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Since the "Regulation on the Protection of Personal Data" came into force on May 25, 2018, or "RGPD", it can feel like walking on eggshells when it comes to getting in touch with a prospect.
There's plenty to be afraid of, when you consider the 300 million euros in penalties collected in 3 years by the CNIL on this subject.
By the way, you can see the sanctions published on GDPR Enforcement Tracker, a free sanction tracking tool.
But then is prospecting synonymous with non-compliance with the RGPD?
Do I risk a fine if I prospect without consent?
Is prospecting still one of the best sales levers, despite regulations?
We'll explain it all in a few points.
PS: The entire article will be written in a B2B context.
In inbound marketing, it's the prospect who comes to you, so an Opt-In is mandatory to retain and use their contact details.
An Optin = authorization to enter a communication process
I need a person's explicit consent to store and use their details. This often takes the form of a checkbox such as :
"I agree that my postal or e-mail address/fax number/telephone number may be used to receive offers from company X by post or e-mail/fax/SMS".
What's more, you need to be explicit about how your data will be used: don't just tick a box and explain that it will be used to personalize content, if you're going to use it for other purposes.
You should also be careful not to collect information that has no connection with the purpose of your business: you don't collect personal data for B2B purposes (date of birth, etc.).
When it comes to outbound prospecting, things are different!
You don't need consent to prospect
You may send an e-mail to a person you do not know personally if a legitimate interest exists.
As you can see, the legitimate interest of a commercial canvasser must be aligned with the nature of the company and the role of the targeted contact.
To put it simply: as long as you target your contacts correctly and address them in the right context, it's okay to prospect.
Those who don't know how to shoot will be in trouble!
And even without talking about RGPD, all your contacts are going to slip you nicely into SPAM if you prospect them like a drudge, and then it's Google that's going to punish your domain. And in terms of reducing your commercial leverage, it's a big deal.
You need to be able to tell your prospect where and/or how you got their contact details.
If it's a public source, a network like LinkedIn or an enrichment tool like DropContact, it's okay!
If you've bought a database from the dark net or left with your old company's CRM export, that's obviously totally forbidden. :)
If Opt-in is not an issue in prospecting, Opt-out is mandatory!
It translates as a "Stop SMS" or an unsubscribe option on an automated sequence: Cold Email or LinkedIn Sequence.
Optout = the possibility of leaving a communication loop
In any case, if you don't let a prospect out of the loop, you're shooting yourself in the foot, because nobody likes to be asked to do something when they don't want to.
Mind you, there's a paradox here when it comes to emails. Your prospects' mailboxes can SPAM you if they detect an unsubscribe link, which in most cases is synonymous with automated prospecting.
TIPS: offer your prospects the chance to get out of the loop if they're not interested, by methodically keeping a list of these contacts.
Prospecting is a profession, you can't just do anything! The RGPD is not an obstacle to well-done B2B prospecting.
INbound = OptIN / Outbound = OuptOUT
There's a lot of weariness, and even irritation, when poorly-targeted, poorly-contextualized prospecting arrives in prospects' mailboxes.
However, with the right approach and a good persona analysis, a prospecting message will appear as a response to an identified problem, rather than an unsolicited "advertisement" that everyone wants to quickly put in their SPAM folder.
A well-tailored and well-segmented prospecting sequence allows you to stay within the bounds of the regulations while still being effective. It's this qualitative approach that we advocate at Silyane, and as seasoned prospectors, we find that the RGPD is a good thing to not encourage abuses that harm this practice.
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