Metodi di approccio alle vendite: come riscaldare i contatti B2B

Masterclass sulla pipeline di vendita: Terza parte

If you have completed the first two classes of the Sales Pipeline Masterclass – defining your target audience and building your B2B lead list, now is not the time to sit back and relax. It’s time for you to spring into action and start warming up those leads you created with a defined sales approach.

Questo post è la terza parte di un nuovo Masterclass series on how to build your sales pipeline. Building a strong sales pipeline is the #1 key to sales success. That’s why we created this indispensable step-by-step guide, to teach you how to build your pipeline the right way.

– Jeroen Corthout, Co-Founder Salesflare, an easy-to-use sales CRM for small B2B companies

In this third part of the series, we’re going to show you the right sales approach to warming up your leads for conversions after having used them to get our first 100 customers.

 

1. Iniziare con i lead caldi

Selling to strangers is always difficult. That’s why one of the smartest sales approaches to warm up your leads is to start with your own network.

Most of us, over time, will have developed a network of friends and acquaintances in the industry. These could be concentrated locally or even spread out all across the globe. They may not be people you speak to every day or stay in touch with, but they’re definitely easy to start a conversation with.

Added to the fact that you’re already connected, is that they know what you’re doing or what you’re building.

Drop them a quick line, ask them how they are and what they’ve been up to and bring up your product. Ask them for feedback or help in making it better, and hopefully this will get them to try out the product for themselves.

Be careful, though. Don’t go about messaging everyone in your network. Shortlist profiles that are the closest to your ideal customer personas, and categorize them based on the kind of relationship you have with them. Keep smart notes about possible topics to discuss and how you can drive the conversation to what you have to offer.

 

2. Fare del networking una priorità

Networking has proven to be one of the most effective sales approaches. It is the one tactic that has helped businesses grow exponentially because it doesn’t just give you a chance to tell others about what you have to offer, but also learn from them and identify opportunities you could be missing out on.

Prendiamo ad esempio Salesflare. Ogni due settimane ospitiamo il podcast Founder Coffee per incontrare i fondatori di startup in diversi settori B2B.

We don’t go all out and promote what our product does during the episodes. We make it a point to connect with the founders we are talking to, learning from their mistakes, discussing our challenges.

Questo ci ha aiutato a costruire una forte rete attraverso interazioni personali che hanno portato a opportunità di collaborazione con diversi team in seguito.

Similarly, you could join Facebook and LinkedIn groups to start networking online. But at the same time, also attend meet ups and conferences in your area – a face-to-face conversation always leaves a better impression than an online chat.

 

3. Leverage content marketing

Warming up your leads is all about actually establishing meaningful relationships with them. And what better way to do this than by becoming a reliable source of information for them? That’s why leading companies use content marketing in their sales approach to address buyers who are wary of overt, outbound marketing efforts.

If you want content to actually work for you, you need to know who your leads are and by that we don’t just mean what they do or where they work. You need to figure out what they are looking for, what kind of content they engage with and how you can offer them something better than that – all without coming off too salesy.

Once you know what kind of content your leads like to consume – blogs, case studies, videos, infographics and so on, you need to create a multi-channel strategy around it. This means you’ll be taking this piece of content and promoting it across all the channels that they tend to use regularly, using a consistent brand voice.

Per migliorare ulteriormente questo aspetto, create dei contenuti che inneschino una conversazione continua e non cerchino di fornire troppe informazioni in una sola volta.

Ad esempio, mappate i diversi tipi di contenuti che create in base alla fase del lead nel ciclo di vita del cliente.

 

4. Inviare e-mail a freddo

Cold emails have been part of the sales approach for years now. They offer the one channel where you don’t need to battle for attention amidst all the noise – as opposed to social media, for instance. But that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Una campagna di cold email di successo è sempre incentrata sul cliente e prevede dei follow-up in base alla sua interazione con la prima email o alla sua fase del ciclo di vita del cliente.

Regole d'oro da seguire quando si utilizzano le e-mail a freddo per riscaldare i contatti:

• Be sure you’re reaching out to the right person
• Fare in modo che il cliente sia sempre al centro dell'attenzione (personalizzare sempre).
• Mantenere un linguaggio breve e semplice
• Trovare un punto in comune
• Mantenete la riga dell'oggetto al di sotto dei 50 caratteri (la parola d'ordine è croccante!).
• Don’t try to oversell (or overpromise)
• Concentrarsi innanzitutto sul valore aggiunto
• Riconoscere l'approccio a freddo
• Propose a time to talk (don’t leave it too open-ended)
• Don’t be desperate (a big no-no)

Let’s give you an example of what a personalized cold email looks like (you probably have some sitting in your inbox too).

