No prospect is a one-channel individual. That is, they are not only using email, or Twitter, or LinkedIn, or the phone… chances are, they use all of those, and more, in their day-to-day lives.
Prospects are multi-dimensional in their choice of channel and platform, jumping from a phone call to check their email to write a tweet. And, to make matters more complicated, each prospect has a different way of using each platform. Some might use Twitter to develop their personal brand, while others use it to stay current with industry news, and still others use it as a way to network and develop new connections.
With all of this complexity, it is important for your sales team to combine the most popular methods of communication when reaching out to prospects.
Consider these two scenarios, both targeting a marketing exec at a B2B company:
Scenario A: You send a cold email to them, asking if they would like to try a free demo of your new big data software. Three days later, you send a follow-up email – the first email wasn’t opened, so you’re hoping this second one makes it through. A week goes by with no response, and after one last (unopened) follow-up, you deem the lead cold and move on.
Scenario B: You send a cold email to them, asking if they would like to try a free demo. Then, you immediately find their username on Twitter and use your personal account to retweet their latest industry-related tweet. You also respond to their question about big data interpretation. The next day, you look them up on LinkedIn and see that you have a shared connection. You request an introduction, and a few hours later, they’ve accepted your request to connect. Instead of sending another email reminding them of the demo, you send a quick, informal note on LinkedIn that they respond to an hour later – you’ve succeeded in setting up a demo for sometime later that week.
The second scenario is far and aware the more successful scenario, because the sales rep used multiple channels to reach out to their prospect.
Your prospects will be much more likely to care about your sales pitch if they feel a personal connection to you – and you and achieve this through a multi-channel strategy.
Before meeting a prospect face-to-face for a big pitch, tweet to them a few time. After hanging up the phone with another prospect who was very receptive to your product, immediately send a LinkedIn request.
You should be using all of the tools available to you when moving leads through your pipeline. And that doesn’t mean just sifting through data to better inform you about their likes, dislikes and needs. It means actively reaching out to them on multiple channels, creating a variety of touch points and ensuring that you and your product are top-of-mind next time they have to make a purchase.
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