Different ways of prospecting to generate pipeline in B2B companies
Direct cold prospecting: This involves searching for potential clients, obtaining their emails, Linkedin accounts or phone numbers and contacting them with a sales pitch to determine if they are interested. The response rate is usually low, less than 5%.
Warm direct prospecting: This involves contacting potential clients with whom we have had some kind of previous interaction. We share valuable content on Linkedin, they have participated in an event, attended our webinar, subscribed phone number in korea to our blog or newsletter, among others.
Indirect cold prospecting: This involves contacting clients or colleagues who know us and asking them to contact us or recommend us to potential clients in their network (friends, colleagues, clients). This generates a higher response rate than direct cold and warm prospecting.
Indirect warm prospecting: This involves contacting potential clients who have interacted with some marketing action of our company (webinar, ebook, in-person event, etc.) and who have a relationship with a client who can provide good references for our work.
Direct warm prospecting: This involves contacting potential customers who have requested commercial information at one of our contact centers with prospects: web form, contact page, commercial chatbot, LinkedIn profile, among others. This is usually the highest response rate, since the prospect is the one who requested the contact. But be careful, if our response takes a long time to arrive, the response rate drops considerably.
Indirect hot prospecting: when a potential client comments in a Linkedin, WhatsApp or Slack group that they are looking for a service like the one we offer, and someone we know recommends us and gives us their contact details. In this case, the response rate is usually very high as well, although it depends a lot on the level of trust between our contact and the prospect, and the response time we achieve.