The document outlines best practices for content prospecting and lead nurturing to provide sales teams with qualified leads. It discusses generating opportunities through online marketing and social media, driving engagement through email nurturing and relevant content, and delivering meaningful leads to sales by providing visibility into lead activities. An effective content prospecting methodology uses personalized email and phone touchpoints to educate and inform prospects over multiple interactions.
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Lead Nurture Best Practices Webinar
1. Content Prospecting
Enabling Sales Reps with Lead Nurture Best Practices
Welcome! Thank you for joining us today.
The webinar will be starting in 5 minutes.
www.act-on.com | @ActOnSoftware | #ActOnSW
2. Content Prospecting
Enabling Sales Reps with Lead Nurture Best Practices
Welcome! Thank you for joining us today.
The webinar will be starting in 2 minutes.
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3. Content Prospecting
Enabling Sales Reps with Lead Nurture Best Practices
Join the @ActOnSoftware conversation on Twitter
and discover what others are saying about us:
#ActOnSW
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4. Welcome! Thanks for Joining us today.
Bret Smith Jeff Linton
Founder & Managing Principal Product & Field Marketing
High-Impact-Prospecting Act-On Software
www.act-on.com | @ActOnSoftware | #ActOnSW
5. Agenda
• Finding the Right Leads for the Sales Team
• Content Prospecting Methodology
• TouchPoint Engagements
• Q&A
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6. Setting the Stage:
Finding the Right Leads for the Sales Team
• Uncover Opportunities
• Drive Engagement
• Deliver Meaningful Leads
• Nurturing Leads
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7. Uncover Opportunities
• Promote and engage
• Online Marketing
• Join the Social Media party
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9. Drive Engagement
• Email Nurturing
• Multiple Touches
• Content is King
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10. Drive Engagement
Key Takeaways
• Create a marketing ecosystem
• Track behaviors and metrics
• Get prospect interacting
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11. Deliver Meaningful Leads
• Give visibility into actions
lead has taken
• Identify “Hot Prospects”
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12. Deliver Meaningful Leads
Key Takeaways
• Pass high-quality leads to sales
• Provide lead activity history
• Shorten sales-cycle & increase
revenue per lead
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13. Nurturing Leads
• Most “bad leads” buy
in 24 months
• 80% of sales occur
after 5th touch
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14. Nurturing Leads
Key Takeaways
• Stay in touch & deliver relevant content
• Nurture from their perspective
• Move leads effectively through funnel
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15. KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Differentiate yourself from the rest of the sales pack by becoming
your prospect’s trusted expert
• Learn how to easily source content and deliver to your prospect
meaningfully
• Easily repeatable content messaging techniques to move your sales
cycle along without trying your prospect’s patience
• Step-by-step system with full examples of both email and voice
content, and more
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16. KEY ASPECTS OF
CONTENT PROSPECTING METHODOLOGY
• Uses personalized email as a prospecting tool integrated with voice
prospecting to inform and educate sales prospects.
• Uses voice as a means to “cement” the process and close for next
level of interest, and to increase overall outcomes.
• Uses informed peer-level appeals targeted towards prospects’
areas of responsibility/interest.
• Meaningful messaging in email and voice
• Persistent yet respectful follow-up and engagement with the
prospect, i.e. sales nurturing
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17. THE CONTENT PROSPECTING PROCESS MAP
- 40% of total - 40% of total
#responses comes #responses comes
- Reference - Reference
- 10% of total here - 10% of total here
emails I & II. - emails I & II. -
ESPP Process page 2: ESPP Process page 2: #responses from this - (email - closing) “__ #responses from this - (email - closing) “__
6+ “touchpoints” 6 Touchpoints
- Mention will be Reference - Mention will be Reference
1st touchpoint. do you have time 1st touchpoint. do you have time
sending voicemail sending voicemail
6 Touchpoints - Objective: later next week?” - - Objective:
collateral that III.
later next week?” -
collateral that III.
Education (detailed). Introduce the Sales Education (detailed). Introduce the Sales “I know sure will “I know “I
“will be sure will - Include “will be - Include
- 80% don’t read this Rep. (Start the - 80% don’t read this Rep. (Start the you’re you’re y
get your collateral. get your collateral.
email process of Pass Off) email process of Pass Off) busy…” busy…” b
attention” attention”
ESPP #1
ESPP #1
Sales
Rep
6 Touchpoints Messaging I 6 TouchpointsII
Messaging Messaging I
Messaging III Messaging II
IV Messaging III
Messaging V Messaging IV
Messaging VI Messaging
(Email) (Email) (Email)
(Phone) (Email)
(Email) (Phone)
(Email) (Email)
(Phone call) (Email)
Prospect
Prospect
Prospect
Prospect Prospect
Prospect Response is Prospect Response is
commits to Update Do Not commits to Update D
Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
Responds? positive? Responds? positive?
meeting with Contact List meeting with Contact
sales rep? sales rep?
