In our experience engaging with several healthcare industry leaders, we often encounter the question:
“How many prospects should you contact in a day?”
We agree that this frequently asked burning question is a crucial factor that must be considered because of its influence on the success of your outreach efforts.
The Habitable Zone of Outreach: Quality vs. Quantity
Having the much-needed balance between quality and quantity is a non-negotiable when prospecting.
Linking with a great number of prospects is not just the end-all-be-all when prospecting. Engaging with those who are also into your objectives, especially in healthcare sales, is also equally important which involves addressing the pain points, challenges, and needs of your prospects.
Segmentation: The Cornerstone of Effective Outreach
Focusing your outreach efforts on several subgroups of your target audience is a great start.
This begins with segmenting your outreach list into several categories, such as:
- medical specialty/service
- company size
- region
By doing this, you may craft customized messaging that appeals to the distinct preferences of each group.
Understanding Cultural Nuances
Cultural awareness and sensitivity is a must when speaking to a multinational audience.
Be sure to take cultural nuances, proper word choices, and communication approaches into account when creating your outreach messaging. What might be regarded as acceptable in one area may not be in another.
Using cultural awareness in your outreach can significantly increase the likelihood that you’ll establish long-lasting relationships.
Setting a Realistic Daily Quota
Going back to our million-dollar question: How many prospects should you contact in a day?
There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but there are several principles to take into account.
Top-most priority? Striking a balance between practicality and big aspirations.
One ideal way to manage your prospecting efforts is through the use of a prospecting tracker. This can give you an overview of the number of prospects that you have already contacted, including those that would be needing follow-ups, and prospects whom you have not made contact with yet.
Because these numbers are available to you through the tracker, gauging the number of prospects you will be contacting for the day can be easier.
Who should you contact first?
A good strategy would be to prioritize working on the follow-ups that you initially contacted in the past month or two and have not yet responded or asked to be contacted again at a later date/time.
A specific section below will discuss the essence of follow-ups.
Once done with the follow-ups, you can now proceed to work on engaging with new prospects.
How many new prospects should I contact in a day?
This will be defined by your cruising altitude–a number that varies according to your goals and targets.
Quality should be taken into much consideration when defining this cruising altitude for the number of new prospects to be contacted in a day.
This means looking into those prospects who fit into your previously defined ICP and have a higher likelihood of conversion.
In engaging with these new prospects, finding a common interest that you can incorporate into your messaging would be a good headstart, combined with discussing how you could address a certain issue or problem in your conversation.
In this manner, you can avoid the spray-and-pray method where you exert all your energy and time contacting several prospects in a single day and hope that you get a response sooner or later.
Remember that excellent connections frequently outperform and outlast numerous superficial contacts in terms of results.
The F in Follow-up stands for “Fortune”
Don’t underestimate the impact of consistent and thoughtful follow-up messages. A well-timed follow-up demonstrates your commitment and professionalism, helping you stay on the radar of potential clients who might have been initially busy or distracted.
The follow-up is just as significant as the first impression. In the world of prospecting, the fortune is often in the follow-up.
Sending frequent and considerate follow-up messages must not be overlooked. A timely follow-up shows your dedication and professionalism, keeping you in front of potential customers who may have been initially preoccupied or distracted.
There’s still a chance that leads will disregard your messages. But don’t worry!
This does not necessarily imply a lack of interest on their part. Maybe they were busy, too preoccupied, or just forgot about it.
A follow-up increases the likelihood of receiving a response when done strategically and regularly.
Data will help keep you going.
Keeping a close watch on current events, trends, and up-to-date information as you interact with prospects helps you be at par with the situation of the game and further gauge the success of your outreach activities.
Metrics like response rates, conversion rates, and engagement levels offer insightful information about what is effective and what needs to be improved. Utilize this information to refine your strategy and continually enhance your outreach efforts.
Moreover, this information will help you in setting approximations of the realistic daily quota for the number of prospects that you should contact in a day.
Burnout and a decline in the quality of your interactions can result from trying to take on a lot of contacts in a single day. You do not have to push yourself or your team too much as this could drain them out in the long run.
In the dynamic landscape of digital outreach, finding the right balance between quantity and quality is paramount. Establishing a reasonable and data-supported “cruising altitude” that considers your team’s capabilities, the intricacy of your services, the time needed for individualized outreach, and your goals and targets is what you need to do as you start your prospecting journey.
Striking the right balance between quantity and quality in the dynamic world of digital outreach is crucial. What you always need to keep in mind is (1) maintaining a planned and individualized approach that results in meaningful interactions is a priority, and (2) there is no magic number for how many prospects you should contact in a day.
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