It might be hard to picture now, but once upon a time, receiving a phone call was a novelty. Long before caller ID, cold calling was a very effective way for salespeople to win clients and even setup appointments. Fast forward to today's modern sales tactics and we've got inbound marketing technology making a shift in the landscape. That's why it's important to stay up to date with the latest marketing strategies, especially if you're targeting Millennials.
Using inbound marketing to gain prospects
Inbound marketing is lifting the stigma of traditional cold calling. Finally! Instead of receiving unwanted calls at home (or strange numbers calling your mobile phone), inbound marketing initiatives pave the way for more efficient selling, not to mention less annoyed prospects.
Here's how it works.
Living in the information age has its advantages. If you got a question, Google has the answer. What does that mean for a company and its sales team? It means consumers are doing their own research by gathering information on your company. They may be landing on your company's web pages reading your blog and subscribing to your newsletter, engaging in your social media channels, watching a video about your product or service, or downloading a resource from your website. One way or another, they're leaving an online trail of their key information which you collect and add to your list of warm prospects.
Close your sales with your warm prospects
Now that your company and product has caught the eye of your prospects thanks to your website's quality content, you want to turn them into leads (and ultimately customers). This is when inbound marketing applies to your outbound cold calls. When a salesperson approaches a warm prospect, they're more likely to be open-minded in their buying options because "they've already made contact with you through online marketing efforts" (Forbes). So make sure you do your research prior to making the call; find out their background, what industry they work in, shopping habits, and personal interests in order to develop a personal connection early in the call.
If at first you don't succeed, nurture
Moving prospects down the sales funnel takes time. This is not surprising as most people require nurturing in order to move them toward the purchase. Inbound marketing efforts allows you to nurture prospective leads at different stages of their buyer's journey . Once you've obtained their email address from your call, begin nurturing that prospect with the right content through automated email messaging. Your goal in the nurturing process is to engage them in a relevant, personal way, providing them with promotional and/or educational emails. Think of your email campaigns as an opportunity to distinguish your brand from your competitors. Create your own unique brand identity that will maximize your conversion rate.
Inbound marketing practices produce 54 percent more leads than traditional outbound practices, according to HubSpot. That's why more businesses are adopting inbound initiatives to convert more leads into customers and generate better returns.
Targeted marketing campaigns come with a plan. Start your inbound marketing strategy off on the right foot by first creating buyer personas to segment your audience.
