The Best B2B Prospecting Method to Try in 2024

If your b2b sales prospecting strategy isn’t solid you run the chance of risk. 

What kind of risk?

The risk of losing money

The risk of reaching out to the wrong kinds of people

The risk of wasting time…….

And ultimately the risk of lead generation failure – which means less ROI for your business.

So if you’re looking for solid sales prospecting techniques, you have come to the right place. 

In this article, we will share how we guarantee 1 qualified sales lead per day for our clients, and why this prospecting method really works for b2b companies. 

Let’s help your sales team close more deals in 2023. 

(If you need more high-quality sales leads for your business, reach out to us for a free 15-minute consultation. We specialize in generating leads through Linkedin and cold email outreach. In the past 24 months, SalesBread has managed to generate close to 7000 qualified sales leads for our clients. 

(Also… If you’re not yet ready for Linkedin outreach and are looking for other b2b sales prospecting methods, like inbound, read this article.)

If your sales team hasn’t tried Linkedin for B2B prospecting, now’s the time…

Why we love Linkedin outreach

Linkedin is the perfect social media platform for generating high-quality b2b leads.

Not only can you use tools like Linkedin Sales Navigator to narrow down your list, but you also have a huge pool of people to reach out to directly right at your fingertips. 

As we mentioned, we generated close to 7000 qualified sales leads for our clients in the past 24 months, mainly from our Linkedin prospecting efforts.  

Check out our metrics:

Another reason why we love Linkedin outreach is –

Results come in almost immediately.

95% of our clients receive their first lead within 48 hours after launching the campaign. 

So if you need immediate qualified leads then you have to give this prospecting process a try.

Using Linkedin to find new business is simple. 

It just takes tons of research and killer copywriting. Honestly, if you can nail down this process guaranteed high-quality leads will end up in your sales pipeline daily.

Here’s how we do it…

Step 1: Build a super-refined prospecting list

Before we even begin our outreach campaigns we ask our clients who have purchased their product or service within the last 6 months. 

We then analyze their data and look for patterns between all buying customers. This will help you identify your ideal target accounts, which will make closing deals so much easier.

Why?

Because you’re reaching out to people who actually want what you’re selling. 

When we do this, it’s easy to build look-a-like lists of your ideal prospects then.  

The video below is an example of how we would go about searching for patterns.

You need to ask yourself the following when analyzing buyer intent data:

• Which industries have purchased from you? Technology? Health & Wellness? SaaS?
• Where are they located? The USA? Europe? China?
• Who are the decision-makers? Is it the founder of the company or someone else?
• Have the companies who have purchased from you recently been funded?
• Do they have a certain number of employees? Less than 10? 100+?
• Are they all using a certain CRM or SaaS tool?

When you analyze your PAYING customers it makes it so much easier to reach out to the right prospects.

You’re not just going after a broad list of people that you think might fit your ideal customer profile.

We then build look-a-like lists, plug them into Sales Navigator and refine it even more.

We also filter this list by our client’s 2nd-degree network and by recently posted. This ensures that we reach out to prospects who are actually active on Linkedin. 

If they haven’t posted something on Linkedin within the last 30 days, we will then add them to a cold email campaign, or an SMS outreach campaign. 

Below are screenshots of how we utilized Linkedin Sales Navigator to find lawyers who were interested in podcasting. You can read the full case study here.

Once we have a perfect list, and we know we have a list of qualified prospects, we will then do the following:

Step 2: Write ultra-personalized NON-SALESY messages

Don’t write generic salesy messages. These kinds of messages hardly ever get a response, unless it’s something the prospect really needs. 

See what this Linkedin user had to say:

Leads are tired of hearing the same pitch day in and day out by hundreds of sales reps. 

The reason why our messages work is because they aren’t salesy. 

Instead, we just try to get conversations started. 

And the only way this can be done is by researching each prospect on your list and finding something you can mention about them in your messaging. 

Because of this approach here are some replies that we have received recently:

I mean, if you can get an executive who works at Linkedin to reply to your messages, you know that you’re doing something right. 

So here’s our process for copywriting:

Research each prospect in your list. Google them, check out their Linkedin profile, watch podcasts or find interesting articles that they have written. 

