For your B2B lead generation to be successful, it’s essential for you to build trust with your prospects.

Why? Because in B2B lead generation the sales cycle can be long and complex.

If trust is built, and there is a solid business relationship started at the beginning of the cycle, there is a greater chance that the deal will see its way to a successful close.

How do you build trust with B2B prospects?

Make the Call

It’s hard to establish a solid business relationship with just an email blast. Using electronic communication and digital tools to raise brand awareness and stay top-of-mind is fine, but if you want to establish yourself with a decision maker, it’s time to make a phone call.

Cold calling is still the optimal way to connect if your goal is to listen, uncover business pains, and find the right solution for your prospect.

Even when the call is made, you still have to get over the hurdle of grabbing the attention of your prospect and sparking their interest. It’s important to be prepared, not only with the information about the product, service, or solution you are representing, but about the company and industry into which you are calling.

• Are you familiar with industry terms?
• Do you know who the direct competitors are?
• Have you helped a similar business and do you have pertinent information you can share?

Expect that you will get questions and be ready with the right industry knowledge so you can confidently answer the questions that will come your way.  

A phone call also allows you to ask questions and then be quiet and listen to what your prospect has to say. Allowing your prospect to be heard with the intent of uncovering information and opportunities establishes a solid foundation for a complex B2B sale.

Use Content Marketing and Social Media Wisely

Content creation and leveraging social media platforms to connect and share useful information is an integral part of marketing and sales. Consistently sharing relevant content that assists your prospects can help establish you as a trusted source.

However, oversharing, or neglecting to thoroughly verify sources will have the opposite effect. If your name or that of your business continually pops up on LinkedIn or in your prospects’ inboxes, but the content is more about flashy headlines and less about substance, you will lose credibility.

It takes more time to curate or create quality content, but is worth it if you can become a thought leader in your field.

Share content only if you are offering value, or the article or post really applies to your business solution. This will convey that you not only understand that your prospects’ time is valuable, but also that you have a good grasp of their needs and opportunities.

Consider your audience when you want to build a solid foundation and establish trust with your prospects. In B2B lead generation, your hope is to get in front of executive decision makers who will appreciate a high quality call backed by industry knowledge.  

Send the message from the beginning that you are interested in finding a solution that works for their particular business needs and you have a much better chance of success.

Jim