Where to start your sales prospecting research

In the highly competitive world of SaaS sales, knowing a prospect’s pain points and business challenges is crucial for effective cold outreach. 

While identifying these issues allows sales teams to position their products and services as solutions to the problems, calling attention to them shows prospects that you understand their needs and have done the legwork needed to truly understand their situation.

How exactly can you learn about the struggles your prospects are dealing with every day? 

Easy: By conducting sales prospecting research, you can collect the detailed information you need about potential clients before initiating outreach — and adjust your cold email messaging accordingly.

Why is sales prospecting research important?

Cold outreach is hard enough as it is. If you’re firing out generic messages to strangers at random, it’s virtually impossible. 

At a high level, sales prospecting research helps reps learn more about prospects in a way that captures their attention. By conducting sales account research, reps can tailor their outreach to each individual prospect, ensuring that messaging includes something related to themselves, their role, or their industry or company — which can lead to more meaningful connections. After all, everyone knows what it feels like to receive a cold email that is entirely irrelevant. 

In an age where consumers increasingly demand personalization, sales prospecting research can go a long way toward meeting the expectations of potential customers while building credibility and trust. By demonstrating a deep understanding of a prospect’s circumstances, it proves that you’re doing your homework and are genuinely interested in providing value.

At the same time, sales prospecting research also helps reps anticipate objections and prepare effective responses. This, in turn, makes conversations more productive and helpful — increasing the likelihood reps can move prospects through the funnel.

What should you be looking for?

As you begin your cold email research, there are three levels of personalization to be on the lookout for: individual, company, and industry.

1. Individual personalization

Individual personalization refers to customizing messages that address the specific interests, needs, and experiences of each prospect. Using this approach is an easy way to demonstrate that your outreach isn’t generic but rather a thoughtful effort to connect on a personal level — which can help your cold outreach messages stand out. By showing a deep understanding of the prospect’s unique situation, you can increase the likelihood of a positive response.

Examples of elements you can use to personalize outreach on an individual level include:

• Current events. Referencing recent news — like the prospect’s favorite sports team winning a nailbiter — is an easy way to show relevance and capture attention.
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• Mutual interests. Highlighting shared hobbies or interests can create a personal connection. Are you both avid hikers? Bring it up.
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• Internal feelings. Acknowledging your prospect’s sentiments can build rapport. If you see a post on social media expressing frustration, reference it and show the prospect that you relate.
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• Professional aspirations. Aligning your offer with the prospect’s career goals can make your outreach more compelling. For example, you might try something like this: I see you’re focusing on upskilling your team. Our training programs can accelerate that growth. 
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• Social media posts. Commenting on a prospect’s recent posts shows engagement and interest. Who doesn’t like it when someone pays attention to what they’re posting on social channels?
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• Event appearances or attendance. Referring to an industry event a prospect is attending or even speaking at is a great way to establish common ground and connect on a personal level.
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• Role in the organization. Adjusting your message to the prospect’s position can demonstrate relevance, highlighting that you understand the unique challenges they face day-to-day.
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• Professional background. Recognizing a prospect’s career achievements can build respect and connection. I’m impressed by your extensive background in project management. Would you be open to learning how our project management software could complement your skills perfectly?

Company personalization

Company personalization involves creating messages that reference the unique characteristics, challenges, and goals of the company, along with any recent news (e.g., a fundraising round, a new hire, or a product launch). By addressing the company’s particular pain points or recent wins, you can demonstrate relevance right out of the gate.

Here are some ways you can personalize outreach using company data:

• Company news. Did your prospect’s company just announce a new partnership? Reference it and convey how your products might be able to complement the new collaboration.
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• Referencing new products or features can be an easy way to get your foot in the door and talk about how your offerings can make theirs even better.