You come across a conversation in a Slack Group that you’re part of and know that your product could add value to the person initiating it. Here’s what your message should look like:

Subject: <First name>, let’s help each other shall we?

Ciao

I hope this email finds you well! I just wanted to reach out to you because we’re in the same Slack group of <group name and link> and I think I have something that might be of interest to you.

If I did my homework right, you’re spending <amount> on social ads every month to acquire customers at <company name>.

Well, I work at <company name> and we offer <value proposition> that can help you lower your monthly costs by x%. In fact, we’ll do all the heavy lifting too!

I’d love to show you how. If you’re interested, just reply to this email and we can hop onto a quick call.

 

5. Prova a chiamare a freddo

Sì, molti pensano che la telefonata a freddo sia morta. Ma la verità è che alzare il telefono e contattare i vostri contatti può essere un approccio di vendita efficace per scoprire se potete trarre vantaggio da una collaborazione.

The only thing you need to make sure is that you’ve done your homework. Research the lead, their challenges, the solutions they are looking for and how you can be of value to them. This might take you a while to get through, but it will help you start a meaningful conversation from the get-go, instead of ending up blabbering on the call.

Also, make sure to re-introduce yourself or remind them how you got their information. You don’t want to come off as one of those loan sellers making random sales calls.

Una chiamata a freddo vincente è quella che vi mette in contatto con un decisore, affronta una sfida urgente per lui, costruisce valore, crea urgenza e sicuramente ha dei follow-up pensati in anticipo.

Avete difficoltà a creare un copione per le vostre chiamate a freddo? Ci pensiamo noi: Script per le chiamate a freddo per le rockstar delle vendite.

 

6. Pianificare i messaggi a freddo

Tried calling but the lead didn’t respond or pick up? Well, successful sales are not made in a day. You need to follow up.

If the lead doesn’t respond to your call, drop them a simple follow-up message. This should include who you are and why you are calling them. It should also ask when they expect to be free for a call. Give them a chance to schedule the call instead of forcing it upon them.

Proprio come le e-mail di vendita, create una campagna di messaggistica fredda con follow-up ben studiati. Ad esempio, se nel primo messaggio avete presentato voi e il motivo per cui vi siete rivolti a voi, il follow-up dovrebbe chiedere se il destinatario sta ancora affrontando una sfida urgente e offrire una soluzione promettente.

Potete anche utilizzare i messaggi a freddo per coinvolgere i vostri contatti su LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook e altre piattaforme sociali.

Remember, whatever channel you’re using, your message needs to be highly targeted and personalized.

Also, while talking about warming up, don’t forget to warm up your inbox to up the deliverability of your emails and avoid that they land in spam. There’s a series of great tools for this, including QuickMail’s free email warmup tool.

 

7. Indirizzare un pubblico personalizzato con annunci a freddo

Sapete già come utilizzare gli annunci per generare lead B2B da Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn e altri canali. Ma potreste anche utilizzare gli annunci per indirizzare questi lead e i loro sosia sulle stesse piattaforme con annunci a freddo.

Impostate un pubblico personalizzato per le vostre campagne pubblicitarie utilizzando il vostro elenco di contatti. In questo modo il vostro annuncio verrà mostrato a un pubblico che ha maggiori probabilità di essere coinvolto. Allo stesso tempo, potete anche creare un pubblico lookalike utilizzando la vostra lista per raggiungere un maggior numero di potenziali clienti.

L'approccio di vendita più efficace per eseguire annunci a freddo ad alta conversione è quello di attirare i vostri lead offrendo una risorsa gratuita che fornisca loro un qualche tipo di valore aggiunto. Ad esempio, potreste rivolgervi a loro con un annuncio che promuove un ebook di cui potrebbero beneficiare immediatamente. Tutto ciò che devono fornire in cambio è qualche informazione che vi aiuti a qualificarli meglio.

You could use the same tactic to promote other relevant content you’ve created for them.

 

Conclusion: what’s the best sales approach for you?

When it comes to warming up your B2B leads, your sales approach needs to remain focused on providing your leads with added value. You need to be consistent enough for them to not forget about you. On the other hand, you also don’t want them to think of you in a negative way for bothering them too much!

L'approccio di vendita ideale varia da un'azienda all'altra e talvolta anche da un lead all'altro.

 

All set to warm up your leads and move to the next step? Don’t forget to tune in next week for Part Four in our Sales Pipeline Masterclass: Come prenotare e gestire le riunioni di vendita come un professionista. Avete bisogno di un ripasso? Torna indietro e leggi Parte seconda: Come costruire la vostra lista di lead B2B.

Speriamo che questo post vi sia piaciuto. Se vi è piaciuto, spargete la voce!

👉 Potete seguire @salesflare su Twitter, Facebook e LinkedIn.

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