Acquisition: from cold calling to social selling

Acquiring new customers is the lifeblood of every commercial organization. Yet, for many professionals, acquisition carries a negative connotation. Images of pushy telemarketing or unwanted emails come to mind. That is a shame, because good acquisition doesn't feel like selling. It feels like building relationships with people who benefit from what you have to offer.

In this article, we cover the entire acquisition spectrum. From cold calling to social selling, from networking to inbound marketing. You will learn which methods are available, when to use which, and how to make acquisition a structural part of your commercial strategy. No sales pitches, just proven techniques that work in the Dutch B2B market.

What is acquisition?

Acquisition is the active solicitation of new customers or assignments. The word comes from the Latin 'acquirere' (to acquire) and encompasses all activities you undertake to identify, approach, and persuade potential customers to do business with you.

There are two main forms of acquisition:

• Cold calling (outbound): You approach prospects who do not yet know you. Think of cold calling, cold emailing, visiting trade shows, or sending LinkedIn messages to strangers.
• Warm acquisition (inbound): Prospects come to you, for example via your website, content marketing, referrals, or networking events. You approach people who have already shown interest.

In practice, the most effective approach is a mix of both. Warm acquisition yields higher quality leads, but cold acquisition gives you more control over the volume and pace of your pipeline.

Cold calling: still relevant?

Cold calling has a bad reputation, but it is not dead. It has changed. The old approach (calling a list with a standard script) indeed no longer works. The new approach (targeted calling based on research, with a relevant and personal story) definitely yields results.

Research by Rain Group shows that 82% of buyers are willing to schedule an appointment after a cold call, provided the salesperson is relevant and offers value. The problem is not the channel. The problem is the preparation.

Tips for effective cold calling:

• Do your homework. Review your prospect's LinkedIn profile, the company website, and recent news items beforehand. Mention something specific in your opening.
• Open with relevance, not with your product. Start with an observation or question that is relevant to the prospect. Not: “We offer management training.” But: “I saw that your team has grown significantly over the past year. How is the onboarding of all those new managers going?”
• Ask for two minutes, not an hour. The goal of a cold call is not to sell, but to make an appointment. Keep it short and respect the other person's time.
• Accept no as an answer. Not every call leads to an appointment. That is fine. A professional and respectful conversation leaves a good impression, even if it is not a match right away.

Social selling: acquisition via LinkedIn and social media

Social selling is the use of social media (primarily LinkedIn in B2B) to build relationships with potential customers. It is not a replacement for personal contact, but a powerful complement to it.

The core of social selling is building visibility and authority. You share knowledge, respond to messages from prospects, and position yourself as someone knowledgeable in the field. By the time you make contact, you are no longer a stranger.

Effective social selling in practice:

• Optimize your profile. Your LinkedIn profile is your digital business card. Write a headline that tells what you do for the client, not what your job title is. Add a professional photo and a summary that communicates value.
• Share valuable content. Post something relevant to your target audience every week. This could be an original article, a response to a trend, or a real-life example. It is not about selling, but about demonstrating your expertise.
• Respond and interact. Like and comment on posts from prospects. Do so with substance, not with a generic “Nice article!”. Add something to the conversation.
• Send personal connection requests. Never send a standard connection request. Always write a short, personal message explaining why you want to connect.

Networks as an acquisition tool

Networking is one of the oldest forms of acquisition and still one of the most effective. In Dutch business culture, many deals are closed based on trust and personal contact. You build that trust at networking meetings, industry events, and business dinners.

The mistake many professionals make when networking is that they want to sell immediately. That backfires. Effective networking is about giving, not taking. Help others, share knowledge, make introductions. The return will come later, but it will come.

Practical networking tips for acquisition:

• Prepare yourself. Know who is coming and who you want to speak to.
• Ask questions instead of pitching. People like to talk about their own challenges.
• Follow up within 48 hours. Send a LinkedIn request or email referring to your conversation.
• Be consistent. Attending an event once a quarter is not enough. Make it a habit.

Inbound marketing: let the customer come to you

Inbound marketing is an acquisition strategy in which you create valuable content that attracts potential customers. Think of blog articles, white papers, webinars, podcasts, and videos. The content addresses the questions and problems of your target audience and positions your organization as an expert.

