Why prospecting tools aren’t your friends

A common myth in our profession is that the latest, shiniest prospecting tools are critical to beat our competition and book more meetings.

If you’ve been in sales for a while, you know there are countless tools to help us do our job better. From CRMs to sequencers, to AI-driven lead research tools, there are thousands of options to help us start more conversations. I cannot think of another profession with more tools for each part of the job.

And this is wrong because it takes the focus away from doing what really matters.

Prospecting tools are just tools.

Most SDRs I work with have a hard time reaching their targets, even when they have the latest, most comprehensive sales enablement tech stack.

They come up to me and show their 16 touchpoint sequence, their automated follow ups, and their massive lead lists. They mention video prospecting tools they have access to, they play with personalized Gifs, or even think of launching a TikTok channel to create content on LinkedIn.

The problem?

They put all their energy on trying all the tools in their toolbox, and they forget to focus on what actually matters when prospecting.

Nail the basics instead.

The first thing you can do to reach your targets is to understand all the concrete actions that will lead you to booking a meeting.

First, understand who you’re going after, and what kind of problem your solution is solving for them. When it’s done, look for prospects where they hang out. LinkedIn is a great place to start.

When you’ve identified your leads, do some research to find a trigger and add relevance to your outreach.

Then, build a sequence with precise touchpoints, a set cadence, and exit criteria (prospect replied or didn’t reply after a set amount of touchpoints).

Finally, determine how many prospects you need to contact daily in order to reach your meeting targets, and execute every day.

Here are 3 tips and resources to help you do just that:

Tip #1: Break down your targets into daily activity. How many meetings do you need to book this month? What’s your meeting rate? What’s your reply rate? If you cannot answer these questions, go check my Sales Process Calculator.

Tip #2: Have a pre-defined prospecting sequence. Do you have a clear sequence with follow-ups and impactful messaging? Check my Ultimate LinkedIn Outreach Sequence.

Tip #3: Execute every day. How’s your prospecting routine looking like? Do you have a predictable system to generate meetings? Go check my New Outreach System.

Salespeople who believe their tech stack will make a difference end up missing their targets and losing confidence in their ability.

Master your craft first, add prospecting tools second.

Cheers,

Thibaut