No No No No
Yes Yes
Perform next Consultative
Perform next Consultative
ESPP #2
ESPP #2
Messaging in Put prospect Selling Kicks in –
Messaging in FillPut prospect
out lead sheet Selling Kicks in – Fill out lead sheet
Sales
Rep
ESPP #1 line – on Do Not ESPP #1 line –
Objective to get on Do Not
and include intel Objective to get and include intel
wait 3 business Contact List prospect business
wait 3 to commit Contact List
report prospect to commit report
days between or todays(meeting)
call between or to call (meeting)
touchpoints Unsubscribe with sales rep.
touchpoints Unsubscribe with sales rep.
Data Services
Data Services
Group
Group
Creates lead with intel report attached to Creates lead with intel report attached
CRM
notes tab on lead, assigned to sales rep. notes tab on lead, assigned to sales r
Turnaround within 1 business day. Turnaround within 1 business day.
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18. LET’S EXPAND ON THE PROCESS
• Initial touchpoint consists of an email personalized to the specific
recipient. Then, at a timing of 3 business days apart, subsequent
email messages are delivered. If Touchpoint One goes out on
Tuesday, then Touchpoint Two heads out on Friday morning, and
so on.
• Touchpoint Three is actually two fold…it consists of an initial
attempt by phone to reach the prospect live. Of course, 80% of
the time, an outbound call results in leaving a voice mail. The
second half of Touchpoint Three is a follow-on email referring to
the voice mail left, usually with additional collateral attached, or
via hyperlink.
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19. TOUCHPOINT ONE: AN EMAIL
• Follows the format of an Executive Summary using bullet points to hit key
points, is very pertinent to the position/individual and the organization,
and includes each of the following elements:
• Respectful tone
• Subject line MATTERS
• Opening & Closing Thank you
• A “presumptive” statement about your company
• Mention of companies in their space who we currently work
with/serve (optional)
• A fairly descriptive, bulleted list of BENEFITS, not features
• Initial call to action
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22. TOUCHPPOINT THREE AND FOUR:
A PHONE CALL & AN EMAIL
• If contact is engaged via voice mail, then:
• Leave a recording that is engaging, professional and
consultative in tone
• Leave a message that is meaningful, and within 30-60
seconds…not just contact information
• Be value proposition specific
• Send collateral.
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23. TOUCHPOINT THREE:
THE INITIAL VOICE MAIL
“Good afternoon, Ken.”
“My name is John Johnson with Auto Corporation.”
“Ken, I’m leaving this voice mail for you in follow-up to my email a few days ago in which I invited you to
further explore with me Auto’s all-in-one web-based software solution which helps you sell, implement,
deliver and bill your services more efficiently, and more profitably.
“If you recall, our fully-hosted solutions provides you with a service desk, contact management,
outsourcing, contract administration, time tracking, billing, reporting and business analytics -- all running
off the same database and accessible from a single screen.”
“The next step you and I can take together on this, Ken, is a web-based demonstration.”
“Should your schedule permit later this week, I’d like to make arrangements. Can you call me back at your
earliest convenience?”
“You can reach me directly at xxx.xxx.xxxx, or via email at john@company.com .”
“Thanks for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you, Ken.”
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24. TOUCHPOINT FOUR:
EMAIL FOLLOW-UP TO INITIAL VOICE MAIL:
SUGGESTED SUBJECT LINE: Ken, here’s the Auto three-pager in PDF
Greetings again, Ken!
Left you a voice mail a few days ago and thought you may be interested in receiving this …
For your convenience, I've included the link to Auto’s three-pager in PDF. It explains how our fully-hosted application helps you sell
technology products or services more efficiently and more profitably, and includes service desk, contact management, outsourcing, contract
administration, time tracking, billing, reporting and business analytics -- all running off the same database and accessible from a single screen.
Just click on the following hyperlink and "save as" to a directory on your hard drive: http://www.auto.com/docs/Auto_Brochure.pdf .
And before you read how such a small investment can generate such a huge impact to your bottom line, hear what our customers have to say
about what Auto means to their businesses:
“Because of Auto, we are capturing more billable time - at least two hours per week, per engineer. That’s over 1,000 hours a year. That alone
easily pays for Auto.” - Jamie Kustak Business Manager, NGEN
“We’ve had a great experience with Auto, and I can honestly recommend the product to companies looking for an all-in-one system to handle
everything from inputting a ticket, to billing, to financial reporting. Auto has made our lives much easier!” - Gina De La Cerda, Operations
Manager, Advanced Microcomputing Concepts, Inc.
