Pump up your prospecting: tools, tips and tricks

Feeling a little slump on prospecting? It's a normal feeling that all sellers experience. Finding new advertisers requires a lot of research and work. Inserting a bit of creativity into the process can often make it easier and more enjoyable. As a veteran of media sales and a sales leader, I have some tips you can add to your prospecting plan.

Consider new industries you've avoided for one reason or another.

Let's face it — some advertiser categories are harder to prospect. However, some of the pushback may be misconceptions about if they have ad budgets. For example, nonprofits are often overlooked, but they may have healthy ad budgets to promote events and target donors and volunteers.

A great way to find out what they spend annually is by viewing their annual reports, which are public documents. Start there with prospecting to find nonprofits you think have the most potential. Then, provide them with ideas and strategies to reach their goals.

Revamp your prospecting plan to represent the current landscape.

It's vital to revisit plans because so many things impact how you connect with advertisers. Currently, inflation is a concern for many business owners; however, consumer spending is still growing, so that's the good news. Another trend is that many local companies are spending more on recruitment advertising. They need staff to be able to grow and acquire more customers. Other local trends may be influencing your ecosystem. Apply those to your current plan to update it.

Adopt new tools for prospecting.

There are many great tools for prospecting — some of which you may not have considered. Having a variety of resources to help you makes the research phase easier. Quora is one of those. It's a Q&A forum, but it has a lot of useful information that can give you insights into what business owners are pondering.

I love Owler, a free alternative to Dun & Bradstreet for qualifying. I'm also a fan of Crystal Knows. This personality detection software analyzes LinkedIn profiles and provides tips on approaching that advertiser.

Of course, there are plenty of prospecting tools available to RAB members. You'll find them on RAB.com under the Sales Tools drop down. Use prospecting tools like RAB's Co-op advertising section, Instant Backgrounds or The Pitch.

Applying these new strategies could be a great kickstart to prospecting for the rest of the year.