At Compile, like most companies these days, we prefer an open office where engineering, sales and operations sit side-by-side. As a result, I am now spending a lot of time with developers (they will helpfully point out that this keeps me grounded in reality!).
In some ways it’s the classic yin and yang: methodical programmer versus instinctive marketer. But moving beyond the stereotypes, it seems to me that sales and marketing has evolved from a “gut-driven” discipline to a more “data-driven” science.
Whether it’s A/B testing your outreach, measuring lead conversion or tracking prospects, everything we do can be tracked and measured. So even though I’ll not admit it in front of the developers, there’s a lot we can learn from engineering. For instance, the concept of GIGO or garbage in, garbage out. This is a central tenant in computer science which says that a machine is only as good as the data you put in — the smartest computer will spit out nonsensical output if you feed it nonsensical input.
It’s the same with your sales pipeline. Your organization may have a great sales machine and well-defined processes, but if you feed your team bad leads, your conversions will be low. Besides losing revenue by tying up your sales team, poor leads demotivate even the most efficient and dedicated reps. And no amount of process or people optimization can undo the damage of a bad lead.
Leads that result in a sale
That’s where we come in. Compile delivers only those leads where a prospect has a clear need for your product or solution area. These aren’t static email ids and phone numbers; leads identified by Compile represent live opportunities. Each lead includes relevant background information, allowing you to tailor your product pitch to the customer’s specific problem. So how can you integrate Compile’s lead stream into your sales work flow? It’s a simple 3-step process. Assume you are responsible for demand generation at FIFA Network Security, a technology vendor that builds I.T. security products. You want to target customers that are interested in protecting their networks from security breaches and malicious attacks.
Step 1: Map your prospect profile
When you first sign-up for the service, we ask for details on your target customers.
- Are you interested in a particular segment, e.g. federal government, higher education, or perhaps the Global 2000?
- Are you focusing on organizations of a certain size?
- What are the keywords that best describe your product?
For FIFA Security keywords such as “cyber security”, “data breach”, “firewall” might be appropriate.Using this information, we tune our lead engine to your specific requirements and deliver a regular stream of opportunities.
A typical opportunity identified by Compile is shown below.
Step 2: Integrate with your sales workflow
The lead stream that is routed to your sales reps can be consumed in a variety of ways. You can access the leads using our sales intelligence dashboard, get notified by email alerts and/or directly incorporate Compile into your sales workflow by integrating it with your CRM or marketing automation tool. The choice is yours and we have all the tools to make it seamless and easy.
Step 3: Tailor your outreach
Finally, even the freshest, juiciest leads need good salesmanship to convert. Our experience, validated by our customers’ experience, is that prospects react positively to a product pitch that is tailored to their specific pain-point. So whether leaving a voicemail or connecting live, take 30 seconds to review the excerpt provided with each lead. Now, when you speak with or email the prospect, you can let them know upfront that: •
- You are calling based on your knowledge of their specific need and situation, not just working through a list of names.
- You know who you are calling.
- Your company is a leader in solving the prospect’s issue and you’d like an opportunity to share more information.
Convincing someone to buy your product isn’t easy, especially when you are competing in a crowded space. But you can improve your odds by:
- Identifying your prospects early
- Reaching the decision makers
- Appearing relevant and genuine
And that’s where we can help.
Bio: Shailesh Chitnis (@shaileshchitnis) is responsible for marketing at Compile, a lead generation service that uses text analytics to identify prospects early.