The complete guide to B2B digital prospecting in 2024

You know, those famous Linkedin prospecting messages where 1. We know directly that it is an automatic and very impersonal message, and 2. The interlocutor wants to sell his service from the first message? 

I'm sure you know very well what I'm talking about, and that these messages frustrate you as much as I do. It wastes time reading it, simply because you know you won't respond to it. 

I imagine that you do not want to be in the place of this interlocutor who we ignore. The problem isn't the automation or sending a message, it's the communication inside. 

Prospecting digitally is an art. Having tested thousands of techniques, we would like to share with you our best advice for your B2B digital prospecting 💙

Here we go 👇

What is digital prospecting?

Definition 

At Humanlinker, here is our definition: digital prospecting consists of all the marketing actions that you will use to identify and attract a potential customer on the Internet, and more precisely on the B2B digital channels that you use. 

You probably know them: digital channels can be social networks, emails, the website… and all the small optimizations possible to prospect in the digital world. 

Digital prospecting comes with its share of tools to increase your productivity and your conversion rate: automation tools, personalization tools...you have everything you need for optimized B2B digital prospecting! 

What are the advantages of digital prospecting?

Any salesperson who knows their field knows that we do not prospect in the same way in physical as in digital. 

Even if there are common points, B2B digital prospecting is important for many points: 

1. Direct access to the right people 

If we take LinkedIn for example, you will find all your prospects in a few clicks on the platform, because 90% of people working in the tertiary sector have a profile! Just search for the person with relevant keywords, and voila! Same on Google, you will find much more information about your prospects than you think! 

2. Digital = data 

Digital has democratized data and performance. With the right tools, you can know EVERYTHING about your prospecting: 

• What message worked/didn't work,
• Who opened your content
• What conversion rate did you have 
• Etc…

Essential data to develop your digital prospecting. 

3. Personalization of approaches 

This is where digital prospecting meets physical prospecting: at a time when 90% of prospecting messages are not personalized, you will stand out very quickly by sending unique messages to each prospect, just as you would change your speech in front of two different people. 

Except that, personalizing 10, 100, or 100,000 messages is mission impossible...unless you use Humanlinker. The tool gets to know your prospects in order to offer unique messages to each of them. To test, it is by here! 

4. Reduced costs 

Imagine having to recruit 50 salespeople to prospect 1000 customers. In the digital world, that’s a thing of the past! With a small team and a good tool, you will reach thousands of customers in a day. More productivity for less costs, that’s what we want, right?

5. Scalability 

Prospecting in B2B digitally means seeing your prospecting reach an unimaginable number of people! I don't know if you are aware, but as of November 2024, the Humanlinker database holds over 700 million contacts. 😳

Impossible to miss a contact now! 

It is for all these reasons that digital prospecting is important, 2024/2025, I would even say essential, in your B2B digital prospecting. 

What are the digital prospecting methods?

Here are 4 effective digital prospecting methods and techniques that we use at Humanlinker, and widely used by companies that are successful in marketing.

1. The Email method 

We love it as much as we hate it: email is one of the most powerful tools in your B2B digital prospecting. Prospects greatly prefer it to the telephone! 

 To write an email that converts: 

• Hold crucial information about your prospect;
• Personalize your approach with this information;
• Use tools to create sequences of multiple emails and automate their sending. 

2. B2B prospecting via LinkedIn

91% decision-makers use LinkedIn to search for and speak with their prospects, hence the importance of digital and this B2B network! On this network, you can: 

• Identify your prospects using specific criteria; 
• Send personalized messages or interact under a publication to initiate an exchange; 
• Use combined tools (LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Humanlinker, etc.) to carry out your prospecting. 

Prospecting on LinkedIn works if you have an optimized profile, share information through content or private messages, and connect with the right people.

This is quite a strategy that I strongly invite you to read here, then to put in place if it is not already done.

3. Targeted advertising campaigns

Advertising on Google Ads or LinkedIn can help you reach a qualified B2B audience. In this case, there are 3 essential elements that make up this strategy: 

• The advertising target: finding a very specific niche through advertising 
• Copywriting: speaking in words that your target audience will easily understand
• The results: check performance to adjust your ads

4. Nurturing (= maintaining the relationship) via marketing automation (= sending automated content) 

It always looks better in English, but a prospect can also be converted thanks to regular reminders and content. In this case, the ideal would be: 

• To set up automated scenarios via tools (Humanlinker for example); 
• Send relevant and educational content to support the prospect in their decision-making;
• Analyze interactions with content and detect the most qualified prospects. 

5. Use of downloadable content

These contents, also called “lead magnets”, are a real magnet for prospects. These are often webinars, studies or white papers, which provide a large amount of information on a specific subject. 

How it works: 

• Creation of content with high added value and which responds to a specific obstacle of your prospect; 
• Setting up a form to collect data (at least one email and name)  
• Finally, send the content to each person who completes the form and then check their behavior upon receiving the content (did they read the content? What did they do next?) 

