6 Strategies for Engaging Prospects for B2B Software Sales Companies

B2B software sales companies know the importance of lasting relationships with qualified leads. With long sales cycles being the norm, engagement is the best way to keep leads warm. The more you engage them, the greater the chances they will convert into new customers. Given how fast the technology market is growing and how competitive it is, software sales companies that engage the best will win. Here are some strategies for engaging your B2B software potential customer to have an edge.

1. Identify your ideal buyers

Let’s be real: there are a lot of “prospective” customers out there, and if you try to get to them all, you will spread yourself too thin. Understanding and identifying your ideal buyers is the first step to getting ahead in sales. Start by working with your marketing group and craft buyer personas, which are imaginary personalities that portray your ideal customer. For example, you can start by creating personas like ‘Clinician Carol’, ‘Hospital Administrator Alex’ and ‘Physician Philip’. Then, answer the following questions for each:

• What is their role in their company?
• What objectives do they have?
• What difficulties do they come across at their job?
• What motivates them?
• What is their buying process?
• Where do they get their information?

Answering these questions will help you create targeted strategies for every Buyer Persona. Make sure your answers are as specific as possible. Only 44% of companies have Buyer Personas, so get started!

2. Use LinkedIn./h3> LinkedIn is a great way to engage your potential customers and eventually convert them into customers. You can start by developing a LinkedIn summary that shows what value you could bring to your potential clients. Demonstrate that you understand their obstacles and show that you can offer a solution. We also suggest that you add a call-to-action at the end of your summary. For example, you could ask potential customers to email or call for a free consulting session. You could also involve leads on LinkedIn by using the feed to share links to your own blog content. Make sure the content is informative and shows your experience in the market. This will develop you as an authority with your leads. Hootsuite is a great example for software sales companies that shares great blog content on their LinkedIn feed. Don’t forget to check LinkedIn for special events. Take time to celebrate your potential customers on their professional accomplishments, new jobs, and birthdays. Personalize your messages and include a call-to-action to keep the conversation going.

3. Personalize your sales emails

Just sending out emails does not ensure success. You can optimize your emails to get the most engagement. Make sure you customize your emails using the name of the recipient. According to research by Experian, personalized emails get up to six times more revenue than those that are not personalized. The subject line of your email should be quick and engaging to entice the reader to open it. Stay away from boring and common headlines like “Newsletter #1.” Make sure the content is less sales-y and more informational. Remember to include a call-to-action at the end of your email, like a free ebook or report. Lastly, make sure your email is optimized for view on smartphones.

4. Conduct webinars

According to the Content Marketing Institute, more than 60% of B2B software sales companies are using webinars as a part of their overall strategy. Unlike other types of marketing content, webinars take place in real time and allow you to engage with leads using sound and video. You can work with your marketing team to inform your prospects on relevant topics and produce a real-time demo. Have a Q&A at the end to respond to any questions quickly, therefore reducing your sales cycle.

5. Nurture leads with content emails

In addition to sending personalized emails to your potential customers via your individual email account (Gmail, Outlook, etc), you can work with your marketing team to repurpose content developed on the company’s website (blogs, ebooks, whitepapers, etc) into Lead Nurturing Email Campaigns. These are a collection of emails that give your prospect helpful content that relates to their needs, usually once a week. The objective of these emails is not to be self-promotional, but to simply provide content that might be helpful and encourage a visit to your website. These emails, when incorporated with an innovative email marketing automation system like Hubspot, can offer both the marketing and sales groups useful information on lead engagement.

6. Follow-up quickly

Timing is key when it comes to engaging potential customers. A study by the Harvard Business Review found that many software sales companies are slow-moving to act on their leads: 24% took longer than 24 hours to respond, while 23% never responded at all. The timeliness of your feedback can make the difference between making a sale and losing a customer. As a result, when a person reveals interest by joining your email list or requesting more info, you should respond quickly with relevant content. One of the best ways to do this is by automating your email marketing. Always remember to respond to blog and social media comments. This will help you win the trust of your leads and boost the chances of transforming them into clients.

The bottom line

The strategies outlined above are part of a unique marketing and sales method called Inbound. Your B2B software company can use the Inbound Methodology to engage with existing leads, easily qualify them, and close sales more quickly. It can be tough to do this all alone. Responsify works with B2B software specialists to offer strategy, support, and help in applying these tasks. By working together, we help marketing and sales professionals tactically bring in new site visitors, convert them into qualified leads, and then happy customers, all by using their own company website. We’ve helped lots of sales pros boost their lead engagement and accelerate their sales cycle. Don’t hesitate to book a free strategy session to help you assess your methods and get tips on how to make them even better.