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    Build a high converting B2C prospecting strategy

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    Best practices for building a high converting prospecting strategy

    Here are your 4 key takeaways on how to build a high converting prospecting strategy.

    The million dollar question: how can I get more leads?

    Successful agencies don’t just reach out. They follow a repeatable, strategic prospecting process that combines outreach, personalization, and pipeline optimization. Here are 4 best practices for improving response rates, attracting the right clients, and making your outreach more efficient.

    Best practice #1: Build a prospecting ready foundation

    Whether you are sending a cold email, following up on a referred client, or using SEO to attract new business, many potential clients will research your agency before responding. If your website and social channels don’t clearly communicate your value, you may be missing out.

    Steps to build a prospecting ready foundation:

    • Clarify your positioning: Make sure your website, social media, and outbound messaging answer "Who do you help?" and "What results do you drive?
    • Leverage thought leadership: You know what you’re doing, so sell yourself! Post thought leadership, case studies, or blogs on your work, even if you don’t have a ton of quantifiable data to show. Just like Jenn Wallace said, “Even just the strategic thinking or the overall level knowledge that you have within the Klaviyo platform is something you can likely build a case study around … and as somebody once told me, sticks make a pile.”‍
    • Set up a referral strategy: Do you incentivize clients referrals? This is a great opportunity to tap into your network’s network.

    Best practice #2: Use problem-first messaging, not product-first

    Too many agencies lead with what they offer instead of why the prospect should care. The best-performing agencies flip the script, making every message about the prospect’s challenges and goals, not their own services. We know that this is simple, but not easy. But to help you consistently craft problem first messaging, we recommend the 3C framework.

    Steps to shift to problem-first messaging:

    • Context: Show awareness of their industry, role, or recent activity
    • Challenge: Highlight a key pain point they are facing
    • Conversion: Prompt a response with a relevant insight or question

    (Good) Example: “Hi [Name], I saw your team launched [Product]. Many brands struggle to convert first-time buyers into repeat customers. Is this a focus for you this quarter?”

    (Bad) Example: “Hi, I’m Alex from [Agency], and we offer email automation services to help brands increase retention.”

    How to find the right challenge:

    • Look at your prospect’s LinkedIn activity, tech stack, or hiring trends to find relevant pain points
    • Use from-to messaging: For example: “Brands struggle to go from X to Y. How are you approaching this?”

    End with a soft conversion question: “Is this something your team is focused on?"

    Best practice #3: Personalize at scale using technology, industry, and role insights

    We know that personalizing is key to effective outreach, but we also know how time consuming this can be. By grouping prospects based on tier, tech stack, industry, and role, you can allow for highly relevant, yet scalable, messaging.

    How to scale your personalization:

    • Tier your prospects: Break them up based on how closely they align with your ideal client profile (ICP). This can look like:
      • Tier 1 (Highly personalized): Reference specific leadership quotes, press mentions, or unique insights
        • Example: “TJ, I saw your quote in [post] about leveraging analytics. How are you segmenting messaging today?”
      • Tier 2 (Social and industry-based): Reference social presence, industry challenges, or brand positioning
        • Example: “Your Instagram engagement is impressive! Many brands struggle to convert followers. How are you tackling that today?”
      • Tier 3 (Tech stack and competitor-based): Reference current tools, competitors, or industry trends
        • Example: “We work with brands like [Competitor] to personalize outreach using their data. How are you handling this?”
    • Use LinkedIn, StoreLeads, or BuiltWith to research tech stacks
    • Create templates tailored to common pain points
    • Set up alerts for funding, product launches, and hiring trends for your ‘tier 1’ prospects

    Best practice #4: Know when to let go with the 3-channel, 3-touch, 3-week rule

    The biggest mistake agencies make in prospecting? Spending too much time chasing bad leads. Instead, use a structured framework to decide when to move on.

    How to implement the 3-channel, 3-touch, 3-week rule:

    • 3 channels: Engage across email, phone, and LinkedIn/social
    • 3 touchpoints (after your initial ask): Reach out to the client 3 times across each channel. Use a mix of value-driven messages, follow-ups, and direct asks.
    • Reassess after 3 weeks: If you have no response after 3 weeks, move the lead to nurture or remove them from active outreach

    Heard back?

    First:

    • Submit a lead registration in the Klaviyo partner portal. This ensures the Klaviyo sales team does not take credit for your lead or follow up with a similar pitch.

    If your lead is engaged, but not ready:

    • Use the Partner Demand Center to send some of Klaviyo’s highest-performing lifecycle flows and webinars as part of a long-term nurture campaign with your engaged but not-yet-ready client.
    Best practices for building a high converting prospecting strategy