Trying to find and connect decision-makers and influencers, when working with a list that’s inaccurate or out-of-date can feel like a waste of time to sales reps that thrill to the close of the next sale. How can B2B lead generation be done with a better return on your investment? A recent article, “Digging for Gold” by Outreach outlines a few key tips for successful prospecting:
Develop detailed buyer personas. Don’t expect your sales team to cold call without a clear idea of who their target audience is. Instead, create a few specific buyer personas that give your sales reps a clear picture of who makes an ideal customer, including information about what type and size companies they work at, the job function/title they hold and the kinds of challenges they face.
Watch for signs of robotic activity. Even your most dynamic sales rep may start lapsing into robotic conversation, listing the benefits of your product in a deadpan voice and losing the attention of the potential prospect. You can also have the opposite effect, where a level-headed rep gets frustrated as the day goes on and before long, they’re sounding more like a used car salesman trying to unload a lemon. Encourage your team to have real conversations and talk to people like they normally talk to a friend to build relationships.
Celebrate the grand rejection. Sometimes you simply have an elusive potential buyer or are told they are not interested, and those can get discouraging. When you have a spectacular rejection, take time to celebrate. Keeping the humor in your cold calling can help you laugh off a rejection and remember that one bad encounter shouldn’t take over the whole tone of the day.
Know when it’s time to outsource. Cold calling can be a fun and exciting time for your team when you need to develop leads, but if you’d rather approach it from a cost-effective way to get your sales reps to focus on leads that are ready for a face-to-face or phone meeting, call in the professionals. Telemarketers are already well-trained in the areas discussed above, and can provide key information to make your initial meetings much more successful including:
- Finding out who the decision-makers and influencers are
- Information about budget availability
- Specifics about their decision-making process, including an expected decision date
- Challenges they are trying to solve (that your product could potentially address)
If you’d like to know more about the benefits of outsourcing your B2B lead generation strategy, give us a call at Blue Valley Marketing.
Last Updated on April 5, 2022 by Ronen Ben-Dror