How to build a prospecting action plan?

What makes the difference between a good salesperson and an exceptional salesperson? 

A well-constructed prospecting plan!

Establishing a clear plan allows you to transform your prospecting strategy into real strength.

Whether you are a novice or experienced salesperson, a good prospecting action plan will allow you to target the right people, create good relationships and obtain concrete results.

Structured and effective, the action plan helps you optimize your efforts to achieve your objectives more easily, especially with a large team at your side. 

In this article, find out how to structure your effective prospecting plan and make your prospecting actions more effective.

​No need to follow the latest trendy prospecting techniques, you must have a good method and solid foundations.

Here we go!

Understand the concept of the prospecting action plan

What is a prospecting plan

You know: the commercial context is becoming more and more competitive. Difficult to stand out from the crowd, unless you have a prospecting plan: it is a structured document that defines the steps, tools and strategies to follow to attract prospects and convert them into customers.

The prospecting plan acts as a compass for your teams, allowing them to stay organized, focused, and results-oriented.

It is much more than a simple list, it is a clear and organized strategy that defines:

• The objectives to be achieved (number of prospects to contact, expected conversion rate, etc.);
• Priority targets, based on an ideal customer profile (ICP);
• The channels to choose to attack your prospecting (such as LinkedIn, email, telephone, etc.)

A prospecting plan is a MUST-HAVE (it works better in English, but it is mainly to say that you absolutely must create your prospecting plan): its ability to structure commercial efforts, to avoid disorderly actions and to guarantee Better use of resources will guide you towards assured success. 

What are the stages of a prospecting plan?

A prospecting plan follows the same steps as any classic plan: 

1. Define clear objectives: this step consists of imagining the desired results in the short, medium and long term, such as increasing appointments or sales
2. Identify your target audience: determine who your ideal prospects are by analyzing their needs, their industry and their main challenges Choose the right tools: integrate tools like CRMs or prospecting platforms to make tracking easier
3. Create an action calendar: plan regular actions to remain consistent in your efforts
4. Track and adjust performance: analyze results to see what is working and to optimize the most inefficient steps

The benefits of a prospecting action plan for a sales team

A well-thought-out prospecting action plan can make all the difference for a sales team: it provides better organization by clearly defining steps and priorities, which avoids wasted time. 

Whoever thinks of organization necessarily thinks of productivity! Defining the steps ensures you optimize your efforts. 

It is also an excellent way to measure performance: with precise indicators, each progress is monitored, which allows the strategy to be adjusted accordingly. Particularly in digital, data is super-important! 

Last element: it really motivates your teams! When each member knows what they need to do and for what purpose, it allows them to stay engaged and effective.

The essential elements of an effective prospecting action plan

Building a good prospecting action plan is a bit like preparing a recipe: you need the right ingredients and knowing how to mix them in the right order. Here are the key steps: 

Identifying the commercial target

The first step is to know who you want to address:

• Who are your ideal prospects?
• What problems do they encounter?
• How can your solution help?

By clearly defining your target, you focus your efforts on the right people and avoid wasting time on prospects who do not match your offer.

Consider creating an ideal customer profile (ICP) to properly guide your prospecting. 

PS: no need to know what time your prospect is going to walk their dog, the goal is to have the necessary information to speak to them at the right time! 

How to define prospecting objectives?

Step 1, you need to know where you are going:

• What are your business goals?
• How many prospects will you contact?
• How many appointments do you want to make?

Defining your objectives serves as a guide to measure and allows you to measure the success of your strategy. They must be clear, realistic and above all motivating!

Without a previously defined objective, it is difficult to know if your prospecting technique brings you enough added value.

Developing prospecting strategies

Once your target and your objectives are defined, it's time for strategy: how are you going to reach your prospects?

You will know how to choose based on where your audience is present. 

It is important to adopt an approach adapted to your audience. 

Example: if you are targeting senior executives, a well-crafted message on LinkedIn will be successful. On the other hand, if you are targeting small local businesses, a call can be more direct and effective.

The choice of prospecting tools

We don't go looking for prospects empty-handed! 

Using tools will make your life easier. A CRM like Hubspot or Salesforce to track your contacts, platforms like LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify your prospects, or even automation tools to save time. 

If you have never tried Humanlinker, the ultra-personalization tool based on 700 million contacts…it’s free and it’s by here! 

Your ideal tool will be the one that makes you work faster and more efficiently.

Monitoring and evaluation of the prospecting action plan

Finally, you need to take the time to check if your plan is working. 

Watch and analyze your results:

• How many responses do you get? 
• How many appointments made? 

This data allows you to see what is working and what is not and adjust your strategy accordingly.

A well-crafted prospecting action plan is like a treasure map that guides you towards your objectives without going around in circles. With the right steps and a little rigor, you are sure to get results.

How to develop an effective prospecting action plan

An effective prospecting action plan is the perfect combination between:

• Proper preparation of your strategy
• Rigorous monitoring

Which channels should I use for prospecting?

Choose the prospecting channels, and the communication channels allow you to contact your prospects... where they are.

To do this, you need to know your prospects. Where do they spend time? Whether in physics or on the web.

​Will they be reachable during telephone prospecting sessions?

Are they sensitive to direct marketing, or do they prefer to contact service providers themselves (this is called inbound marketing).

