In B2B sales, it is general knowledge that 80% [1] of leads and qualified prospects that are interested in your offer, are not ready to buy (from you or your competitors) for 24 months, and this after trying between 8 to 12 times to reach them. Do not despair though, content marketing and a good CRM are there to bring them, to you.
Document your new relationships
It is not because they are not immediately engaged in a purchase process that you should set aside these new relationships. Capitalize on your prospecting efforts by carefully documenting these contacts in your customer relationship management system (CRM) and feed them regularly with relevant content such as technical papers, computer graphics, blog articles, etc.
Make the most of the relationships you’ve started, and maintain them in order to be present during the time their purchase process arrives. You will begin with a head start on the competition if you remain present in their universe. This is what is called in marketing jargon, “nurturing”.
Plan your CRM for nurturing
To facilitate the lead nurturing process, think of the marketing data that can support this effort when designing your CRM. Plan items in the contact card of your prospects that will trigger targeted marketing actions. For example: the end date of the company’s fiscal year, its year of creation to mark anniversaries, its areas of primary and secondary activities, etc. This information can be useful to generate custom marketing actions and the proposal content and targeted offers.
Think also about capturing their interests and information about the company during your conversations with prospects. Look to categorize, systematize, order and use key words that will help you to target your offer. For example: supply problems, modernization of equipment, exportation, etc.
The content
The wealth of collected information will allow you to not only offer relevant content and meet the expectations of potential buyers, but it will also make you stand out over your follow-ups when building a relationship which, in the end, will be your competitive advantage when they are ready to engage in the purchase process. This time, it will not be you who will be contacting them, but rather them who will come to you for their needs.
In conclusion, supporting sales in the long term requires the collaboration of sales and marketing. This partnership will adequately feed the CRM with suitable data to make the most of a new relationship. The data can open the path to marketing, with content that facilitates the presence in the mind of prospects during the time to engage in their purchase process, and it will edge their first steps towards you. Seize the opportunity to be the first at the top of your prospects’ list, maintain your dearly developed relationships in an intelligent and structured manner.
[1] Serius Decisions [Source de l’image : https://www.sqm.com/]