Ken, please drop me a line back, or call me directly at xxx.xxx.xxxx, so we can make arrangements to speak. Again, thanks for your time and
interest, and in advance for your response,
John
www.act-on.com | @ActOnSoftware | #ActOnSW
25. Q&A
Jeff Linton
Product & Field Marketing
Act-On Software
jeff.linton@act-on.net
Bret Smith
Founder & Managing Principal
High-Impact-Prospecting
bret@high-impact-prospecting.com
www.act-on.com | @ActOnSoftware | #ActOnSW
Editor's Notes
Initiatives that can have a dramatic impact on your marketing success and your organization’s bottom lineCollecting and Delivering Meaningful Lead Data to SalesEngaging and cultivating leads beyond the top of the funnelTaking advantage of channels already in place to uncover more opportunitiesLeveraging email marketing to its fullest
Promote your company and engage with prospects in real-time – move them through the funnelFind the right party-goers and don’t leave empty-handed: Combine Social media, website intelligence tools, and prospect behavioral data allows you to effectively engage in direct, two-way conversations that convert into opportunitiesOnline Marketing, including email, website, seo/semSocial Media Party“mingle” and listen to prospects, identify influencers, and uncover terminology that translates to your businessThis will help guide your conversations to best connect with your target audienceUse social media to listen, follow them, thank them, and add value to the conversations they're having - while they're having them.Manage social media in conjunction with existing campaigns, for example email campaignsShow your company’s unique personality and put a name and face on your company with your website and through social conversationsFollow the conversation, engage, and add value – but don’t be the overly annoying
Once you have people interacting at the top of the funnel, you need to start understanding what makes them tick – and be on the look-out for buying signals. And helping buyers work their way throught the funnel – while reducing the ask on the sales team.Understand Prospect BehaviorCreate visibility by tracking key metrics – number of visitors, how much traffic each page is delivering, identify users by company, view specific individuals by name (title, pages visited, contact information) – very powerful information in facilitating sales follow-up and the type of targeted communications to sendLet your prospects know you're aware they're visiting your website, and give them targeted communications based on their visits – gauge their interest levelAutomate Follow-upSet up automated programs to trigger confirmation or response messages based on action prospect has taken (ie downloaded whitepaper)Create an arsenal of content based on different prospect needs/engagement. Don’t force sales team to manage the response messages – these should be automated for them as much as possibleScore engagementSet up lead scores based on buying signals prospects may makeCombine demographic and behavioral attributes to identify high quality; sales-ready prospects
Leverage Email Marketing to its fullestEmail is easy-to-use and low-cost means but it is important to consistently use campaign branding and messagingPlanning and coordination – effective email campaign require careful data selection, relevant content, a clear conversion path, integration with all of your marketing efforts, measurability, and coordination with your sales team. Be sure to create a diligent and thoughtful approach to the actionable paths a prospect may take with your email that will determine if that prospect wants to engage with you.Multiple touchesThink through the touchpoints a prospect should receive depending on where they are in the buying cycleContent is King – offer a variety of different CTA’s to engage people
Create a marketing ecosystem that walks, talks and works togetherFrom the click of the send button, your landing pages, confirmation /follow-up emails, website, social media channels and sales team should all support your key messages and value propositions. Give your prospects an easy way to find and respond to your offer. If you aren’t tracking behaviors and metrics you’re missing the boatDemographics, psychographics, online and offline interactions, transactions and responses deepen customer profiles and should be used to drive personalized, relevant, and timely communications as well as effective sales engagement.Get prospect interactingGoal is to drive engagement; get people interacting with your emails, websites, etc to help them progress through the buying cycle The more engagement, the higher the lead scoreMove prospect along buying cycle
20%: Leads that are followed-up onProvide real-time data on how the prospect engages with your organizationWeb pages visitedNumber emails openedMarketing assets downloaded With the right system in place you can let sales know when a lead is most likely to be a real prospectDefine types of behavior that demonstrate an increase in interest and momentum - add them up and you have a lead scoreOnly when the score reaches a pre-determined number is it a “hot lead”Fosters a meaningful engagement with prospects and focus that engagement at the most opportune time.
Increase the number of high-quality leads passed to salesIdentify qualified leads that display a purchase intent based on behavior. It may be a combination of frequency, page visits, and specific pages that indicate a buying sign - Highly desirable leads.Provide lead activity historyFull lead activity history means your reps will know the perfect targeted follow-up. They should know which emails were opened, what web pages were visited, how many times the lead has visited and when.Increase overall revenue per leadDevelop a measurement process to document the return on your marketing dollars - the holy grail of closed-loop marketing.Shorten sales-cycles with timely and relevant follow-upIt’s important to make an initial contact within the first hour/day to increase lead qualification rates.
Engage and Cultivate Leads Beyond the Top of the Funnel80% of “bad leads” buy from someone within 24 months – don’t let them be from your competitor – they are not “bad leads” they just aren’t ready to buy….yetWith the right tools in place – stay in touch with every lead –stay poised, engage when the time is rightKeys to nurturing successAlign sales market and don’t alienate prospectsDeliver relevant content to validate your solutionUtilize a sophisticated yet flexible tool - easy to set-up, supports your strategy and sales process
Validate your company’s valueIncrease positive brand perception by providing valuable content, thought leadership, and proof of market penetrationNurture form the target-audience perspectiveBe consistent with how sales communicates and engages - typically short and to the point.Move leads effectively through the sales cycle - deliver when “sales ready”Shorten time to buy based on positive brand association, proof of effectiveness and consistent communications. Deliver to sales at the most opportune time – when the lead is showing signs of active engagement.Empower sales team but don’t alienate prospectsEngage sales from the onset and balance timing/frequency of nurturing engagements - provide sales a holistic and real-time view of lead attributes and activity behaviors.Leverage customer successes - keep them informed and coming backHighlight your customer successes as a sales tool to attract new customers via case studies, references, social media and webinars.