Say goodbye to the out-of-the-blue, icy interruptions of years past, and say hello to a better way. A warmer way.
When it comes to business-to-business (B2B) lead generation, think of “warm calling” as cold calling 2.0.
(Forbes, 2019)
Before you scoff at a warmer approach, don’t confuse it with a passive effort. The informed call delivers a hard-core punch.
“We realized the old model of cold calling wasn’t delivering,” says ddm Sales and Marketing Director Michael Brown. “We’ve embraced this new strategy and it’s delivering results like we’ve never seen before.”
The informed call: An artful, data-driven approach
Traditional cold calls were made knowing only a person’s name, company name, and related industry. Now, sales teams are equipped with so much more.
“Intent can be analyzed in much greater detail now than in the past,” Brown shares. “Our sales team comes to the table understanding how leads interact with our website, content, webinars, and social media channels. We know exactly what leads are searching for and can speak to that during the initial call.”
Tech-forward organizations use platforms like Hubspot, Salesforce, and Google Analytics to paint full pictures of leads before conversations are initiated.
Because of Hubspot’s robust CRM capabilities and its integration with other platforms, ddm’s sales team tracks the interactions of leads over time and knows the precise moment when they’re ready for a call.
This process might sound invasive, but it’s anything but. No one’s time is wasted when information is available. No lead receives a call unless they’re ready. Sales teams are equipped with the data they need to immediately provide value and articulate how their business can give prospects what they’re looking for.
“Data and analytics are at the core of everything we do because we respect where prospects are in their journey,” says Brown. “At ddm, we have a detailed buyer’s journey that reveals what our audiences need as they move from awareness to partnership. Someone who has just discovered ddm will never receive a hard sales pitch. On the flip side, when someone is ready to be contacted, we’re there.”
Remove the barriers between sales + marketing
For the informed call method to work, there must be alignment between sales and marketing teams. Marketing teams need to drive toward sales goals and sales teams must communicate their needs to marketing.
“It’s a true partnership between our sales and marketing teams,” says ddm’s sales lead Jennifer Condit. “The alignment of our sales and marketing teams results in more qualified leads because we’re working toward the same goals.”
When marketing and sales are at odds, the result is inefficiency. You can’t sell without marketing anymore. You will get outsold.
ddm’s sales lead Jennifer Condit
For some organizations, this de-siloed approach requires a change in company structure and a reevaluation of roles and responsibilities.
Marketing can no longer be the brochure factory of an organization. It must provide audiences with compelling, relevant, and timely content that meets a need or educates. Every piece of content must be trackable and analytics reported and shared across both marketing and sales.
So, go ahead. Pick up the phone and make that sales call. But make sure you’re armed with insights supplied by marketing. A nice, warm lead awaits.
Let’s build your informed call infrastructure.
It all begins with data. Knowing what data you have, where it is, and how to organize and share it is key. We can help you get there.