So, you’ve identified a list of potential customers, initiated your inbound marketing efforts, and waited for the sales. Yet you aren’t getting the inbound B2B leads you expected. Your email and phone aren’t flooded with messages. Your sales aren’t skyrocketing into the stars. You’re losing inbound leads.
Why is this? Have you done all that you can? Is it enough to cast a wide net and hope that you catch the right fish?
The answer is a resounding no.
If you’re losing inbound B2B leads, there may be several reasons behind why this is happening. Read on to find out what you can do to and transition from losing inbound leads to connecting with prospects and moving sales forward to success.
1. You’re missing qualified leads because you don’t know enough about them.
If you’re relying solely on inbound methods to hook a lead, this might be why you are missing out on connecting with highly qualified B2B leads. You may not be collecting all of the information you need through inbound efforts alone. You may be filling in the gaps with assumptions that you have yet to validate.
Rather than making assumptions about what leads want or need, take the time to establish a real connection and to let them explain what it is they are looking for.
If your methods of communication with leads are primarily automated, you are only allowing a one-sided conversation to take place.
If you aren’t providing leads with the chance to be heard, you’re missing out on an opportunity to provide great customer service, which is not only appreciated but expected in today’s market.
Once the lead comes in, uncover their business pains, identify opportunities, and determine if they’re a good fit. This means you have to give them the time to talk while you truly listen. A call from a qualified sales professional is a great way to put the customer first. They are able to open a discussion, listen to prospects’ needs, and find out if your solution is the best fit.
2. You’re missing qualified leads because you’re missing valuable intel about your target market.
In order to acquire quality inbound leads, you must be familiar with your target audience. If you fail to learn about the leads coming in, you may be missing out on key market validation and insight.
Establishing connections with inbound leads within your desired market can uncover valuable information needed to enter and compete within that market.
This, in turn, can help you develop the right strategies and connect with your marketing team to create the proper messaging and reach prospects with calls-to-action that are most relevant to their needs.
A partnership between marketing and sales will ultimately benefit everyone involved, and it can all start with a successful sales call within your desired market.
3. You’re missing qualified leads because you don’t have bandwidth to connect.
Chances are, your product or service is great and you do have qualified leads in your pipeline. The kicker is, you’re missing leads because you aren’t making key connections early and often.
When inbound marketing efforts attract leads to your business, those leads must be contacted immediately so you don’t lose them to the competition.
A single salesperson can send out mass emails and reach tens, hundreds, or even thousands of prospects at once, but it takes time and experience to make effective calls.
If you’re launching a new product or service, do you have the staff ready to qualify inbound prospects? Or will you only get about halfway there and then lose them to the competition?
If you aren’t engaging with leads early and often or conducting the proper follow-up, the chances of completing a sale are slim, especially if it is a complex sale with a lengthy sales cycle.
With the right people manning the phones and conducting the necessary outreach, the likelihood of reaching leads and carrying them through the pipeline greatly improves.
It’s one thing to hope that a lead is qualified. It’s another to be confident that your cold calling folks are top-of-the-line and can guarantee that the leads they hand off are indeed properly qualified.
Outsourcing B2B sales is a great way to ensure your callers are professionals equipped with the bandwidth to make those important calls and establish essential connections. These focused sales experts can take the stress off of your internal team so they can hone in on taking leads to the next level.
If you find that you are losing inbound B2B leads, take a closer look at your sales strategies. You may find that you don’t know enough about your leads, or the market. Or you may lack the bandwidth required to establish real connections. After readjusting your strategies based on your findings, you’ll uncover more inbound leads.
For more information about outsourcing B2B sales, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
