How to Use WhatsApp for Prospecting
Prospecting is the first step in any sales cycle. To connect with leads and nurture them, you first need to identify and make contact with them. It looks easy enough in writing, but here’s the catch: Traditional outreach methods aren’t cutting it anymore. Email open rates are dropping, and cold calls are being ignored.
So where do your prospects actually respond to outreach? On platforms they already use in their everyday lives, like WhatsApp.
WhatsApp is slowly becoming a key channel in sales, thanks to its high open rates, real-time nature, and personal feel. But there’s a tricky line between prospecting and intruding on people’s privacy, and it’s easy to cross on WhatsApp.
To help you avoid this, we’ll tell you how to use WhatsApp for prospecting in this guide.
The challenges of sales prospecting and how WhatsApp addresses them
Prospecting isn’t an easy task. It takes time and effort, and since the entire sales cycle depends on it, its outcome needs to be good, which doesn’t always happen.
Here are some common challenges of prospecting and how WhatsApp helps with them.
Time-consuming process
To prospect, you need to create an ideal customer profile, look for ways to meet those ideal customers, make lists of people to contact, and then actually contact them. The process is time-consuming, and even more so when done on a slow channel.
Imagine doing this over email. You’ll send a few outreach email messages and wait days for responses that might not come. And if they do come, you’ll go through another cycle of slow replies. That’s where the beauty of fast channels like WhatsApp shows.
WhatsApp will speed up the contacting part, helping you qualify leads faster or move on from unqualified leads to focus on other opportunities. It also has features for better engagement, like voice notes, multimedia, and quick replies.
Low response rates
You send 100 emails. Maybe 10 get opened. If you’re lucky, one or two people reply. Seems familiar, doesn’t it? It must be because the average response rate for cold emails is a mere 8.5%. Low response rates are a major blocker in prospecting since they delay all of the steps that are yet to come.
WhatsApp solves this issue with its extremely high open rates. You almost always guarantee that your message will get viewed, and since people normally check WhatsApp multiple times throughout the day, it’s unlikely that it’ll get buried among other messages.
Plus, the personal nature of WhatsApp compels prospects to reply, so you’ll get better response rates and be able to move on to the next step in the sales cycle faster.
Targeting the wrong people
More often than not, sales agents will pursue leads that don’t have decision-making power or aren’t a good fit for their product. This leads to wasted time that could’ve been spent chasing real opportunities. Over time, it can cause frustration and a drop in performance. Again, WhatsApp can save the day here with some advanced features available on WhatsApp Business API.
For example, the API gives you access to chatbots that can carry out entire automated conversations with customers. After you make initial contact with a customer and are still unsure whether they’re qualified, you can use a chatbot to ask them qualifying questions. When the conversation is over, AI assistants in the chatbot can label the customers as qualified or unqualified. Even better, the chatbot can assign agents to qualified leads.
This way, you’ll get your leads on a silver platter, and you’ll have more time for nurturing and closing deals.
Building trust is difficult
It’s challenging to build trust with prospects if you haven’t contacted them before. They’ll be skeptical, and using impersonal and formal channels like emails will make it even harder to build a personal connection. However, connecting with prospects on a personal level, like on WhatsApp, is critical for the following steps in the sales cycle.
How to use WhatsApp for prospecting in 6 steps
Prospecting on WhatsApp sounds easy, but is it that smooth in implementation? There are a few steps you need to follow, and here’s an overview of them.
1. Research and identify the right prospects
Before you message any customers, you first need to research them. Who are they? What challenges are they facing? Why might they be interested in your solution?
To do so, you should check LinkedIn profiles and company websites and look for people with decision-making powers. Then, look for signs that these decision-makers might benefit from your solution. Does it look like they’re scaling? Are there shifts in the industry that might help your case? Go through their profiles and read their posts and comments so that you get a better idea about their interests and behavior.
When you do that, you’ll be able to personalize your communication on WhatsApp better, and therefore will have a better chance at building a strong relationship with your prospects.
2. Start meaningful conversations with prospects (without being salesy)
After researching your prospects, you can make contact and initiate conversations on WhatsApp, but you need to be aware of two points: you need to get opt-ins beforehand and you shouldn’t be too salesy.
The opt-ins are important for complying with WhatsApp’s Business Messaging Policy. You can simply ask your prospect if it’s possible to move the conversation to WhatsApp. If they say yes, there’s your opt-in.
As for the second point, it’s important to build any rapport before selling to the prospect. How? Ask questions and go through a normal conversation without pushing your product. For example, you can ask about any pain points they have or how their team is adapting to industry changes. Then, present your product as a solution to their problem.
Having these conversations over WhatsApp will make them feel informal and casual, which can prompt the prospect to reply more and quicker.
3. Qualify the prospect by asking the right questions
Not every prospect you come across is a good fit for your product, and if you don’t realize that fast, you’ll waste precious time chasing the wrong opportunities. That’s why you need to qualify the prospects you’re talking to, and you can do that by asking them questions about their point points. You can ask questions like:
- How are you currently handling [specific issue]?
