In my last corporate role, I would always have people asking me "can we have an event?"
And I would ask "why?"
The reasons for having an event, were wide and many, but I kept responding "why would you slow the sales cycle down with an event?"
It would be explained to me that if we got, 10, 20, 30 or however many in a room, it would short circuit the sales cycle. It never does. You still have to engage with these people on a one-to-one basis.
The whole of this article I have "passled" just delays the fact that you will need to engage with these people, that some of these people will say no to you ... but some of them, may say yes.
We Need Pipeline, Tim, And We Need it Quick
I totally get that, my advice is to stop all these events and engage with these companies and people direct.
The article will outline how you can get qualified pipeline faster than running events.
We Have Transformed In Work and Play on Social Through The Pandemic
In this report by Simon Kemp he outlines the extent that social media has become part of our lives.
But what does this mean for your sales and marketing?
Simon Kempresearch states
4.57 billion people around the world now use the internet, accounting for close to 60 percent of the world’s total population.
The internet and Social media isn't a fad and it's not going away, in fact usage is accelerating, and now a tipping point has been reached.
Fact: Social Media Has Reached a Tipping Point
Simonmore people on social media than not on social media.
points out that there are now
OK So How Do We Do This and Quick?
First, don't look like a spammer. The Linkedin profile that looks like a CV, sorry it does not cut it anymore. The Linkedin profile that is all about you and what you sell ... sorry this just turns buyers off.
None of us go to a second car lot of kicks, because we know we will be sold to and probably walk away with a second hand car we didn't actually want. Nobody puts their head in a "lion's mouth".
Your Linkedin profile needs look different.
Have a look at mine, my summary title makes me stand out. I've closed business off the back of it.
Have a look at Eric's, Vanessa's, Lenwood's, Priscilla's, great examples. Buyer centric, they are human, they pull you in, you want to read them, you want to meet them .....
The big issue in sales right now is that nobody wants to talk to salespeople as we know they will start to pitch at us. What about if you had a sales team that people want to talk to and meet.
Now that would be transformational for your business!
Sorry, to brag but the DLA Ignite sales team attracts buyers ... OK brag over, back to how we can sort you some pipeline, quick.
Stand out
Did you know there are
20,181,711 - Business Development Managers on LinkedIn?
8,552,815 - Sales Directors on LinkedIn?
9,725,042 - Marketing Directors on LinkedIn?
The number one rule of sales and marketing is to differentiate and what have all of these people done, they all look the same.
Grow Your Network
- Most people on Linkedin are connected to x colleagues and recruiters. You need to lift your analogue territory online. Connect to your existing accounts, connect to your prospects, connect to your target accounts, connect to influencers of those accounts.
Now, when I mean connect, this is not about having a "connection" this is about building a network. Each connection request, is you chance at having a conversations. Remember, conversations create sales.
Please don't sell, don't pitch ..... there will be plenty of time for that, but not now. Buyers hate it when you pitch.
Engage
How do you engage?
We see too many people posting for no apparent reason. A Sales VP will post and all the directs will like the post, but really does that buy a business anything?
We have created a methodology that sits behind our digital selling process.
What do I mean?
, you met him above. He posted a piece of content, it currently has 165 likes and 37 comments and has been viewed 18,292 times.
It's created for him 124 leads.
28 outbound connections.
13 new inbound connections.
6 meetings (1 CEO, 1 COO, 2 MDs, 2 FDs)
1 Proposal
All from 10 minutes of work, all for free!
Content
Content proves your credibility, it sets you apart from all the other companies out there. It means you are NOT just another salesperson.
It means you are not going to pitch to somebody .... we may even, know - like and trust you ...... people buy from people they trust.
Content is there forever, I still get inbound from blogs I wrote 5 years ago, so start building your eight of expertise today.
A Promise
If you do this, I promise you you will get pipeline faster than running events.
Suggestion
Don't Forget to buy my first book "Social Selling - Techniques to Influence Buyers and Changemakers" which is available on Amazon worldwide.
If you are interesting in any of the points I raise in this blog, then get in touch or contact any of the DLA Ignite team mentioned above.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyhughessocialselling/
B2B event marketing was, among all sales and marketing channel initiatives, third in engagement effectiveness and first in conversions, 2020 research from Demand Gen Report found. But COVID-19 has wiped almost all in-person events off the calendar, so B2B marketers have been scrambling—sometimes successfully, sometimes less so—to develop and refine virtual event experiences that can still engage.
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