Where Does B2B Prospecting Work Best? SMB vs. Enterprise
It's often easier to cold call SMBs than enteprise companies, however it's not always the case, and ACVs strongly differ
10/12/20263 min read
The fundamental idea behind B2B prospecting, and cold calling in particular, is that we're all human. It's possible to build a genuine human connection with almost anyone, even senior executives at large corporations.
And it's true: you can book meetings almost every day using nothing more than your phone and enriched phone numbers.
Events such as the Outbound Cup and the livestreams hosted by Kold Klub also show that salespeople can book hundreds of meetings in their markets in just two hours.
But does prospecting work equally well across all personas and for every type of offer?
In this article, I'll explain where B2B prospecting works best, and where it can be one of the most effective customer acquisition channels available. I'll also look at situations where prospecting can work, but may not be as effective as other acquisition channels.
B2B Prospecting Is More Difficult in Enterprise Markets
Here's the central argument of this article: the more complex the sale, and the more senior the decision-maker's position within a large organization, the harder B2B prospecting becomes.
When cold calling executives at large corporations or larger mid-market companies, particularly in HR, Marketing, Communications, or technical leadership roles (CTOs, for example), answer rates typically range from 10% to 25%, and can sometimes be as low as 10%.
In other words, only one out of ten prospects might answer your call, or perhaps two out of ten.
By contrast, with other target audiences, answer rates can reach as high as 50%.
Why such a significant difference? Some prospects are constantly being approached by salespeople from all over the country, while others receive far fewer sales calls.
When you see someone prospecting directly from their mobile phone rather than using a parallel dialing tool, for example, it often means they're not operating in a market where answer rates are as low as 10%.
Otherwise, they would probably have stopped calling leads one by one a long time ago. It's simply too inefficient.
Low answer rates also inevitably affect both the number and the quality of meetings you can book in a given market.
When someone gets bombarded with ten cold calls a day, they're naturally more likely to become irritated and less receptive. This makes it harder to grab their attention and book a meaningful meeting.
So when someone tells you they book ten meetings a day through cold calling, chances are they're not targeting enterprise accounts (large mid-market companies, smaller mid-caps, and large corporations) — with a few exceptions.
Booking even one solid meeting with an enterprise account is already a very good result.
A single partnership with this type of company can generate substantial, recurring revenue. However, conversion rates will generally be lower, and sales cycles considerably longer.
B2B Prospecting Is Easier in the SMB Market
When targeting small businesses and smaller SMEs, prospecting is often considerably easier. The same applies in the United States.
In my view, the US market is a glimpse of what Europe will look like in five years.
In the US, answer rates are even worse than in Europe, sometimes dropping to just 4–5%. However, when targeting small businesses, they can still be relatively high.
You can find plenty of videos from English-speaking salespeople cold calling for their "SMMA agencies" or "AI agencies", using nothing more than their mobile phones.
Some claim to book several meetings a day, sometimes as many as ten. The dynamics are therefore more or less the same as what we're seeing in France today.
Why?
Quite simply, there are far more small business owners than large enterprise accounts.
Everyone is going after the gold mine: C-level executives who theoretically control six- or seven-figure budgets.
But naturally, the more people compete for the same prospects, the harder that market becomes to penetrate.
Interestingly, the less glamorous opportunities can sometimes turn out to be more profitable.
Exceptions to the Rule
Some job titles remain relatively under-targeted, even within large corporations.
The more generalist the position (e.g. Marketing Director, HR Director, CTO), the more likely it is that the person is being bombarded with sales calls throughout the day, especially when they work for a large SME or enterprise.
However, even when targeting large corporations, it can sometimes make sense to prospect more specialized job titles, provided your product or service is relevant to them.
These niche personas tend to receive fewer sales calls because relatively fewer products and services have a legitimate reason to target them.
In these situations, it's entirely possible to book a high number of meetings every day, even when prospecting enterprise accounts.