Enterprise customers are every marketer’s dream. They are some of the best clients that you can have in your roster of people to sell to. And believe it or not, it is easy to get ahold of them.
In this article, we will discuss how you can get your hands on enterprise leads and customers and how you can nurture them into repeat buyers. So what are you waiting for? Read on!
Here is a 5-step approach that is guaranteed to give you enterprise leads and customers:
Step 1: Identify and Target Strategic Accounts
Be strategic when identifying your prospects. This will save you a lot of time and resources. The only way to maximize your available resources is to familiarize yourself with all the existing players in the market.
Remembering the following tips when identifying your prospects:
Do your research well
Look at their affiliations and networks with other companies. Who are they closely working with? What are their products that will most likely have a need for your products as well? How much money are they making annually just by utilizing their present linkages? How productive are they working with their current linkages?
Do not be too choosy, but be very ambitious at the same time.
If you are just starting out, you cannot afford to be choosy. As much as you can, you want to put the word out to everybody in the industry that you are able to offer a specific product that can benefit their businesses immensely. However, it is also wise to identify those that are suited to your kind of business. It will also save you a lot of time and energy.
Build a solid foundation for your ABM program with a robust account selection and profiling process that leverages these proven ABM best practices.
Step 2: Expand
After creating your list of “high-value targets,” you now move on to creating a profile of each prospect by listing down important details about them. These details ought to include well-researched information on their products, materials being used to produce them, and the technology being utilized to do so to name some. Additionally, you need to look into the history of each business, the motivation behind it, and its target long-term.
By expanding your knowledge about each prospect, you can more or less see what marketing approach will best suit each one and which information about the business will be your jump off board when finally engaging them.
Check out the difference between enterprise sales vs. SMB sales in this quick infographic and learn how to tailor your selling strategy accordingly.
Step 3: Engage your Prospects
Engaging your prospect can be a very challenging task especially if you are just starting to build your network by introducing your product to the market. You will highly likely find yourself contending with the biggest B2B operators in your region who have established themselves well in the industry has been in the business for many years now.
Related: The 4 Main Lead Generation Goals: What Has Changed & How to Reach Them
You would have to be persistent. Committed. Motivated.
Reach out to your prospects using various channels. Having identified who they are and determined what channels they are inclined to respond to, send out your proposals or invitations. You can use either or all of the following options should your resources allow it:
- Phone
- Social media
- Web
- Chat
Otherwise, you will easily retreat at the hint of rejection. You must be prepared to encounter all sorts of challenges during the engagement stage. To guarantee that you are successful in this stage, be mindful of the following practices that will go a long way for you and your business during a personal encounter:
- Come on time. Value the time of your prospect as well.
- Be courteous.
- Employ humor when appropriate.
- Always come prepared.
- Anticipate possible questions during your presentation and meeting and prepare your answers ahead of time.
Step 4: Advocate
Don’t settle just yet. In the process of knowing your prospects more, it is also possible that you will come across other potential clients. This is a good thing. You can add more businesses to your list and grow your linkages from there.
At some point, you might even discover that your initial prospect’s referral is an even better target than the former. Sometimes, the reason you come across a big account is not to close the sale, but to get connected to an even more promising prospect.
Step 5: Convert
Now that you have completed the first four steps, it is time to get your hands dirtier by securing a meeting with each prospect. Some clients may take time, some might be able to accommodate you right away. The key is to never give up too soon!
Since you did your homework, you would already know how best to make them say ‘yes’ to a meeting with you. Be bold! Take a risk!
Related: A B2B Guide to Winning New Customers and Repeat Business [INFOGRAPHIC]
