When a problem comes along, you must whip it.
When something's going wrong, you must whip it.
Now whip it into shape… shape it up, get straight, go forward, move ahead.
Try to detect it… it's not too late to whip it!
Whip it good!
-Devo, "Whip It"
The Age-Old Problem
B2B companies have been tolerating the activity problem for too long. Managers and sellers agree that more quality appointments lead to more revenue, yet few have been able to whip this problem.
Many things play a part in the activity problem:
- Lack of sales talent
- Appointment setting expertise issues
- Motivation issues: setting an appointment is not as much fun as presenting a solution and closing a deal
- Focus-busters: too many other things to do as an account manager
Short-term, tactical sales initiatives and outbound selling provide some relief to the problem, but never address the problem head-on. Most B2B companies rely solely on their salespeople to develop and nurture leads from prospect to customer. However, with more competition than ever before, it’s important for companies to find new ways to generate qualified leads for their salespeople so they can spend time doing what they do best: uncovering needs and presenting solutions.
Hope is a beautiful thing… and so is inbound marketing!
There is hope, and there are some solutions available that deal with the problem behind the problem: lead generation. Using a combination of world-class creativity and state-of-the-art digital marketing infrastructure, some B2B companies are making progress, increasing appointment activity, and driving revenue.
Innovative lead generation offers integrated campaigns for all stages of the sales funnel harnessing the power of the Internet, social media, and email marketing to get more leads. These leads are handed off to sellers to allow them to do what they do best: sell!
Zimmer Radio & Marketing Group developed a robust strategy, implementing inbound marketing and sales enablement, and in the first year and a half alone they generated over $500,000 in new revenue directly from these initiatives. The leads continue to flow from their lead generation machine, and the more they share content and play the role of thought leaders, the more prospective clients raise their hands for help!
Inbound + Outbound
Inbound marketing is the process of attracting the attention of prospects, via content creation, before they are even ready to buy. It’s one of the best, and most cost-effective, ways to convert strangers into customers and promoters of your business without utilizing a major chunk of your sellers' time on outbound prospecting efforts. Inbound delivers quality leads to your sellers to allow them to do what they do best (and love): SELL!
The inbound marketing strategy complements the outbound sales strategy and offers the following benefits:
- Increased online visibility
- Establish company as a thought leader, subject matter expert, and trusted resource
- Uncover new leads
- Attract qualified leads
- Nurture 'not-ready-to-buy-yet' leads
- Support sellers' account-based marketing strategies
- Support outbound prospecting sales plays
Read more on the difference between inbound and outbound strategies and steps to convert your inbound leads into customers.
This solution is not meant to cast aside traditional outbound sales efforts with some new high-tech gizmo. Outbound sales tactics are alive and well, the reality is your sales organization cannot survive on this alone. The real solution is the combination of both inbound and outbound. This approach whips the sales activity problem, and whips it good!
