Enterprise sales step 1: Prospecting

When prospecting for enterprise customers, focus on getting these right first.

1. Focus on your ICP.

2. Multi-threading (reaching out to multiple stakeholders simultaneously)

3. Initial discovery call: Identify business problem and stakeholders

4. Focus on value, not features, during product demos

5. Be patient and follow up consistently.

1. Focus on your ideal customer profile.

In enterprise sales, prioritize time over exhausting every lead.

So focus on your ideal customer profile (ICP). As you explore leads, you’ll encounter opportunities to sell against non-ICPs.

This could be attractive because they can easily add five or six-figure deals to your pipeline.

However, when selling to enterprise customers outside your ICP, you risk developing unnecessary features and building a product the market doesn’t need. 

That's why it's important for startups to qualify prospects, especially when selling to enterprises. 

As the product matures, it gets better at solving customer problems or can solve different sets, giving the sales team more opportunities.  More ICP sales opportunities will naturally arise as you develop the requirements to close enterprise customers. 

2. Multi-threading (reaching out to multiple stakeholders at the same time)

Multi-threading is a sales strategy that involves reaching out to multiple stakeholders simultaneously to increase the chances of booking a qualified meeting and closing a sale.

B2B SaaS products impact multiple stakeholders and the team’s workflow. Identifying stakeholders, building relationships, and satisfying their needs are keys to closing enterprise deals.

By multi-threading, you can visualize prospects’ organizational charts, business goals, problems, priorities, and decision-making processes. 

Reach out to decision-makers (senior leadership or champions) and work with actual users of your product simultaneously. 

For example, let's say your product is a CRM. 

• The decision maker could be a Sales Lead. (VP of sales, CRO, etc.)

• Talk to mid-level sales managers. Depending on the size, consider talking to Account Executives or SDRs, everyday users of your product, to understand their needs.

• Talk to the marketing team about whether sales and marketing have to be on the same platform. 

3. Initial Discovery Call: Identify the Business Problem and Stakeholders

The initial discovery call aims to qualify the prospect and gather necessary information to close deals. Below is the information needed during the initial call:

• Do they have a business problem we can solve?

• Is this a critical problem to solve right now, and is it a high priority?

• Who is impacted by this problem and who is most concerned?

You can’t move to the next step if you can’t identify a business problem in the initial discovery call. Also, if the business problem isn’t a high priority for the customer, you can’t move forward. 

Also, if you don’t know the stakeholders, it’s challenging to learn their needs and decision-making process. Without that, it’s almost impossible to drive sales forward.

4. Focus on value, not features, during product demos

During a product demo in the prospecting stage, provide a concise, value-focused walkthrough instead of a detailed feature presentation. The goal is to demonstrate how your solution addresses the prospect's business challenges.

Key strategies for effective product demos:

1. Tailor the presentation to address the critical problems.

2. Emphasize business outcomes and ROI over listing features.

3. Use case studies or success stories to illustrate value.

4. Encourage engagement by asking questions and inviting input.

During and after the demo, keep discovering. Pay attention to reactions, questions, and comments to uncover new pain points or requirements. Document your observations and new information for future reference and follow-ups.

5. Be patient and follow up consistently.

Enterprise sales rarely result from a single touchpoint. Prospects often don't respond to your first cold outreach. You should follow up consistently by sharing relevant updates like: 

• New product features or improvements

• Similar customer case studies

• Industry insights and trends

• Prospect-specific news (e.g., funding, key hires, product launches)

If you keep contacting uninterested prospects, you might be seen as spam. Focus on your ICP and tailor your messages to address their pain points. Show how your solution can solve their top-priority problems and add value. Be helpful and relevant, not pushy or intrusive. A well-timed follow-up can generate opportunities.