Par Nadia Bulcourt – 26 novembre 2022
Prospecting schedule: an indispensable roadmap
The implementation of a prospecting schedule allows a company to create a roadmap that includes the different sales activities to be carried out. Each salesperson can then individually program his or her prospecting plans and monitor the progress of his or her sales activities in real time.
To create a prospecting schedule, it is necessary to identify and schedule the tasks to be performed. To help you create this schedule, we will see what it consists of and what the main steps are.
The difference between a schedule and a prospecting plan
The question is not insignificant if you want to organize your commercial prospecting efficiently.
The definition of a sales prospecting plan
A prospecting plan represents all the practices put in place by a company to acquire new customers. It is a document that summarizes all the actions to be taken to reach the commercial objectives set by the company. Intended for the marketing and sales teams, it is a real support to clarify the company strategy and focus on the real priorities.
And what about the prospecting schedule?
What is a prospecting schedule?
A prospecting schedule is rather linked to the notion of time. It allows you to define the time frame for each commercial action, considering the deadlines or exact dates of execution. As with a sales prospecting plan, the development of a schedule requires a step-by-step approach.
What is a good prospecting schedule?
A good prospecting schedule contains the different tasks to be carried out in a precise and coherent order. This goes beyond the simple organization of telephone calls with prospects and customers to close sales.
In addition, a good prospecting schedule is also a tool for organizing the sales teams. Indeed, the objectives are distributed among the different actors involved in the sales process. Everyone knows exactly what they must do and within what timeframe. Often, the sales actors have access to shared agendas for greater convenience.
Building a sales schedule requires a step-by-step approach. That’s what we’re going to detail now.
How to plan your prospecting properly?
There is no secret, a good preparation is necessary before jumping headlong into sales prospecting.
And yet we are not going to lie to ourselves, prospecting is a difficult exercise even for a salesperson. Planning your prospecting is therefore a solution for meeting deadlines. And to build an effective commercial prospecting schedule, there are certain steps to be followed.
Have a prospecting plan beforehand
If you have read the beginning of this article, you know that the schedule you are going to set up stems from the prospecting plan.
This plan must be well finalized and include all the actions of the sales prospecting cycle: database of prospects, commercial script, follow-up of actions, etc. After that, you can start to realize the commercial planning.
Use the right communication channels
You will determine which communication channels you will use for sales prospecting. This way, you will facilitate the work of your teams in terms of actions to be carried out and which channel to use according to your target.
The communication channels can be varied. You will choose them according to your buyer persona. If he is present on social networks, you will have to plan actions on this type of platform. If he prefers to read e-mails, you will plan an e-mailing campaign. If your potential customers are more likely to answer the phone, you will use phone prospecting.
Prospecting is an arduous task that can discourage many salespeople. However, it is an essential step to acquire new customers. Do not hesitate to contact our teams to outsource this commercial process.
Establish dates and deadlines for the execution of tasks
The main function of the schedule is to establish deadlines and dates for the execution of tasks for each salesperson. It is important to respect a certain regularity in the prospecting actions to keep a good dynamic. Your customers will appreciate the effects more.
Choose efficient tools to create the prospecting schedule
Since the sales prospecting schedule involves several people and contains different tasks to be carried out, it is important to use tools that will facilitate this exchange.
A tool such as an online shared calendar can be a solution. A CRM is also a good option because it allows you to integrate all the necessary information and assign it to each member of the sales team.
The prospecting schedule: a very useful tool
The prospecting schedule is a very useful tool to increase the visibility of your company. In addition to being a communication tool, it can also allow you to identify the needs of a prospect. An effective prospecting plan will allow you to define your objectives more precisely, while allowing you to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
The sales prospecting schedule is therefore a document that is just as important as the prospecting plan. The sales teams are aware of the deadlines to be respected. They should therefore gain in efficiency and reach their commercial objectives more easily within the given deadlines.
If you want to boost your sales prospecting, call on our services. We will evaluate your needs and objectives together.