The major advantage of inbound marketing is that prospects are already interested and informed when they make contact. As a result, the conversion rate is higher than with cold acquisition. The disadvantage is that it takes time to build. Content marketing is a long-term strategy, not a quick fix.

The building blocks of an inbound acquisition strategy:

• Knowledge base or blog. Publish articles regularly that answer your target audience's questions. Optimize for search engines so that prospects find you via Google.
• Lead magnets Offer valuable content in exchange for contact details. A white paper, checklist, or template works well as an entry point.
• Email nurturing. Follow up on leads with relevant emails that help them further in their decision-making process. Don't push, but inform and inspire.
• Calls to action. Ensure that the next step is clear at all times. A free consultation, a demo, a trial training. Lower the barrier.

The acquisition process: from lead to customer

Regardless of the method you use, acquisition always follows a similar process. By structuring this process, you prevent leads from falling through the cracks.

Step 1: Identify your ideal customer

Who is your ideal customer? In which industry are they located, how large is the company, who is the decision-maker, and what challenges do they face? The more specific your ideal customer profile, the more targeted your acquisition. Shooting blindly rarely yields results.

Step 2: Generate leads

Use a combination of outbound and inbound methods to identify potential customers. Differentiate between cold leads (no contact yet), warm leads (already shown interest), and hot leads (actively looking for a solution).

Step 3: Make contact and qualify

Make contact and determine if there is a match. Not every lead is a good lead. Qualify based on budget, need, urgency, and decision-making authority. Invest your time in the leads with the highest potential.

Step 4: Build the relationship

Acquisition is rarely a one-off conversation. Most B2B deals require multiple touchpoints. Schedule follow-up meetings, send relevant information, and stay in touch without being pushy. This is where many sales professionals drop out, even though this is precisely where deals are won.

Step 5: Close the deal

When the need is clear, trust is established, and the timing is right, the moment has arrived to make a proposal. Be clear about what you offer, the cost, and what the prospect can expect. Also read our article about onderhandelen for tips on closing deals.

Address acquisition structurally: build an acquisition system

Most companies engage in acquisition based on intuition. When things are busy, no one does it. When things quiet down, it is too late. The solution is to treat acquisition as a process, just like purchasing or production. With fixed activities, measurable goals, and a rhythm independent of day-to-day pressures.

Elements of a good acquisition system:

• Weekly acquisition block. Schedule fixed hours each week for acquisition. Treat these hours as non-reschedulable, just like a client meeting.
• CRM discipline. Register every contact, every lead, and every follow-up action in your CRM. Acquisition without CRM is like navigating without a map.
• Pipeline management. Know how many leads you have at any given moment in every stage of the process. If your pipeline dries up, you know weeks in advance and can adjust.
• Measurable KPIs. How many new leads per week? How many appointments per month? What is your conversion rate? Without numbers, you cannot improve.

Do you want to train your team in structured acquisition? Check out the sales training from Kenneth Smit for practice-oriented programs that are immediately applicable.

Common acquisition mistakes

In our training sessions, we see the same pitfalls recurring time and again. Do you recognize a few?

Wanting to sell too quickly. Acquisition is about building relationships, not pushing products. If you send a quote during the first meeting, you are skipping crucial steps. Take the time to understand the prospect's needs.

No successor. Most deals are not closed on the first contact. Yet the vast majority of sales professionals stop after one or two attempts. Research shows that, on average, five to eight touchpoints are needed before a prospect is ready to buy.

Just broadcast. Anyone who only talks about how great their product is loses the prospect's attention. Ask questions, listen, and adapt your story to what you hear. The best salespeople talk less than their prospects.

Make no distinction. Not every prospect is the same. Segment your target audience and adapt your approach. The director of a family business requires a different approach than the purchasing manager of a multinational.

Acquisition in a digital age

The way buyers gather information and make decisions has fundamentally changed. Gartner estimates that B2B buyers have already gone through 83% of their buying process before contacting a supplier. This means that as a seller, you need to be visible much earlier, through content, social media, and your online presence.

At the same time, personal contact is more important than ever. Precisely because much interaction takes place digitally, personal attention stands out even more. The winning combination is digital visibility with personal follow-up. Be present online where your target audience is, and then make the difference in the personal conversation.

Want to learn more about how to take your sales skills to the next level? View the full range of sales training with Kenneth Smit.

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