If developing your business starts with designing a product/service and thinking about its positioning, the next step is to focus on the commercial development of the service/product you've created. 

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Inbound marketing has taken on a considerable role in corporate strategies to boost sales, thanks in part to the increased visibility and traffic generated by strategic positioning on web browsers. However, outbound sales through multi-channel channels (mailings, Linkedin messages, teleprospecting, etc.) still account for the majority of B2B sales on the French market, and their importance is now too often underestimated. Multi-channel sales prospecting is still an essential strategy for companies looking to expand their customer base and increase their sales. By using multiple prospecting channels, companies can not only reach a wider and more diverse audience, but also focus on the qualified prospects that are most valuable to their business, maximizing their chances of closing sales and boosting their bottom line. 

However, effective multi-channel sales prospecting can seem complex and difficult to implement. From obtaining a solid, reliable database, to activating several prospecting channels in a coherent, juxtaposed manner, to analyzing the profitability and effectiveness of the campaign in question, there are many best practices to be aware of.

That's why we've put together a 6-step guide to help you develop an effective multi-channel sales prospecting strategy that will enable you to achieve your sales objectives in most cases. In this article, you'll discover the key steps for planning, implementing and measuring the effectiveness of your multi-channel sales prospecting strategy.

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The ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) definition stage is crucial to any successful sales prospecting strategy. It consists of identifying the ideal potential customer profiles for your company, based on criteria such as industry sector, company size, location, specific needs and challenges. This step enables you to determine precisely the type of customer you want to target, and thus refine your prospecting strategy to maximize your chances of closing sales. It is therefore crucial, and will have a decisive impact on the success or failure of your sales prospecting plan. 

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Once the KPI has been defined, the copywriting strategy must be adapted to suit each prospecting channel. For automated mailings, it's important to personalize the message, using known information about the prospect and highlighting the benefits of your offer. Particular attention should be paid to the subject line, which is the key factor in opening the e-mail, and then of course to the angle used in the body of the e-mail to hold the reader's attention while demonstrating the value of your services. 

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For automated Linkedin messages, it's advisable to use an even more personalized approach based on the targeted personas. Linkedin messaging has an inherently more personal aspect (the message allows the prospect to click on the profile of the person sending the message), which should be reflected in sales approaches, while maintaining a professional, attentive tone.

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For telemarketing, the script must be adapted to the prospect's sector of activity and the information gathered during the preliminary research. Beyond this script, the effectiveness of this channel will largely depend on the ability of the sales person in charge of the calls to understand the prospect contacted, and to adapt his script to the prospect and his needs. 

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Finally, for automated SMS, the message must be concise and direct, with a clear call to action and an attractive offer.

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Database retrieval is a key stage in the preparation of a sales prospecting campaign. To begin with, it's important to know where to look. Data sources that can reliably feed your databases can include company directories such as Base Sirène or Greffes, social networks (Linkedin being obviously the biggest source in this typology), lists of participants in digital or physical events, newsletter subscribers or visitors to your site. It is also possible to purchase prospect lists from specialized data providers and/or from a commercial prospecting agency.

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To refine your search, you need to select the search criteria that correspond to the KPI you've previously developed. It is on the basis of the specific criteria of this KPI that you will collect data on the resources identified above. 

Once you've identified the sources and search criteria, you can collect the data. While some of these sources offer you the possibility of extracting the data you want from their platforms, others will require specific skills and tools to "scrape" the data you're looking for (i.e. extract the data from sites that don't offer such extraction).

It is then essential to clean up the data before using it for the campaign. This involves checking that the data is up to date, deleting duplicates and removing any contacts which, despite prior sorting, do not correspond to the type of prospects you wish to contact. 

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Once the data has been retrieved, sorted and cleaned, it needs to be imported into a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) adapted to multi-channel sales prospecting. The choice of a CRM adapted to multi-channel sales prospecting is crucial, as it enables effective management of prospect data and tracking of the interactions generated with them via the various channels. In fact, a CRM makes it possible to centralize all information relating to prospects and the actions carried out by sales staff with the different channels used, and to organize it in such a way that it can be easily accessed by the sales team.

Once the data has been imported into the CRM, it needs to be structured and segmented according to the criteria relevant to the sales prospecting campaign. This step organizes the data so that it can be easily used to create mailing lists, personalize messages and track interactions with prospects.

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In short, importing data into a CRM adapted to sales prospecting is an important step in the efficient management of prospects and customers. It enables data to be centralized and organized in such a way as to be easily accessible and comprehensible by the sales team. The idea is that the salesperson who clicks on a new prospect file in the CRM will have, in the most efficient way, all the information he or she needs to carry out the next sales interaction with that same prospect. 

