Sales can be easy if you have the right tools, but you have to stay competitive. Anyone can start a career in sales, but it takes a special type of person to excel at it. You must stay at the top of your game. You keep focused on the metrics. You’re always closing. Anyone can do it, but success is completely up to you.
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So, where do you start? Easy; you create SMART goals and focus on growth. You perfect your outbound sales strategy. You continuously seek out new leads to grow your pipeline.
How to Use Crunchbase to Master Outbound Prospecting
Research the Crunchbase Way
If you’re tired of dead-end prospecting taking up endless hours of your time, you need better leads. That’s the beauty of Crunchbase. Instead of cold emailing and being met with silence, you can get to know your prospects before you ever reach out. It’s all in the research. So, stop using out-of-date sales prospecting techniques and start developing a quality sales pipeline (Need some help creating your perfect outbound sales strategy? Here’s a guide.)
Successful sales professionals approach each lead with a clear-cut strategy. An effective sales strategy starts with a clear outbound prospecting qualification criteria, then using data to determine ahead of time whether or not a potential lead is a good fit for your product. Can you see how that can save you time?
With the ideal customer profile prepared, it’s on to Crunchbase and other sales prospecting tools to research your leads, and develop an individualized outreach strategy for each one. Crunchbase helps you get to know your leads before you ever pick up a phone. Now, instead of relying on that call script, you can have a personalized conversation with every potential customer. This will allow you to create a smooth outbound sales prospecting cadence, effortlessly moving from lead generation to closing like a sales ninja.
With Crunchbase for your outbound prospecting, you’ll have access to the information you need to increase your sales velocity and meet your revenue targets, quarter after quarter.
Optimizing Your Outbound Prospecting With Crunchbase
In traditional outbound prospecting, the vast majority of your leads don’t turn into customers. So much lost time. You get to know them, and finally pitch your product, only for them to say no after you’ve expended dozens of hours of effort.
What if you knew more about them before you started? Crunchbase lets you dig deep into company data and firmographics long before you speak to a decision-maker. You can stay up to date on changes and have a much better idea of whether or not they fit your ideal client profile long before you get on the phone.
Why would you do so much digging? This strategy works very well with an account-based sales approach, where you develop an individualized sales strategy for each prospect. Instead of cold emailing, you can provide your leads with solutions to problems you know they are facing, significantly increasing your chances of meeting your sales goals.
If you prefer a lead generation strategy, Crunchbase can help with that as well. After finding your leads, whether on your own, through referrals, or with the help of lead generation companies, let us do the initial research so that you are already in the know when you pick up the phone.
Using Crunchbase to Close the Deal
Once you’ve gotten to know a prospect and explained the value of your product, the last step of the outbound sales strategy is knowing when to make the sale.
Crunchbase can help you stay up to date on all of the changes at the companies you are tracking to help you know when it is time to pitch. While companies can make a purchase at any time, certain events are known as sales triggers, thereby earning the name “trigger events. “ These buy signals may include events such as an IPO, change in management, or product launch. If you know your lead is experiencing one of these events, it’s time to close the sale.
Before it’s time to pitch, take the time to create a compelling sales pitch. Remember, you are pitching to an individual, so make sure to explain precisely how your product can solve a problem that they are already experiencing. A personalized sales pitch can turn someone who is on the fence into a loyal customer.
If at First, You Don’t Succeed
An essential business skill is knowing when it’s time to move on to the next idea. Learn how to recognize dead sales leads so that you don’t waste valuable time pitching someone who has no intention of buying. Instead, thank them for their time and move on to your next lead – which Crunchbase can help you find.