Mistakes to avoid in your B2B digital prospecting

Now that you know how digital prospecting works, let's explore what you should NOT do:

1. Do not personalize your messages

The first mistake sales teams make in their digital prospecting is that they send generic messages to all their prospects. 

ERROR: your messages will be ignored, you will have a low response rate. 

In this case, the solution is to use as much information as possible about your prospect and initiate the conversation by adding information. 

2. Not taking care of your prospecting targeting 

If you contact the wrong people, you will waste time and resources. It can also harm your reputation and the image of your company. 

Our advice: segment your audience with precise criteria and use tools like a CRM to refine your targeting. 

3. Multiply prospecting tools instead of using one all-in-one 

Having several tools that have the same functionalities is counterproductive! Instead, choose an all-in-one tool that will allow you to: 

• Reduce your costs: a single subscription instead of several 
• To facilitate maintenance: a tool that centralizes all data is much simpler to manage
• Getting started quickly: it’s better to know a single tool like the back of your hand and use all of the features, rather than knowing 3 useful functions on each tool 

Our solution: Humanlinker ! The all-in-one tool to know everything about your prospects, create content sequences and analyze your results. (Psss: to test, it's free, and it's by here!) 

4. Not testing different value propositions 

Testing just one approach is like sending a generic message to every prospect: it’s not doing you any favors. The idea is to capture the interest of your contacts. To do this, do not hesitate to test different value propositions and, above all, analyze their results. 

5. Not respecting deliverability standards and quotas 

By trying to break the deliverability rules, you run the risk of being “blacklisted” and your messages not reaching their recipient. 

The solution? Respect sending quotas, keep your contact list up to date, or add an unsubscribe option to your emails for example. 

The importance of automation in B2B digital prospecting

You can overuse automation, as long as you do it right! 

How Automation Can Improve Prospecting Effectiveness

As a sales team, you have probably already heard about automation! Even more if you read this article. 

The digital world allows you to reach millions of people. Automation exists to make talking to these people much easier, since you delegate time-consuming and repetitive tasks to a tool. 

For example : 

• You save time in sending your prospecting messages (single messages or integrated into sequences) and in knowing your prospects (the tool does it for you);
• You reduce human errors: your tool repeats tasks without getting tired and works when you sleep; 

The Benefits of Automation for Sales Teams

If you are not yet convinced about automation, here are other advantages: 

1. Increase your prospecting volume: sending 1000 messages in a few clicks is much better (for your business and for your mind) than sending 1000 manually. 🥵
2. Personalize your messages no matter the number: even if they are automated, your campaigns can include personalized messages and obtain a much higher response rate
3. Detailed analyses: your automation tool holds all the data on the opening rate of your campaigns, the click rate on content, or the conversion rate
4. Standardization of actions: members of your team can (finally) organize themselves and orchestrate better coordination of their tasks

Little riddle: which tool combines all these features? 

The answer: it starts with “Human” and ends with “linker” 🙈

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Take advantage of the advantages of our solution to revolutionize your prospecting methods. 

Comment ? 

• by reaching your target anywhere in the world (we have a database of more than 700 million contacts…we say that, we say nothing!) 
• by collecting valuable data on your prospects 
• using AI to write ultra-personalized messages

It costs €0 tester ! 

How to do B2B digital prospecting?

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1. Best practices for your B2B digital prospecting

This is all well and good, but one last element is missing: how do we succeed in digital prospecting? I give you our tips in 3 points 👇

1. Target your prospects precisely: the key to a good digital prospecting method lies in successful targeting.
2. Personalize each interaction: in 2024 (almost 2025) we want human, personal, authentic exchange!
3. Automate with the right tools: choose the one that will save you time, money and the hearts of your prospects 🫶

2. The importance of strategy for your B2B digital prospecting 

If the role of automation is to save you time, take this time to establish a well-established strategy: 

1. Define clear and precise objectives: do not hesitate to use the SMART method (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely) to define your objectives. There are plenty of examples on the Internet! 
2. Target as much as possible: I’m repeating myself, but it’s so important! Good targeting is the basis of your digital prospecting.
3. Choose the most relevant channels according to your target 

3. How to optimize digital prospecting using tools?

To improve the performance of your prospecting strategy, you will need tools to collect data, segment your audiences, analyze your results, and write your content. For this, tools like Hubspot or Salesforce are relevant. They will allow you to gain commercial efficiency.

If you choose an all-in-one tool, don't forget your favorite Humanlinker ! 

To end this article, I would say that if you want to evolve with the times and above all remain competitive, digital prospecting is essential. With these tips, we hope to allow you to adopt good practices and avoid the mistakes that 90% of teams make! 

For those who want to take their digital prospecting to the next level, click here 👇

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