Sales Prospecting 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A rep has a list of 500 prospects but limited time. What is the BEST first step to maximize results?
- Call every prospect in alphabetical order
- Segment and prioritize the list based on fit and intent signals (Correct answer)
- Send one generic email to all 500 at once
- Wait for inbound interest before reaching out
Correct answer: Segment and prioritize the list based on fit and intent signals
Prioritizing by fit and intent ensures the rep spends the most effort on prospects most likely to convert, improving ROI on outreach time.
Question 2: What is 'prospecting fatigue,' and how should a rep respond to it?
- When prospects are tired of being called; send texts instead
- When reps burn out from repetitive outreach; restructure daily routines and vary tactics (Correct answer)
- When CRM data becomes outdated; delete old records
- When quotas are too high; negotiate lower targets
Correct answer: When reps burn out from repetitive outreach; restructure daily routines and vary tactics
Prospecting fatigue affects reps who do high volumes of repetitive outreach; varying tactics and batching tasks helps maintain effectiveness.
Question 3: Which of the following is an example of a 'pattern interrupt' in cold calling?
- Reading from a standard script
- Opening with an unexpected question or statement that breaks the prospect's routine (Correct answer)
- Asking for the prospect's budget immediately
- Ending the call with a product demo
Correct answer: Opening with an unexpected question or statement that breaks the prospect's routine
A pattern interrupt surprises the prospect out of their default 'not interested' response by opening with something unexpected and engaging.
Question 4: When should a salesperson officially mark a prospect as 'disqualified' in the CRM?
- After the first unanswered email
- After exhausting all outreach attempts and confirming they are not a fit (Correct answer)
- After the prospect misses one scheduled call
- After the first negative response
Correct answer: After exhausting all outreach attempts and confirming they are not a fit
A prospect should only be disqualified after a thorough cadence and clear evidence they don't meet qualification criteria, not after minimal contact.
Question 5: What is the advantage of video prospecting (e.g., sending a short personalized video) over plain text email?
- Videos are cheaper to produce than emails
- Videos increase engagement and stand out in crowded inboxes (Correct answer)
- Video eliminates the need for follow-up
- Videos are required by most CRM platforms
Correct answer: Videos increase engagement and stand out in crowded inboxes
Personalized video messages capture attention, humanize the outreach, and differentiate the rep from the flood of plain text emails.
Question 6: A rep is prospecting into a new industry vertical they haven't sold to before. What should they do first?
- Use the same messaging as their current industry
- Research the vertical's common pain points, terminology, and key players (Correct answer)
- Immediately call the CEO of the largest company in that space
- Focus only on inbound leads from that vertical
Correct answer: Research the vertical's common pain points, terminology, and key players
Understanding a new vertical's specific language, challenges, and competitive landscape is essential before crafting relevant outreach.
Question 7: What does it mean to 'prospect with a hypothesis'?
- Guessing a prospect's budget before the call
- Entering outreach with a specific assumption about the prospect's pain point to test (Correct answer)
- Hypothetically closing deals without real prospects
- Using scientific data to predict sales outcomes
Correct answer: Entering outreach with a specific assumption about the prospect's pain point to test
Prospecting with a hypothesis means crafting outreach around a specific, researched assumption about a prospect's likely challenge, making the message highly relevant.
Sales Prospecting 5
A rep has a list of 500 prospects but limited time.
What is the BEST first step to maximize results?