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Prequalification versus demand generation marketing – part 2

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We were talking last time about the necessity of driving would-be future customers into your business development pipeline, while at the same time remaining focused on identifying the ‘hot’ prospects and closing immediate sales.

Unless prospects are able to jump the hurdle of prequalification, they do not deserve our attention, or so the conventional logic goes.  But the fact is that the technology market simply isn’t big enough for sales people to focus only on those who are ready to buy and ignore the rest.  In order to run a successful sales and marketing operation it is essential to concentrate on both areas simultaneously.

Now, if you think that is the equivalent of keeping two plates spinning in the air at the same time, I know exactly where you’re coming from, but please bear with me, because, as we prove day by day here at eMarket2, it is perfectly possible. It simply requires putting in place a systematic lead nurturing programme, and I’m about to tell you how it’s done.

But firstly I want to deal with the issue of lead generation and quality control.

In my experience, the irrational and premature emphasis on prequalification is frequently born out of the poor quality of target prospect lists. Some lists are so unreliable that falling back on prequalification is the only effective way of weeding out the predominance of duds. But if a list is of high quality (i.e. it is ethically sourced from a respected provider and regularly ‘cleaned’ and updated) in the first place there should be no need for early prequalification

Another factor which accounts for a fixation with premature prequalification is the absence of a clear profile for the ideal target customer.  Now it may seem obvious to some, but inaccurate pre-suppositions about target prospects and decision makers account for a massive erosion of time and resources, and in some organisations the wastage remains unidentified until it’s too late.

For more on this subject, see: Norm’s 118leadgenblog – The Essential Art of Marketing to C-Level Executives – parts 1 -4 .

A third critical factor is that of approach.  The new approach to prequalification requires adopting a longer term perspective as to the potential of any prospect.  Because while they may not contribute to this quarter’s target, they represent money in the bank one, two or three quarters down the line.

“90% of success is just turning up” – Woody Allen

How to let your marketing do the prequalification for you:

  • Week 1 – Send a white paper (not a brochure) in the post
  • Week 6 – Call prospect to invite to an event, or webinar.
  • Week 12 – Send a clipping from a trade journal, newspaper or press release
  • Week 16 – Call prospect to ask if they would like an executive briefing on a relevant topic
  • Week 24 – Call prospect to ask if they would like to talk to one of your experts about a new area
  • Week 25 – Send prospect success story in the post

And so on…

Support this process with an ongoing business to business multichannel marketing programme, including IT marketing and telemarketing.

By this method your marketing does your prequalification for you. You will be able to determine which technology companies are genuinely interested, while educating your prospects along the way and nurturing them to a point of sales readiness. If you’ve done your job properly, you’ll have begun to build a relationship of trust, while at the same time demonstrating your commitment based on the quality of your engagement, thus positioning yourself as a ‘trusted adviser’, and your product as the natural solution to the prospect’s problem.

It can take a good deal of trial and error to put a supportive demand generation pipeline in place, but the rewards are there. The alternative is to allow opportunities that might have been nurtured to go to waste – and in today’s dog-eat-dog marketplace this just isn’t an option!

That’s it for the moment.

Thanks for reading.

And always to a higher response!

Norman

Drop us an email now to see how quickly we can generate sales leads for your business


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