- What is your biggest challenge when it comes to [specific issue]?
The way they answer will reveal whether your product can help them or not, and you can decide whether to continue nurturing them.
You can automate lead qualification through the use of chatbots, but they’re exclusive to WhatsApp API users.
4. Offer value before pitching
Prospects are far more likely to engage when they see you as a valuable resource rather than just another salesperson trying to close a deal, so you shouldn’t jump into pitching too soon.
First, you need to establish credibility. You can do that by sharing industry trends or quick tips that show you understand their world. You can also show them how others in their industry have tackled similar challenges.
When you do that, you position yourself as someone bringing something useful to the table, which makes it easier for prospects to trust your recommendations and eventually consider your solution.
5. Follow up with your most promising prospects
Most prospects won’t respond immediately, and that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not interested. People are busy, messages pile up, and even the most relevant messages can get lost in the chaos. What do you need to do about this? Strategic follow-ups.
Every once in a while, you need to remind your prospects of the conversations you had and keep the door open for further engagement. To do this without intruding, you should time your follow-ups well. Don’t send a follow-up message everyday, and don’t send multiple messages at once.
A good sequence to try here is:
- First follow-up (after 2-3 days): “Hey [Name], just checking in—any thoughts on our last chat?”
- Second follow-up (after 1 week): “No rush, but if improving [X] is still a priority for you, happy to share more insights.”
- Final follow-up (after 2 weeks): “Totally understand if now isn’t the right time! Let me know if you’d like to revisit this later.”
Because WhatsApp messages are often read instantly, your prospects are more likely to acknowledge these follow-ups, even if they’re just to say they’ll revisit the discussion later. And since WhatsApp allows for easy back-and-forth communication, you can detect how serious their interest is in real time and adjust your follow-up approach accordingly.
6. Closing the conversation and next steps
Once a prospect is engaged, the conversation needs to lead somewhere. Interest alone doesn’t move deals forward, so there has to be a clear next step, and you need to be the one who provides it. You should work on transitioning your prospect from a casual chat to an action.
The best way to do this is by offering a simple, low-commitment next step based on the conversation.
If the prospect seems interested but needs more details, suggest a quick call. If they prefer to explore the solution on their own, sending a demo link works well. And if they’re already considering your offering but need to experience it firsthand, offering a free trial can be a great way to move them closer to a decision.
Luckily, WhatsApp allows you to guide the prospect toward the next step in a natural, conversational way. A simple “Sounds good, let’s do it” can be all it takes to move the conversation forward, eliminating unnecessary delays and making the entire prospecting process smoother
Best practices for using WhatsApp in B2B prospecting
WhatsApp isn’t solely a business platform, so you need to tread carefully when using it for prospecting. It’s not like any sales channel where you can bombard prospects. Instead, you should deal with it like it’s a relationship-building channel.
To increase the chances of your prospecting success, follow these practices:
Personalize your outreach and be conversational
WhatsApp isn’t the right platform for sending generic sales pitches without personalization. It’s primarily a conversational tool, so you need to build a connection gradually by personalizing your outreach and adding value to your pitch.
For instance, instead of sending the prospect general information about your product, tell them exactly how your product can help them with their pain points. Customizing your pitch to fit their needs will make you look more caring and trustworthy, which can help you build stronger relationships with them.
Use AI and automation wisely
If you have a large list of prospects to contact, you might need to use automation to reduce your workload a bit, which can help you close more deals. But the key here is using AI and automation wisely so that your prospects don’t feel like they’re talking to a robot.
To save time using automation without losing your personal touch, you can automate redundant tasks like scheduling and confirming meetings, greeting prospects who approach you, and logging data into your CRM.
For example, if you integrate WhatsApp with a CRM tool (possible through the WhatsApp Business API), you can create an automated workflow where each conversation you have with a prospect gets logged automatically into the CRM. This way, you can track conversations and gain context before following up with prospects.
Use multimedia and voice notes
Long paragraphs can feel overwhelming to prospects. If you want to ensure you get your points through clearly, use WhatsApp’s most famous chat features: voice notes and multimedia.
For example, you can send a PDF or presentation showcasing your product’s features instead of typing it inside the chat. And if you’re amidst a discussion with the prospect, you can send voice notes to make the conversation more personal.
These features can help you keep the conversation going and build a genuine connection with your prospect, which can lead to more conversions and sales.
Final words
Sales prospecting is no longer about sending emails and making cold calls. Now, it’s about meeting prospects where they are, which is mostly real-time messaging platforms, like WhatsApp.
Prospecting on WhatsApp helps you build stronger connections with your customers, and it has many automation features that can shorten your sales cycle and boost your chances of success. Just research well, offer value, and follow-up in a timely fashion.
Want to build an even stronger prospecting strategy? Add LinkedIn to the mix. Learn more about prospecting on WhatsApp and LinkedIn here.
Hania is a content writer with four years of experience, driven by deep passion for writing and reading. She helps B2B companies market their products and boost their sales using one of the most powerful tools of mankind: words. Writing has always been her way of connecting with people, sharing her ideas, and leaving an impact.
