Acquisition: what is it + tips

A very important element in the sales cycle is acquisition. This is because without acquisition, your business cannot grow. We explain what it is and what types of acquisition exist.

Acquisition in sales

Acquisition means acquiring or obtaining something new. Within the sales world, it more specifically refers to the process in which you as a salesperson seek out, find and approach new customers. The goal of this is to sell your products or services to these new customers. You can do acquisition or customer acquisition in different ways, we will give you some examples here.

Two types of customer acquisition

1) Cold acquisition

In cold acquisition, the salesperson approaches new potential customers who have not yet shown interest in your product or service. Before you can convince them about the products or services, you have to convince them to listen to your explanation and start a conversation. Good preparation and a powerful pitch are therefore essential here to make the conversation successful. Examples of cold acquisition are cold calling, handing out brochures and performing a pitch to a potential client.

If you want to do cold acquisition, we recommend applying these tips:

• Prepare well. Decide who you are going to approach and when, and contact the prospects with whom you are most likely to do so first.
• Make sure the pitch be as clear as possible. Provide enough information and exude self-confidence. Also tailor your selling arguments to your interlocutor, and tell in stories.
• Actively follow up, and dare to take initiative in this.

2) Warm acquisition

In warm acquisition, the salesperson approaches existing customers who have previously bought something from you or shown interest in one of your products or services. It is therefore important to keep the contact with existing customers positive and keep them informed of news, such as the launch of a new product. You can also ask these customers to recommend your company to others, as word of mouth can be a great help in acquiring new customers. Examples of warm acquisition include contract renewal and special offers for regular customers.

To engage in warm customer acquisition, keep the following tips in mind:

• Build a relationship with your customer, and actively maintain it by keeping in touch regularly.
• When you contact the customer, make sure you add value. Tell them something new, or discuss an interesting offer.
• Choose a good time to approach them. Consider an appropriate time in a day, or when the life span of their purchase expires.
• Try to ensure that customers recommend your offer or company to those around them. A low-threshold way to do this is to ask them to write a review.

Ways to do acquisition

There are a number of ways you can engage in acquisition:

• Through LinkedIn invites & direct messages, where salespeople approach potential customers with pitches or valuable content.
• Telephone marketing also remains a popular method, especially in b2b, to approach existing customers or generate new opportunities. E-mail is used by both sales and marketing for personal outreach and lead generation.
• Networking is essential for creating new opportunities, with sales professionals attending events to expand their network.
• Finally, sales professionals can build thought leadership by blogging, vlogging, creating podcasts or hosting webinars, adding value and generating interest among potential customers.

Not done learning yet? Find out more sales terms!