The truth WE DON´T KNOW where the prospects are in their journey or even if they have any interest; so we have to find out
a) TRADITIONALLY You need to qualify them to know - by probing questions ,like the BANT framework ( Budget-Authority -Need- Timeline) etc.. That requires gaining the "right" to ask ; get in touch , get access .. in terms of efforts =time = money [$] that involves;
- Find who to talk [easy $] +
- Get their attention [ medium $$] +
- Get Access [difficult $$$] +
- Earn the right to ask questions & get the replies [ medium to difficult $$$].
That means to make an investment BEFORE knowing if is there any chance of a sales
So you need to get your average sales value and conversion rate to see if the total cost of acquisition is a positive return or not
b) BY USING DIGITAL SIGNALS ;no matter the results of the above calculation , you will be better using their signals of interest as a proxy for where they are in their journey . That is an starting point , then we need to move then along a path to fill the gaps of how you can help them if is there enough interest in their side .
With this method we are basically improving the ratio of the equation ;
In the top ( numerator) ; the Conversion rate increases when you segment and personalize, while the LTV stays the same ( although it could be argued that more targeted communications could increase the average deal size)
In the bottom ( denominator) ; the CAC decreases when using the prospecting process and specially if you automate some parts of it