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“The purpose of any business is to create and keep a customer”—Theodore Levitt

Customer-Centric Businesses Will Win

Customer centricity started in the 60s with direct marketing. Since then, the omnipresence of the Internet has increased opportunities for companies and customers to interact. Customers became more connected and empowered and their expectations rose. At the same time, they turned into the main force driving the success (and failure) of businesses.

For instance, it’s now easy for prospects to learn about your products from their peers. Online reviews, LinkedIn discussions and tweets are all at their fingertips.

As a result, organizations that have a laser-like focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences will be tomorrow’s winners. They will align their operations with market needs so they can build products and offer services customers love, deliver them with ease and provide seamless support. In doing so, they will build enduring relationships. 

Having worked with hundreds of business development professionals, I’ve noticed that those who generate the lion’s share of revenues share certain habits and traits. The top sales people:

• • • • • • • • • Are Not Too Extraverted or Introverted
                  
                  Contrary to popular opinion, the extroverted, talkative business development rep does not always rise to the top. Instead, according to a study published in Psychological Science, it’s the ambiverts— those who cluster in the middle of the introvert to extrovert spectrum — who close the most sales. They are comfortable enough with other people to engage with them but do not feel the need to dominate conversations. Because they are curious about others, they naturally ask questions and listen to the answers.

The Focus on Customer Acquisition

If you ever call a company’s customer support department and then call their sales department, you’ll likely notice a difference in the level of service you receive in each situation. Frequently, it seems you are more liable to spend time on hold when you are seeking service than when you are calling to make a purchase.

That’s a sad statement on how many companies perceive the value of existing versus new customers. They place more emphasis on bringing new clients into the fold than on retaining and growing existing accounts.

An eye-opening Gallup study revealed that 71% of B2B customers are either indifferent or actively disengaged with their vendors. In other words, they are likely to end the relationship at any time. Perhaps there’s good reason for this. The vendor has also disengaged from these customers. While companies risk losing these customers, they can achieve 50% higher sales and 34% more profitability with customers who are engaged with them. 

You purchased a list, and John Smith is now in your database. He has not, however, expressed to your company any interest in your products or services. As such, he falls into the category of “suspect.”

A call to John is cold.

And, understandably, whether they are the initiator or recipient of such a call, most people prefer not to engage in this activity. Luckily, today you can use LinkedIn to warm up the call and make the experience more pleasant and fruitful to both parties. Here are some tips to get started. 

Seven seconds. That’s how quickly busy executives can form an impression about you and the reason for your call. For you, it’s the difference between a successful B2B sales call and a hang up.

If you’re cold calling and connect with a decision maker, and don’t want to be left listening to the dial tone, you’ll make every second—and every sentence—count. Open your call with a powerful, succinct message designed to intrigue and hint at the value you have to share.

Professional telemarketing agents will tell you, it’s not the slick pitch that closes the deal. And there’s no magical trick or gimmick to opening doors. Whether you’re inviting executives to your next seminar or scheduling a face-to-face meeting, it all comes down to how you present yourself, the way you set the tone for the call and how effectively you capture a prospect’s interest.

This seven-step blueprint will help you open your next B2B sales call on just the right note and build rapport rapidly: 

When your marketing efforts start to pay off, delivering a boatload of quality leads, it’s exciting. You want to celebrate. But the game’s not over. Your sale is not won yet. You’re just at the starting gate of your demand generation process.

The bare bone fact is: Leads do nothing for your organization’s bottom line unless you can convert them to sales. And the quality of the lead alone does not predict how likely it is to convert. The magic is in the lead nurturing: how you treat a lead after you receive it.

This brings us to the study conducted by Velocify. They looked at data from 3.5 million leads from 400 companies and discovered the formula to maximize conversions. While they note there are differences between businesses and what works for each of them, the overall findings are

What are the most effective B2B lead generation tactics? How about social media, content marketing and search engine optimization?

Nope.

These shiny new tactics have their place, but according to research depicted in the chart, they pale in comparison to some good old-fashioned tactics. Ranking in the first, second and third spots for B2B lead generation are inside sales, executive events and telemarketing.

Whether you’re a Fortune 500 wanting to expand your sales force without increasing the number of direct sales reps on staff, an early-stage company looking to reach new vertical markets and locations or a startup trying to avoid the overhead costs associated with an in-house sales force, channel partners can help. These independent, third-party businesses can bring added value to your business and increase your revenues while they grow their own businesses selling your products and services.

But what are you doing to add value to your channel partners’ efforts? The days of throwing some co-op advertising dollars and a logo sheet at your channel partners and leaving them to generate their own leads are long past.

Today, if you want to increase your revenues, you need to collaborate with your channel partners to make their jobs easier. After all, you’re in a battle for their time against all their other priorities.

We all love the sales funnel…at least in concept. Visually, it’s the perfect model: Our leads pour into the top of the funnel. As they move through the middle of the funnel, marketing and sales both qualify the leads. And buyers flow out the bottom.

Or do they?

Many salespeople shy away from B2B cold calls because they “don’t work.” Most of them don’t enjoy picking up the phone and talking with a stranger who is not expecting their call. So it’s not surprising that so many reps prefer to believe cold calls are ineffective. The truth, however, is that cold calls fail to achieve results because they’re poorly executed.

B2B cold calling can be highly effective. If you rule it out, you’re missing an opportunity.

So how do you increase your success rates, making cold calling a worthwhile activity that’s fun to do because you get results? Here are six tactics that can help you.