Are you trying to make your mark and be noticed in business development?
Solution providers primarily target B2B buyers. Innovation and creativity are needed to stand out and be noticed.
Innovation and creativity are crucial to business development. I spent the last two years interviewing top sales personnel to find new and effective strategies. The programs are cost-effective, contrasted with conventional drip and nurture marketing programs.
1. Magnet Marketing
Magnet marketing involves peer-based best practices research studies to get buyers engaged in moderated meetings with prospects.
Conde Nast leveraged this program to reach out to its most sought-after potential customers. They employed GTMP to communicate with potential customers offering a stipend for their participation in a study of best practices about the development and usage of Amazon-like marketplaces and related advertising in the market. GTMP interviewed while they and the Conde Nast team had 15 minutes of direct contact and exploration with every potential customer.
2. Benchmarking
Benchmarking allows buyers to identify their goals better, the journeys they will take, and the practical next steps to address problems through benchmarking and related performance scores as well as trips. At Staples, I was the leader in the design and implementation of a benchmarking program for prospects that gave prospects ratings on the effectiveness of their system to provide products and services for their employees after a chance received their rating and were compared to top-of-the-line customers and equipped with the opportunity to make improvements to their business.
3. Indexing of the industry
Industry indexing involves assessing prospects against their key competitors, identifying the gaps or filler options, and tapping into a potential customer’s competitive nature to bridge them and the top of the line. For example, Sailthru conducts annual research on leading 100 retail companies concerning marketing personalization skills. These rates are now the norm industry norm and offer Sailthru the chance to connect with potential customers and assist them in improving their performance.
4. Customer satisfaction
Conduct an independent customer-centric experience audit. The alternative builds can include side-by-side time-based performance comparisons of video and present a single version of your solution and an analysis of your prospect’s principal competitor(s).
5. Levels of maturity
Determine the maturity levels of your prospective employees and then demonstrate their performance in solving the most pressing issues, defining gaps, and showing the steps required to move to the next stage. Honor and reward those who are at the top and those who climb up. Qvidian makes use of a four-tier rating platform to help potential customers to gauge their performance as well as to present options for performance improvement.
6. Gifting, mail, along with integrated marketing
Get buyers involved with unique packaging, and use personalization of mail and emotional messages. For Student Advantage, an 18 to 24-year-old advertising, membership, and social platform, We sent CEOs an intriguing DM regarding nipple rings. We asked them to tell us the meaning behind it. When they opened the flap, we cited an estimate of how many students in college used it. We asked whether they knew their clients, and it was a huge success.
7. Exclusive research on the industry
Give prospect-centric examination as a reward for an opportunity to meet with sales. Arm Treasure Data publishes prospect-centric research each year. They present it in an infographic and provide the complete report following an introduction meeting.
8. Learn about prospects’ charitable affiliations
Each every year, Rapid7 creates a database that includes potential customers and prospects who are veterans too. They contact them, thank them for their work and ask them to donate to their chosen charity specifically for the needs of veterans. The program creates an emotional bond, which makes the reps feel happy and encourages donations from companies to potential customers and clients. It’s known as Calls for a Cause: Veterans Day Promotion and is a huge source of participation and referrals.
9. The desire for access to an analyst
Meet with prospects who are relevant or association-related analysts. This could also include authors with signed books. At SquareTrade, major buyers were particularly keen on the development in this market. Premium Online Technology market.
Top prospects want to get their opinions from credible analysts. I collaborated with the most respected analyst to share their findings on the potential and growth. We hosted individual analyst meetings, dinners for prospect analysts, panel discussions with customers and analysts, and market reviews.
10. Get customer recommendations
Encourage and reward customers for introductions or assistance in the organization of prospect meetings. Many leading B2B companies have robust customer-referral programs with surprising rewards.
11. Engage customers in sales, customer success, engineering, or even customer education
They have increased their credibility when they solicit their customers or prospects for recommendations. They are trusted by customers and respect the teams. However, they do not request referrals. So, create a program to encourage those who asked for and made referrals (customers and potential customers).
