We often talk about copywriting, choosing channels, or even the ideal prospecting sequence. But one essential aspect is regularly overlooked: advance preparation. Before even sending a first email, LinkedIn message, or picking up the phone, the best salespeople take the time to thoroughly prepare their prospecting.
Why? Because a message is only as strong as your understanding of your target audience. This preliminary work, invisible from the outside, is what makes all the difference between a run-of-the-mill campaign and a successful prospecting effort.
In this article, we break down everything the best salespeople do before even clicking "send" to maximize their response rate and get a real head start.
1. They know their target audience inside out.
Before writing anything, top performers study their personas in great detail. They don't settle for a job title or industry. They dig deeper to understand:
- The strategic challenges of the position
- Day-to-day operational difficulties
- The objectives pursued (KPIs, growth, time savings, etc.)
- The tools they currently use
- Vocabulary specific to their environment
By doing so, each message becomes a contextualized response to a specific problem, rather than a generic statement. This deeper understanding also allows for the tone, references, and formats to be adapted.
2. They enrich their databases before launching a sequence.
The best salespeople don't launch a prospecting campaign based on raw, poorly qualified data. Before they begin, they enrich their prospect list with key information:
- Company size
- Location
- Technology stack (tools in place)
- Number of sales representatives or employees
- Signals of intent (recruitment, fundraising, product launch, etc.)
This enrichment allows you to segment your database and send each segment a specific message. It also helps youavoid errors (messages sent to the wrong person, companies that are already customers, etc.) and automate more intelligently.
3. They analyze weak signals and points of engagement.
Good salespeople don't just shoot in the dark. They look for reasons to make contact: a LinkedIn post, a job ad, a press release, a webinar presentation.
They know that contextual personalization—that is, referring to something specific and recent—is one of the best ways to capture attention. Even if it takes a few minutes per contact, this approach is much more effective than sending out impersonal mass messages.
4. They prepare several angles of attack.
A prospect may not necessarily respond to your first message. The best salespeople know this. That's why they plan several approaches from the outset, with different value propositions:
- An angle focused on the problem (business pain)
- A solution-focused angle (customer case study, measurable benefit)
- An angle focused on a trend (market, innovation)
- An "advice" or "expertise" section (free content, benchmarks, etc.)
This preparation helps you avoid running out of steam during a sequence and allows you to pick up where you left off in a relevant way. It also shows the prospect that you have more than one string to your bow and that your proposal is solid.
5. They structure a sequence tailored to their target audience.
Rather than duplicating an existing sequence, the best salespeople adapt the pace, channels, and tone to their target audience.
- A C-level target in a large group? They prefer short, very direct emails with strong social proof.
- A dynamic SME in tech? They opt for LinkedIn, a creative hook, and slightly more human messages.
- An operational contact person? They get straight to the point with a concrete proposal.
This ability to adapt comes into play before the sequence is launched. It is the result of strategic thinking, not simply "copying and pasting."
6. They review their copywriting with an outside eye
Rather than writing alone in their corner, the most successful salespeople seek feedback from colleagues, managers, copywriters, and others. They know that clarity is a weapon, and that what is obvious in their minds is not always obvious to readers.
This outside perspective allows them to optimize:
- The hook of the first message
- The tone used (too formal? too commercial?)
- The fluidity of the call-to-action
- The overall length of the message
They don't wait for the campaign to be launched to iterate. They do it beforehand, to avoid wasting a mass mailing.
Conclusion
What the best salespeople understand is that the success of a prospecting sequence is determined even before the first message is sent. Targeting, enrichment, personalization, angle strategy, tone adaptation: everything is prepared in advance.
This invisible work is often what distinguishes a mediocre prospecting campaign from one that generates qualified responses, appointments, and ultimately, customers.
Good prospecting doesn't start with a message. It starts with a strategy.