The importance of knowing your market and your target

The first step is the most important: take the time to fully understand your market and your prospects.

• What are the needs of your potential customers? 
• What challenges do they encounter? 

A good knowledge of your target allows you to personalize your actions and focus on the most qualified prospects.

You can create a customer profile (ICP), by defining criteria such as the sector of activity, the size of the company or the problems to be resolved. 

This step is essential to maximize the impact of your prospecting. 

Implementation of appropriate prospecting strategies

Once you have defined your target and know it by heart, it is time to develop strategies that correspond to their expectations and behaviors. For example :

• Prospecting via networks: use LinkedIn to connect with your prospects and initiate conversations.
• Targeted emails: send clear and concise messages, tailored to the needs of your contacts
• Telephone calls: favor this method for more direct and immediate exchanges or when the prospect is qualified. 

The idea is to define a journey to attract the customer and share the right information at the right time. The second idea: vary your approaches to increase your success rate.

Each channel should be chosen according to your audience and your objectives. 

Using automated prospecting tools to increase efficiency

To increase efficiency, nothing better than efficient prospecting tools. 

You have the choice! Besides, we made an article about it here ! 

The importance of monitoring and analyzing results to adjust the action plan

The work doesn't stop there: you must regularly analyze your performance to identify what is working and what needs to be improved or removed.

Which channels generate the most responses? Which messages are most effective?

This data allows you to adjust your actions and optimize your strategy over time. 

An effective prospecting action plan is based on:

• Solid preparation
• Adapted tools
• Constant monitoring

By mastering these steps, you unlock your chances of achieving your goals and transforming your efforts into concrete results.

The impact of personalizing prospecting emails in the action plan

Are your inboxes overflowing with impersonal messages? Us too! 

The solution? personalization. 

Integrating personalization into your prospecting emails means putting every chance on your side to initiate relevant conversations and achieve your objectives through a unique discussion. 

The importance of personalization in prospecting strategies

Prospects want to feel understood and valued. A generic email sent to a whole list of people is unlikely to do the job and hold attention. 

In contrast, a personalized message that shows you understand their specific needs immediately creates a connection.

This goes beyond simply knowing their first name: it involves mentioning specific elements such as their sector of activity, a challenge they are encountering or a recent success shared on LinkedIn.

How Personalization Can Improve Prospecting Results

A more targeted email adapted to the prospect's profile has a greater chance of being opened, read and above all, of receiving a response. Open and response rates can increase significantly with careful personalization. 

Here are some examples of campaign results with Humanlinker: 

A relevant message shows that you have done your homework: your prospect is ready and motivated to give you their time. 

The benefits of using automated tools for personalizing prospecting emails

Fortunately, customization is not a waste of time. 

Automation tools allow you to personalize email campaigns at scale. 

Some platforms integrate dynamic tags to include specific information such as the prospect's first name, position or company, while maintaining a natural tone. 

This saves you time without sacrificing the quality of the message.

How to implement personalization in your action plan?

• Segment your prospects: create lists based on relevant criteria such as industry, company size or position.
• Do your research: consult social networks, the company website or the news to identify personalized hook points.
• Structure your emails: write templates with customizable sections. Add a specific point for each prospect.
• Adapt your tone and message: Adjust your communication style based on your prospects' preferences and behaviors, whether formal or informal
• Analyze feedback: Monitor your open and response rates to adjust your strategy

Personalization is essential to transform your prospecting emails into conversion emails. With a good balance between automation and human effort, you optimize your chances of success.

Test Humanlinker for free to get more sales appointments

We forgot to specify, but all the steps to implement personalization in your strategy, Humanlinker does it for you! 👇

Overview of Humanlinker features

Humanlinker is much more than a simple prospecting tool: 

Are you looking to find the right prospects quickly? Humanlinker analyzes and filters data to provide you with an accurate and qualified list. 

Do you want to personalize your messages for each contact without spending hours? Using artificial intelligence, you create tailor-made content that captures the attention of your targets.

But that's not all! With Humanlinker, you will be able to monitor your performance in real time, adjust your campaigns based on the results and maximize your impact at every stage. 

Everything is designed to centralize your actions, eliminate wasted time and allow you to concentrate on the essential: transforming your prospects into sales meetings.

No matter your level or your business size, Humanlinker adapts to your needs and gives you the means to succeed, while making prospecting more effective, pleasant and fun. 

Testimonials from satisfied Humanlinker users

We weren't going to leave you without some nice notes 😬

Try, you have nothing to lose!

Why not try it yourself? It's free and you will quickly see the results on your sales meetings. 

In just a few clicks, you have in hand a tool that boosts your commercial performance! In addition to that, we have just released some new products that will blow your mind. 😱 

For example : 

• A database of more than 700 million contacts 
• Contact deduplication 
• Connect to Hubspot in 1 click
• …and many others 

To discover here ! 

To put it simply, a good prospecting action plan is the basis for obtaining concrete results. By knowing your market well, setting clear objectives and using the right strategies, you increase your chances of success. 

With tools like Humanlinker, everything becomes easier:

• Personalization
• Automation
• Follow up

Everything is there to save you time and land more appointments. 

So, get started: test, adjust and transform your prospecting into a real results machine!