Then think: CCQ

Write a specific Compliment, Commonality or Question in a custom intro sentence. This gets the conversation started. 

Here are some examples:

“Jane, your webinar on the effects of screen time on children’s brains really resonated with me. 

As a mom of 2 and an advocate of natural medicine, I would love to connect with you and pick your brain on XYZ?”

Or

“Hey David, got a sales question for you…

Personally, do you believe we should always add personalization in our cold emails? Or is it overrated?

Thanks

Jack

Or

“Hey, Benji. 

I met (common connection/referral) at a content marketing conference and he said that you’re the guy to talk to about (pain point.) Would love to hear your approach to XYZ..”

More copywriting tips

• Leave the sales pitch for an actual call
• Use the 90/10 rule. Speak about the prospect 90% of the time and only 10% about yourself just for context.
• Be transparent, you should mention in a follow-up why you’re reaching out, or what your company does. 
• Offer the prospect something in return – For example, you could offer to introduce them to someone of value in your network, or a guest post on your blog.
• Keep your messages short and to the point. Don’t write anything longer than a sentence or 2.
• Ensure that your Linkedin profile looks professional and enticing. When you use your profile as a sales page for yourself or your business, you’re going to end up with a ton of potential customers reaching out to you because you look like a leader in your industry. 
• Don’t use automation for every single message. Sure, at Salesbread we use sales prospecting tools like Expandi to automate follow-up messages BUT once a prospect replies, we reply in real-time with a human. 

Step 3: Follow up consistently

Effective prospecting needs a follow-up process.

Some salespeople follow up too often, and then some never follow up. When using Linkedin, it’s pretty easy to follow up.

Unlike cold calling, where a prospect can ignore your call, with Linkedin you can be sure that your message gets sent and seen. 

At SalesBread we have found that the best time to follow up is every 3 days for about 3-5 times. Most of the time we will get a reply. 

If we don’t, we will then take the prospect off our list, or add them to a cold email or SMS campaign.

When we follow up we will add more personalization and mention something of value to the prospect. 

For example, we might drop in 1 positive thing about our product/service that could make their life easier, or name-drop a big client. 

We will then make it as easy as possible for the prospect to reply by saying they can simply reply with a one-word answer, like:

“Just reply yes if this is something on your radar, or if you would like more info.”

Below is an example of a follow-up message we used in the past:

Simple… Just remember to always make it about the prospect. Think about how you would feel if you were in their shoes. 

What can you say to make your proposition as valuable as possible for them? If you can nail that, then you’re winning at outbound. 

Ask for a booked phone call/meeting

Lastly, don’t be scared to ask for a booked sales call. 

The clearer your CTA is the better. 

This lets your prospects know exactly what you want from them. 

So whether you would like a booked sales call, or would like to direct the potential client to your website, say it in your message. 

It could be as simple as saying:

• “Let’s hop on a quick 10-minute phone call next week?”
• “Forgot to share the link to my podcast, here it is….”
• “Here’s my calendar link, feel free to book a time that works for you.”
• “Would you like me to liaise with your PA and book a quick call?”
• “You could always send me your calendar link and I can book a quick call next week.”
• “How does a 5-minute call sound?”

This prospecting method works every single time.

7000 qualified leads and hundreds of happy clients show us that this sales process is an asset to any b2b company that needs more leads. 

Check out some of our case studies below.

Some case studies to read over…

• Is Lead Generation Worth It? Case Study – 67 Qualified Leads in 8 Weeks
• B2B SaaS Growth Strategy – How We Generated 183 Sales Leads in 130 Business Days
• LocalEyes Case Study – 78 Qualified Leads in 60 Days.
• Fintech Lead Generation Case Study – How we generated 118 leads in 8 weeks

As you can see this b2b prospecting technique works in many different industries. We have helped clients find leads in the fintech space, video production, marketing SaaS, HR, law, education and even health and wellness. 

If you’re looking for other b2b sales prospecting methods, like inbound, read this article. 

Need a better conversion rate and your current marketing strategy isn’t working?

Hop on a free 15-minute strategy call with us today. 

Or just drop us an email if you have any questions. 

We would love to help you get new leads in your sales funnel as soon as possible.