• Funding rounds. If you notice a company just closed a $30 million Series B round, mention it when you explain how your company’s offerings can help the business scale.
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• Upcoming events. Will the prospect’s company be at an upcoming conference or expo? Tell them you’ll be there too and would love to meet up for a conversation.
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• Hiring. If a company’s just hired tons of people, they’re in a growth phase. Congratulate them accordingly and show them how your products can help them get to the next level.
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• Layoffs. If a company is downsizing, demonstrate you understand their challenges and present your offerings as a cost-saving solution.
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• Financial information. See something interesting in a 10-K? Highlight synergies between your products and the company’s current focus.
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• Leadership structure. Was a new executive hired to lead a sustainability initiative? Tell the prospect how your solutions can help support their organization’s environmental goals.
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• Technographics. If you find out a prospect is using a specific piece of technology, mention it while telling them about your solution’s integration capabilities.
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• Purchasing behavior. Did the prospect’s company recently purchase an analytics platform? Show them how your solutions are complementary.
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• Competitive information. If you notice a competitor made a recent accomplishment, leverage that to discuss how your solutions can give the prospect a competitive edge.

Industry personalization

Industry personalization refers to crafting messages that address the specific challenges, trends, and opportunities that exist in the target prospect’s industry. By demonstrating a deep understanding of industry context, you can make your outreach more relevant and insightful. At the same time, you can also highlight how your solution aligns with industry-specific needs, increasing the chances you capture the prospect’s interest.

Here are some elements you can personalize on the industry level: 

• Assumption about job role. Selling to a marketing director in tech? Explain how your advanced analytics tools can help them target their campaigns more effectively. 

• Social media trends. If you notice that a bunch of companies in the industry are prioritizing eco-friendly initiatives, play up your offerings’ green benefits. 

• Major industry events. Is there an industry conference coming up? Mention it and talk about how your solutions could be a great fit for the prospect’s future plans. 

Where should you start your sales prospecting research?

Using sales prospect research to improve cold email personalization can help you sell more. But where exactly should you invest your energy when trying to track down relevant information? Let’s take a look.

Check your CRM for existing customer data

Your CRM contains a wealth of information you can use to personalize your outreach. So, start your research process by reviewing notes about each account in your CRM to understand previous interactions and preferences. 

While you’re at it, use conversational intelligence tools like Gong and call tracking data to glean insights from past communication, saving you time while giving you the data you need to formulate a strategy. Many CRMs — including Salesloft Rhythm and Gong Engage — offer AI-driven insights that can speed up your research by automatically analyzing interactions and giving you suggestions on how to tailor your outreach.

Use data and insight aggregators

Data and insight aggregators can be super helpful in sales prospecting research. By consolidating diverse sources, these tools provide comprehensive data on prospects’ behavior, preferences, and industry trends that you can use to create informed outreach strategies.

For example, LeadIQ Scribe Insights automatically pulls up relevant information about prospects and puts it right at your fingerprints — things like LinkedIn bios, podcasts, company news, job postings, earnings calls, and financial reports. Whether you’re using the LeadIQ Chrome extension or writing emails elsewhere using Scribe, you can access all of this data in just a few clicks — making personalization a breeze.

Similarly, LinkedIn Sales Navigator offers Account IQ, which also provides insights into target accounts. While I’m biased toward LeadIQ, I encourage each of my reps to use Account IQ regularly to surface the insights they need to engage prospects more effectively. New to Account IQ? Learn more about how you can use Account IQ to hit your numbers faster.

Other sources to check for sales prospecting research

Feel like you need more data to personalize your outreach? Here are some other sources to check out:

• Company websites offer insights into products, services, and company culture, which can be helpful in guiding personalized outreach strategies.

• Google searches reveal recent news, updates, and public information about prospects, which can help you understand their needs on a deeper level.

• Review websites provide customer feedback and sentiments, which offer valuable perspectives on a company’s reputation. 

• Industry-related communities can help you find firsthand insights into trends, challenges, and opportunities within the target market. 

• Job boards offer insights into company growth, hiring needs, and potential pain points, giving you a better idea of what an organization is experiencing. 

Supercharge sales prospecting research with LeadIQ!

When it comes to SaaS sales success, personalization is the key to finding pipeline and driving more sales.

At LeadIQ, we’re all about helping sales teams prospect as efficiently as possible. Using LeadIQ, reps can surface the insights they need to effectively engage prospects — all in just a few clicks.

To see how LeadIQ can transform the way you conduct sales prospecting research, take our platform for a test drive today.