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The financial health of any company depends on the continued generation of sales opportunities. Sales qualified leads represent opportunities for B2B technology companies to quickly and efficiently turn prospects into revenue-generating clients. Successful technology firms understand how to put their resources into attracting contacts with a real need for their products and services.
It starts with making sure there’s a harmonious alignment between a B2B tech company’s marketing and sales teams. Both need to be on the same page when it comes to understanding their target market. That way, the marketing team can help the sales team connect with qualified leads who are ready to make a purchase or start a partnership with your B2B tech company.
Here are some tips focused on helping your B2B technology companies generate more sales qualified leads without blowing your marketing budget. These guidelines will also keep you from wasting time and energy by pursuing dead-end prospects.
A 3-Step Guide to Generating Sales Qualified Leads
1. Build Better Buyer Personas
It seems simple, but this is where a lot of B2B technology companies go wrong. Understanding your ideal customer from the start allows you to target higher-level prospects that improve your chances of making a sale. The sales and marketing team should work together and come up with profiles that cover the characteristics of the ideal customer, including:
- The title or role held by that person at a company.
- The challenges they’re looking to tackle.
- What motivates them to make a purchase or sign a contract.
- Where their interests align with your B2B tech company.
Once you lay out the basics, start looking at other details that define the kind of potential customer with whom you want your sales team engaging. The points you cover should include:
- The geographical location of that buyer.
- The industry in which the buyer works.
- The size of the company the buyer works for.
- The status of the buyer.
There are a number of marketing automation tools available to help in creating and organizing buyer personas for B2B technology companies. You’ll know you’re attracting better prospects depending on the behavior of clients once they hit your web page. They should be looking at pricing sheets, case studies, or other material that helps the sales team determine they meet the requirements of a sales qualified lead.
2. Develop Workflows & Content that Nurture Leads
While attractive, well-designed landing pages are great for attracting leads, there should be prompts along the way that ask them to engage in activities that identify their level of interest in your services. It’s a cost-effective way of separating those with only an academic curiosity about your tech company from B2B customers on the lookout for the services you offer. Those kinds of identifiable metrics make it easier for the marketing team to identify true sales generated leads to pass on to their partners in the sales department.
Your workflow should also include landing pages that contain bottom-of-the-funnel content. That helps attract sales qualified leads clearly interested in the kind of solutions offered by your B2B tech company. Some examples of bottom-of-the-funnel content include:
- Webinars
- Consultations
- Product demos
- Software trials
- Case studies
Adding this kind of content increases your website’s ability to attract sales qualified leads to your B2B tech company. You’re grabbing the attention of your prospects and increasing the chances that they fit the customer personas you created. It also helps your sales team determine how to refine their approach when it comes to converting that qualified sales lead.
3. Find Prospects Among Professional Networks
Some of the best opportunities for finding sales qualified leads for your B2B tech company can come from your established networks. That includes people who browse a business’s LinkedIn or AngelList profile. Use those networks to conduct targeted searches of prospects that fall into your buyer personas. That way, you’re taking advantage of an investment you’ve already made without having to spend more money.
B2B tech companies can also increase sales qualified leads by forging personal connections through social media channels. Use your Twitter feed to actively engage with potential clients or use Facebook to comment on their postings. Make it about building a relationship versus trying to push sales messages on them 24/7. It makes your company seem like it’s run by real people versus sales bots. That can make prospects feel more comfortable about contacting your business directly, turning them into sales qualified leads.
Another way you can utilize your existing professional network is to reach out to other companies in your network with services or products that complement your offerings. Combining resources with another business means gaining access to a fresh set of leads and expanding the reach of your brand. The partnership can offer fresh material for your marketing team and increase the number of sales qualified leads coming into your company.
Ready to take your marketing to the next level? Relequint helps B2B technology companies improve sales qualified lead generation through marketing automation and other repeatable, scalable solutions. Schedule a 30-minute call to learn more.
