and incorporate all those principles, I can guarantee you that your sales – and the number of the prospects – will grow quickly and increase your revenue.