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Multi-channel commercial prospecting means making available, side by side, several levers for creating commercial interactions with prospects. This means a large number of channels. Here, we'll just focus on what we think are the most relevant in most contexts: automated mailing, teleprospecting, automated Linkedin messages, automated mailshots and SMS. Activating one or more of these channels in a way that is appropriate and consistent with the KPI and the message you wish to deliver is sure to establish quality first contact points and, ultimately, generate qualified leads. 

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Whatever the decision you make regarding the choice of prospecting channels employed, the automation tools/solutions used for each channel must be compatible with an interconnection with your sales prospecting CRM. Every action you take within a single campaign needs to be centralized on the same platform, so that you have all the information on the actions taken for each prospect. You don't want the same prospect to receive 4 e-mails, 3 SMS messages and 2 emails, all in the same day. If that's the case, be prepared for some devastating feedback...

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A multi-channel prospecting plan therefore requires you to think about a coherent juxtaposition of the different prospecting channels used. Generally speaking, you'll want to set up a sequence, i.e. a series of chronological contacts that will only be interrupted if one of the attempted contacts is successful. Here's an example of a multi-channel prospecting sequence involving direct mail, teleprospecting and Linkedin messages: 

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• Day 1: E-mail/Inmail
• Day 3: E-mail in the morning, phone call in the afternoon
• Day 5: Telephone call in the morning, telephone call with voice message in the afternoon
• Day 7: Connection request with message on Linkedin in the morning, phone call with voice message in the afternoon.
• Day 10: E-mail and phone call in the morning.

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For more information on the set-up of prospecting channels, the automation solutions to use, the KPIs to track when putting channels into action and the right processes to have during the campaign, click here to access our premium content. 

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Once the sales appointments have been made thanks to multi-channel prospecting, it's important to prepare them well in advance. This can include preparing a personalized sales presentation for each prospect, checking relevant information about the company and its market, and preparing the necessary documents such as quotations.

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During sales meetings, the salesperson must be ready to listen attentively to the prospect's needs and concerns, and provide clear, precise answers to any questions asked. He or she must also be able to present the benefits and features of the product or service in a convincing way, and show how it will meet the prospect's specific needs.

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After the appointments, the work of closing begins. This involves following up prospects on a regular basis to help them make a purchasing decision. This can include sending personalized e-mails, messages on social networks, sales proposals or reminder calls.

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When a prospect is ready to go ahead with the purchase, the sales representative must work with the customer to finalize the order and ensure that all the necessary information is correct. It's also important to ensure that the terms of the agreement are clear and understood by all parties involved.

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Here, we're talking about all supervisions carried out as part of the mission. It involves measuring the qualitative and quantitative KPIs that are supposed to be optimized on an ongoing basis. Retroanalysis refers to supervision at the end of the assignment (which must be done), but analysis must also be carried out throughout the assignment, so that any abnormally low rates can be taken into account, and adjustments made during the assignment. A good multi-channel prospecting strategy is one that has been, and continues to be, fine-tuned. 

Among the KPIs that must be tracked are the RDV rate for each channel used, the deliverability rate (for e-mails, SMS, and letters), the rate of calls that have connected (for teleprospecting), and many others. 

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In retro-analysis, rather than in the analysis carried out during the mission, it will also be important to assess the relevance of the KPI, and to see the evolution of feedback from market players regarding the same product. Similarly, as sales prospecting techniques are constantly evolving, it will be important to assess the effectiveness of each prospecting channel in terms of sales strategy. Pushing the effort on the most impactful channels, and reducing it on those with the lowest ROI. 

Everything that has enabled us to approach, reach and/or exceed our objectives must be analyzed, so that we can better understand the results.

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The profitability analysis of a multi-channel prospecting mission aims to assess whether outbound prospecting is a lever for lead generation that is sufficiently profitable for you, given the costs involved. Multi-channel prospecting will involve considerable human and technological costs, especially if you decide to bring it in-house. 

Having defined an objective and a projected budget for your prospecting campaign should enable you to ensure the profitability of this mission, provided the objectives are met. However, if the objectives set to achieve satisfactory profitability are not achievable, and/or if the costs actually incurred significantly exceed the projected budgets, then profitability is no longer assured. 

It's therefore important to have a precise idea of the cost of acquiring a customer through prospecting. This involves identifying all the costs associated with the multi-channel prospecting mission, including those linked to data acquisition, personnel costs, the purchase or rental of tools and technologies, etc.

Another KPI to track is revenue from new deals generated by outbound prospecting. It's a question of knowing which offers the new prospects generated subscribe to, and therefore how much revenue can be generated from these deals. 

By knowing both the revenue from new deals, and the cost of obtaining them, you can predict whether your prospecting activity will be profitable or not. All this needs to be set against the reality of the costs and revenues generated by this approach. 

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