Basic blocking and tackling still drive B2B lead generation

Our technology can tell you when one of your ideal target prospects is looking to buy what you sell and do this in real time. Trust me, this is world class, industry changing technology that no one else has brought to market yet.

But, that said, the basics still drive B2B marketing.

It’s the daily blocking and tackling that makes your marketing and sales process successful. We can take a process that works and make it 10X more effective, but our technology is not a silver bullet and won’t make a bad process into a killer process overnight.

What are the basics?

• Account targeting
• Lead generation
• Outbound communications
• Data management

When does marketing start? Before the product is built! Why? Because products are built to solve a customer’s problem. So, if you have built a product, then you have an ideal customer in mind and understand they problem your product solves.

Account targeting means identifying the universe of potential clients who might have the problem you solve. Today, when we advertise in any form, we need to speak directly to our audience. Talking about generalities, using jargon, talking about how great our technology is doesn’t matter to the prospect. All they care about is how are you going to help them solve a problem. How will you help them get the result they want?

Step 1 therefore is to build a database of who you want to target. In the world of B2B sales this is relatively easy. You know who your client is by title and the kinds of companies they work for. With this information it is easy to buy such a list or build one using LinkedIn or other tools. Networking and conferences also work. The point is having a robust CRM database of your target audience is the first step to building a successful B2B sales process.

Lead Generation. You know who you want to sell to, but how do you get them to pay attention to you?

Marketing strategy is about what you will say. How do you communicate your value proposition, what problem do you solve and what result do you deliver? Marketing tactics is where you do this. Are you going to use a traditional campaign on TV or radio, a digital campaign on Google or Facebook, perhaps email, cold calling, trade shows, or direct mail?

Bottom line, you have to spend some money to get the attention of your target customer, engage them in a conversation about why they should consider you, educate them as to why you are the best alternative given their specific circumstance, and get them to take an action you want … like request a meeting or call.

Outbound Communications

Congratulations, you’ve got a lead! Someone responded to your advertising and is now considering you. What do you do now?

Traditionally, B2B salespeople would pick up the phone and call the lead, or hunt them down at a conference or seminar, or send them a letter, an email, a free consultation or some other item of value that would allow a relationship to blossom.

Today, B2B salespeople are bombarded with lots of newfangled ways to build relationships digitally. Connect on social media, network on LinkedIn, launch re-targeting ad campaigns. Again, all work but the choices available can become overwhelming.

The key is to have a proven process that you know works and follow it. If you know that your leads will answer the phone if you call them … then do it.

Data Management

Scaling a marketing and sales process means identifying what works and then making improvements. Testing each step to identify a better solution. The data items we review constantly include

• Advertising response (CPC, CPM, CPL)
• Lead funnel (new leads per month, length of sales cycle)
• Sales metrics (closing ratios and dollars per sale)
• CRM data (number of target prospects in our audience)

How A.I. improves a process that works

A.I. isn’t a magic bullet, but it will make a good process work better. And by better, you will close more ideal target clients while reducing your marketing expenses and increasing your profits. How cool is that!

Here’s how:

Targeting. We take your prospect database and map it to our identity graph. This allows us to track all the online activity of your ideal target clients and when they are in the market for what you sell, we tell you. In real time.

Lead Generation. When you know specifically, by name, that your target prospect is looking for what you sell, lead generation is like shooting fish in a barrel. See outbound communications below.

Outbound Communications. If tomorrow morning we sent you a list of 10 target prospects who are actively in the market for what you sell, what would you do? Here are two simple ideas:

1. Pick up the phone and call them
2. Send them an email

If you called those 10 target clients who are actively looking for the solution you provide, how many would answer (or call you back). How many would become prospects? Two? Three? Five?

How easy is that? No complex marketing campaigns, fancy funnels, cold email campaigns, etc. Just good old-fashioned belly to belly sales activity. Call on the prospects who want to talk to you.

Data Management. Artificial Intelligence is machine learning. That means it learns what works, what converts, and the algorithm gets smarter. Smarter algorithms generate better leads and weed out false positives.

What about you?

2020 is here and we know your goals will go up. You will need more leads and customers than you were able to produce in 2019. How will you do that?

We can help you generate more leads, better leads; Leads who are actively looking to buy what you sell. We can do it in real time and integrate the leads directly into your CRM system.

Would you like to learn more?