The Top 10 Ways Prospecting has Changed in 2023

Are you ready for the changes this year is bringing?

As we talked about last month there are numerous ways to prospect, emails, text, social media even door to door. 

Today’s I will give you The Top 10 things that you need to be on alert for with regards to prospecting in this new economy. 

From the home office in Cool, Texas 

Here are the The Top 10 Ways Prospecting has Changed in 2023

10. Engage Everyone 

Does it have to be the CEO? for us yes, but you have to be prepared to engage management, gatekeepers,because  People are more cautious, which means decision-making typically may take longer. That means you better be prepared to get those relationships in place and start engaging people further down the food chain now.

9. Radio silence

Customers are going to go radio silent and you better be prepared to counter it. Since decisions are being slowed and people are being more cautious, there’s a tendency to go radio silent because they want to check out competition. You’ve got to keep in front of them. One of the best techniques that I love to do is automatically send them some insights, or some information to show to them how beneficial you’re going to be to them as an organization. It’s not just, “Hey, let’s talk.” Instead, it’s showing up with value from the get-go. It’s one of the easiest ways to break that radio silence.

8. Be laser focused

It’s going to be tempting to sit there and chase the shiny object, but right now more than ever you better stay in your sandbox.  You need to be laser focused to understand exactly what’s happening in our industry, with your competitive set and your customers, because your intel is going to keep you at the front of the pack.

7. De-educate the customer

Yes, De- educate, hear me out. Customers are trying to do all this information gathering on their own, and as a result, they’re finding a lot of bad information. It’s your job to come in and be able to verify, and when necessary, de-educate. It’s possible what they think they need doesn’t contribute to the solution they’re looking for. Or perhaps it isn’t going to be the best strategy to help them achieve their outcome. You have to de-educate them first so you can educate them.

6. Your personal reputation

It’s not your company reputation, it’s your personal reputation that matters. Let’s not kid ourselves. There are multiple companies out there that probably sell and provide what we provide. 

What’s going to be the distinguishing difference? You. You better be watching and protecting your personal reputation more than ever right now.

5. LinkedIn and social media

LinkedIn is without a doubt a valuable tool since so many people go there. There are still industries out there where people prefer checking you out on Google.  If they’re checking you out on Google, chances are your LinkedIn profile coming up first. Therefore, you better make sure that you’re engaging and not just a ghost profile out there with no posts. 

4. Bigger network

Of course, this isn’t just a game to see how many people you can get to know, but rather it’s a process of staying engaged with people who are in your circle.  A bigger network helps because more people are going to be challenging more things before they make a decision. Not to mention a larger network means greater opportunities for referrals.

3. More contacts

The bigger your network, the more contacts you’re going to have. This is going to work to your advantage because in dealing with a company, you may normally sell to two or three people. Now it may be four to eight people. You’re going to need more contacts within the organization to complete the same amount of transactions as you did last year.

2. In-person engagement

During COVID, we all learned how to sell online. In-person is worth a lot now because it still hasn’t been done in a long time. It could even be as easy as attending a conference or local referral group. I get it, sometimes your customers are everywhere and you can’t go see them all. However, you may have an in-person relationship with someone who in turn has an in-person relationship with your customer.

And the #1 Top 10 Ways Prospecting has Changed in 2023 is …

1. Referrals

Referrals are without a doubt gold. They’re one of the most effective ways to grow your network and amazing opportunities to increase revenue. 

The trick is:

 How do I ask for a referral? Just ask, during installs, dropping off supplies or just checking on them. Ask and you shall receive. 

When? ALL THE TIME!

Who? Anyone who you feel can give a good referral source. Fun fact – My barber has given me several. 

A great place to start is your own accounts. Ask them for referrals. Offer them a spiff for someone signing up. Also by giving your own referrals; you have to give to get.

Let me know your thoughts on this Top 10 list.

Have a great Weekend,

David