12. Leverage the founder, angel investor, and CEO networks
Find networks of your own on LinkedIn with your ideal prospects. Find intros, or better arrange meetings.
13. CFOs, CIOs and CTOs and BODs
Use side functions for non-sales-oriented networks. Link their LinkedIn networks with your prospects list to solicit introductions and meetings.
14. Alumni programs for employees
Provide access to valuable information and special alumni-only events. Get connections from employees who were once part of your team, maintain a robust database of former employees, and regularly network with them. McKinsey can be a pro in this, and its alumni have been placed in top positions in F500 companies worldwide. They are proactive in engaging with their alumni employees by offering their alumni invitations for exclusive occasions as well as an online network.
15. Prospective alumni programs
Follow your previous customers, connect with their new organizations and ask for introductions or arrange meetings. Investors Trust & Bank maintains the database of past customers and strengthens a connection for referrals and new business.
16. Hackathons
Engage your prospects by participating in live, 360-degree app development. AthenaHealth organizes local hackathons for cities. They call customers, employees, prospective customers, doctors, healthcare coders, and other stakeholders into the room to determine issues to address or identify opportunities. The participants spend a weekend creating natural products with AthenaHealth, and winners are awarded money to develop ideas.
17. Timeshift
Begin to meet with potential clients during breaks, such as while you commute or during the weekend.
18. Customer podcasts
Meet with the executives of your prospective prospect and encourage their podcasts. Peter Mahoney, CMO of Plannuh, frequently speaks with CMOs of his prospective clients by publishing thought-leadership-based podcasts that they share through their respective social networks. While doing so, Mahoney builds excellent relationships that lead to discovery sessions.
19. Reaction/pivot prospect study
Display how top-of-the-line prospects adapt to COVID-19 significant changes to the market or new mandates, let them know how to respond, or offer them an established path.
20. Vendor introductions
Request your vendors to provide targeted introductions to prospects, actively examine the customer base of your vendors and then ask for introductions (especially on occasions). I recently assisted a non-profit trying to raise money. We asked our vendors for funds and suggestions. Vendors were very accommodating to this request, as we have seen an increase of 100% in funds received each year by making this.
21. Access to top entertainment talent
Find attractive but affordable talented individuals that are culturally relevant and leverage them to be an attraction for meetings. For instance, Sailthru just produced a live-streamed online event featuring people from The Office.
22. Virtual experiences
The pandemic has led to an explosion of remote in-home experiences offered by solutions companies, and wine tasting is among the most effective ways to increase engagement with prospects. B2B firms now offer experiences at home with expert-led consumption, such as coffee, chocolate, wine, or cheese.
23. Direct access to the most sought-after executives
The company’s needs and the level of visibility or demand for specific executives, one-on-one meetings, and informal chats may be attractive to potential clients.
24. Create a channel for referrals from partners
Pay a commission on sales closed and, in the ideal case, incentives for prospect meetings that are booked (most partners’ referral channels are the influence of)
25. Unparalleled online options to offer prospective clients live meetings
With Chatbots, automated calendars, and scheduling tools, prospects can set up short meetings and review the content. Additionally, it allows them to engage directly in live chat with sales.
26. Workshops on-site are free
For prospects looking for an opportunity to collaborate with an organization, a free on-site workshop is an excellent method to start. It informs them of the issue you address, outlines techniques, puts precise details on the table for their business, creates cases to help fund the solution, and builds rapport.
27. LinkedIn surveys
Conduct a LinkedIn survey, posting a relevant query that you are able to answer by asking them to describe how they feel about how they vote and what they do when they have voted to thank them for the vote and send them more detailed research or the most recent findings and invite them to chat with them.
28. Multi-part content
Provide additional content during a discussion with prospects, and following, it is vital to provide reps something to talk about or discuss at a meeting to discuss the possibility.
Conclusion
Although each strategy listed is only suitable for some salesperson, you’ll come away with various fresh ideas. Explore what you can do to improve your sales team, and keep experimenting to see what additional innovative ideas you come up with!
