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The stories of startups are more or less the same.
A couple of friends or colleagues that are outstanding at what they do and have new ideas decide to make their own company and offer their services and products to the world.
After a few attempts they finally succeed in making their product or service exactly the way they want it but that’s when the startup struggle begins.
They are new on the market, usually inexperienced in the dog-eat-dog sales field and know how to make the service or product but not how to sell it.
They don’t have a sales department, hell, usually not even a sales person and they don’t have a clue where to begin when it comes to selling and promoting their business.
Don’t worry, we got you covered with our 5-step sales plan for b2b startups and with these strategic sales mistakes startups should avoid.
Outsourcing prospecting can do wonders for startups. That way, they would get quality lists with the exact name, job description and contact information of people most likely to buy their product or service, and they themselves could focus on what they do best.
These are the main 5 reasons why a startup should outsource prospecting.
1. Save Money With Outsourced Prospecting
Startups have scarce resources to maintain and improve their businesses as it is, and most of the people involved usually have other things to do that don’t involve selling.
Most of them can’t afford a sales person or an entire sales team, and they have no idea how consuming a sales job can be. Which is one of the biggest sales mistakes founders can make. You should sell your product first!
People working in startups need to put more effort than in less competitive niches.
They have to work on product and service development because something always needs to be changed or upgraded. Sales people, if there are any, are focusing on closing clients and managing their accounts.
Collecting contact data should be the last thing on their mind.
That’s where outsourced prospecting comes in. Your sales team can work for what you are paying them for – actual selling, not data entry.
Isn’t that time and money better spent?
All the contacts of potential buyers will be delivered on a plate to your sales people, they just have to put the wheels in motion afterwards.
2. Quickly Test Who to Target
Some founders just don’t know who their target accounts and potential buyers are.
They have a vague idea, sometimes even a wrong guess that their buyers might be some companies they envisioned as clients or worse all the companies they can think of.
This is simply never the case.
Outsourcing prospecting can help by providing the means to quickly test different verticals and geographical markets.
You could go even further and hire a prospecting company to which you can even outsource SDR activities (i.e. email outreach) and have salespeople use time on qualified prospects only.
This was exactly the case with one of our clients, where we were able to test multiple verticals and help gain valuable insight to refine their product
3. You Want to Rise Above Your Competition
The startup market is tough.
Struggling with dozens of similar companies that have the same product or service as you do is a daily occurrence.
You all work hard and you all target the exact same customers more or less successfully.
But the ones doing prospect list building will always be a step ahead of their competition.
They know precisely who the decision makers are and they know exactly how to approach them in order to sell.
The better your prospecting efforts, the higher your chance of defeating your competition.
Leveraging prospect list building experience of professional outsourcing companies all but guarantees that you manage to do this.
To add to this, most outsourced prospecting agencies do more than just prospect. If you find the right one, you will end up getting advice on your sales process as a whole.
They can be the perfect partner to rise above your competition.
4. Most Potential Customers Don’t Trust You
You are not Apple and people won’t rush to queue in front of your door at the very sound of your name, but instead you have to work hard to introduce yourself and convince them that you are worth their time.
Outsourced prospecting can help you reach the right people and adjust your messaging so you spark their interest at the very first cold campaign.
Telling the right people at the right time with the right message about who you are, what you industry experience is, how far your knowledge spans, and the ways in which they would benefit from hiring you or buying your product is sure to gain you their trust. Possibly even business.
And that’s precisely what narrowly-targeted outsourced prospecting gets you.
5. You Keep Contacting Old Customers and Prospects
Even startups sometimes get to the point where they think the have reached everyone they possibly could.
And then followed up with them, again and again – so much so that they risk a restraining order.
But there’s always new potential customers! You just don’t know where to find them.
Don’t spam your old buyers, but dig deeper for new ones that have probably never heard of you, but could use your expertise.
Outsourced prospecting can find customers you never thought about or imagined as your buyers.
Can a Startup Do the Prospecting by Itself?
Sure, you can sit down and start your research. But prospecting takes up loads of time which could be used more efficiently.
Once you know your ideal customer profile and buyer personas, research for those companies and decision makers within those companies, then scour the internet their contact data and verify it is correct.
Do this for the certain number of prospects you want, and that’s it.
However, make sure you have enough time for it and a dedicated team so that you don’t stray from your core business.
Keep in mind that you will most likely end up with tens or hundreds of prospects that never intend on buying from you or whose contact information is accurate. Data verification is difficult.
By now you hopefully realize that outsourced prospecting is a good choice for your startup.
We helped organizations grow their sales with accurate data so let us know if we can help you.
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