Too many small business let sales opportunities slip away because of a lack of pursuit regarding inbound traffic. Some recent research has revealed that small companies are spending almost $4,000 a year per sales rep for technology support. Perhaps there is too much technology and not enough human interaction? Too much automation and not enough proactive marketing and selling?
- You are really not too small to allow your inbound traffic to just wander around aimlessly at the mercy of your tech responses. Sure, well placed and executed sales development technology is essential but the human touch needs to be integrated if you want to capture more conversions with your inbound traffic.
- Rather than being reactive when the traffic comes in, it is far better to be proactive. Get right into it with your inbound visitors. Sure, lead them toward the conversion but also increase engagement by letting them know what the company has been doing and is doing. Let them know what trade shows they can visit to engage with you. Let them know when the next webinar or podcast is going to be and why they need to see it. Let them know about the problems you are solving for other customers and clients.
- In this direction, share your blog with them. Lead them to certain exclusive content that only they will have access to and tie it into the eventual sale. You can nurture them and explore their pain all the while making them aware that your company will alleviate their pain.
- Data, as always, will play a huge part in the success of your proactive inbound effort. Have a system in place that can analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of your inbound contact strategies. What is working and what must be stripped away? Look at your technology metrics with regard to sales meetings set or products sold. Even if those hard conversions are not there, measure what you believe to be solid and extremely warm leads that will be returned to at a later date via email or a phone followup. Finally, which engagement strategies were working the best and were the most effective with regard to the metrics? Even carefully analyze the feedback you received because it will, most assuredly, lead to a conversion down the road if played correctly.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer