Telemarketing Software Featured Article

Business sales leads are vital for the continued success of a company. But given the increasing approach among buyers (especially those involved with business to business, or B2B, purchases) to look first online for products and services, business have to update how they generate leads and their overall sales process.

“Your business needs to adapt its lead generation efforts and sales process accordingly – or be left in the dust of twenty-first century marketing and sales,” advises Emma Vas, director of marketing for Invenio Solutions, in an article appearing on Business2Community.

She offers some suggestions on how this can be accomplished. First, remember that the purchasers of products and services involving B2B transactions want a “long-term partnership.” That means sales teams are “partnership-builders and not just commission-hungry sellers.”

Partnerships may need to be refined along the way so B2B customers remain satisfied, too. In addition, those making purchasing decisions have a lot of information at their disposal. Remember that when including content on your own website. “Your website needs to have plenty of content and collateral to answer their questions and position your company as the partner of choice,” Vas said.

In fact, she suggests purchasers may undertake so much research on their own, that they may be “80 percent down the buyer’s journey before they even contact you.” That means they will be looking at your website as an informed purchaser. “Prospects should be able to find out all the information they want about your business without the commitment of talking to a salesperson,” she adds.

Similarly, B2B buyers are looking to undertake partnerships with other businesses which have expertise and show leadership. Businesses need to show they have these qualities. “Your company needs to actively seek, curate and nurture user-generated content and reviews that validate your product or solution as the industry’s best,” Vas advises. “Without solid, positive reviews, your lead generation efforts lack the muscle to close the deal.”

It is also important for a business to have a presence on different online and offline channels. That includes marketing automation software and social media. Vas says businesses just do not know on which channel the purchaser may choose to close a deal. Offer them the opportunity to do it on the channel of their choosing.

When considering the importance of sales leads, remember, too, the importance of tracking and reporting on them. For instance, VanillaSoft will track and report on the status of every lead. Leads can be grouped and reported on by date, results, source and user. The result is far less chance to lose a lead to a competitor.