Jenny’s marketing team did an outstanding job of creating interest in the services she offers architects and engineering firms. The message was concise, and she had an open rate on her emails that far exceeded industry averages. Prospects clicked through at almost twice the normal CTR (click-through rate). Jenny was pleased with the awareness generated, but she realized that she didn’t know how to close the loop. What was missing was a toolbox for follow up.
A Follow Up Process
The sales team couldn’t handle hundreds of leads each week and didn’t know how to sort them by interest. We worked together, using her CRM, to create a scorecard that rated each action taken by a lead. The scorecard was imperfect, but it at least provided a way to make the leads manageable. The team could focus on the warmest leads that needed immediate attention. And over time, we could separate the wheat from the chaff.
We also created multiple paths to connect that Jenny’s team experimented with to see where the best results came from for follow up. The sales and marketing team brainstormed with me over fifteen ideas that they could experiment with to see what worked. Not every tactic was successful, but we created a nice follow-up toolbox.
Here is a sampling of the tools we created. Some are obvious but by positioning them as tools, the business development team could experiment to see in real-time what captures attention and interest.
Follow-Up Toolbox
- Pick Up the Phone: On the same day and email was opened, we called the prospect. 75% of the time, we got a voice mail, but we could use that 30 seconds like a provocative message or ad that teased Jenny’s company’s services. We created several short scripts that our team used on those calls that were succinct and to the point. No one read the script – but we created a helpful language for them to leave a message. Some of our messages were just a simple question – “Can your software help save you two-hours each day? Ours can. Want to learn more. Call me.” We kept it short and sweet. The response to our tease was strong.
- Connect through LinkedIn: When someone opened an email, we sent a connection request on LinkedIn. It wasn’t a request to meet or sell – just a request to connect since they were in the same industry. This approach had a surprisingly high response rate and proved a useful path to get a little closer to prospect. After that person connected on LinkedIn, we sent an interesting article to them that was relevant content that we thought they might find useful. It wasn’t about us – it was about the problem that companies in the industry were facing. We created useful copy and messaging to use in the invitation that mentioned that we work in the same industry.
- Send a Physical Package in the Mail: We used the mail to send a fun physical package to the customer that broke through the clutter. By developing something unusual that wasn’t like other platforms, we got our message through to reach them. In this case, we printed some
humorous messages about architects on pencils and mailed them to the leads. This effort reminded me of the time I helped another client deliver their message on a pack of gum that was like Nicotine gum, to help break the excel habit. (it was a software company who could help eliminate addiction to Excel).
- We developed a short explainer video that went out automatically to anyone who opened an email more than three times. This one-minute video helped tell our story and was easy for others to pass along within their company. We experimented with different ways to send this – sometimes manually and sometimes through marketing automation.
Follow up, and then repeat
Persistence and experimentation are critical to sales success. But without tools that fit your team’s needs, once you get someone’s attention, you need a plan for what’s next. Over six months, we found that certain tactics worked for some salespeople and failed for others. We kept testing, experimenting, and learning. After a year, we found our groove and increased conversions significantly over the prior year.
Creating a toolbox of ideas is a great way to start squeezing value from marketing awareness.
Does your business need a marketing coach, guide or sherpa? Are you generating enough leads? Is your marketing underperforming? I can help.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Our initial conversation is free. You talk, I listen. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com or call me. 919 720 0995. Visit my website at www.themarketingsage.com Let’s explore working together today.
Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash
