The world of prospecting and sales in general was very different for nearshore software companies back in February 2020: sales trips were made where they attended an event to generate leads and visited prospects and customers; cold prospecting through email and LinkedIn with sales teams working from the company's offices; the use of referrals; websites for freelance work; events were held (breakfast meetings, Meetups, webinars, etc.), and perhaps some important business was closed over lunch.), and maybe some important business was closed over lunch.
Since March 2020, it is no longer possible to make commercial trips, or visits to prospects and customers, or generate face-to-face events, or close sales hand in hand. This is causing cold prospecting to be overloaded with isolated sales teams each at home (WFH or work from home) in an environment of great uncertainty. The reality is that the prospecting described above but without commercial trips / visits / face-to-face events / hand-to-hand sales closings, coupled with a market with spending restrictions, has diminished its effectiveness: conversions are very low and the chances of reaching sales goals are minimal. Those who could invest in commercial trips -which are expensive- find it hard to differentiate themselves from those who could not invest. This results in prospects being overwhelmed by a tsunami of cold mail and cold leads, which they want to quickly discard. This is no way to continue if I want my business to survive, so the obvious question is: what now?
Creative solutions in the face of unprecedented constraints
Some things that have been done - to the extent that evidence is already available or within the company's reach - are to focus on segments that are thriving in this new reality, such as online gaming, online entertainment, pharmaceuticals and health, food and agribusiness. On the other hand, US companies are moving away from expensive local resources and replacing them with nearshore services, which has meant that demand for the region has not dropped as much for now.
But from our consulting experience over the last year, as well as the opinion of thought marketing leaders, we want to share some alternative ways of prospecting and selling in this new reality:
- Maximize attendance at virtual events: the traditional business trip had a budget of around 3000-5000 USD, and many companies made several business trips a year. But now all events have their virtual version, but with the benefit that the cost is much lower, especially if you buy a ticket for networking only. So a company can now attend many more events in virtual mode, for example participating in smaller or more local events in a particular city. Participating in the event already brings us closer to other participants we want to prospect (we are both attendees), and in a later cold prospecting, if we don't get to meet at the event, we have something in common that can make you read my email or accept my connection on LinkedIn.
- Attend more than one edition of the same virtual event: if you had a good result with the attendance to an event that was for example organized in NYC, maybe it is worth attending the same one but in another edition in the west coast, because most probably the audience will be different.
- Sponsor events: with the budget not used in commercial trips, maybe you can be a sponsor in an event, or have an e-booth, with which you have much more visibility and maybe you can give a lecture in it. Also with this you can obtain several invitations, which you can give away to key accounts; and you can make campaigns informing of the participation of the company as a sponsor and eventually raffling a ticket. In short, this serves to position the company and its brand at another level.
- Use other digital channels: don't just stick to the traditional. Lately many companies are getting business through Slack for example, and it is worth looking for other virtual networking networks now that there are no face-to-face events.
- Make virtual events: although now you can not do traditional events, you should not stop making them virtual. And use your imagination to reinvent yourself and make them warm and interesting for the attendees. This should be continued for two reasons: if I stop doing events, the audience that was attending can read between the lines that I am not doing so well; and it is easier to achieve the attendance of a keynote speaker, since 20 virtual minutes from home is much less commitment than investing two or three days to come to the region by plane (it is a fact that last year keynote speakers gave many more lectures in the most remote places, thanks to the virtual).
- Look for prospects with customers in segments that are thriving: the recommendation to go after segments that are thriving lately is obvious, but looking for prospects with customers in segments that are thriving is not so obvious!
- Startups are still being funded: it may be that with the uncertainty some investors are investing in gold, but the venture capitalist who wants good returns is still funding startups. So the market for funded startups continues and remains attractive.
- Repeat businessPerhaps this is an obvious recommendation, but we didn't want to leave it out. Attend/contact past and current clients to try to generate new business. With them you have the advantage of trust because they already know our work.
- Leverage ambassadors: the referral market and word of mouth should always be taken care of, but you can be proactive in contacting former employees of clients we have had: if they had a good experience with us they are our ambassadors in those new companies where they are and they can introduce us there.
- To be more human in calls: we are all going through a difficult time at the moment, we are afraid of possible adversities or losses, the tension of confinement, a child interrupting a call, etc. And this requires from our side a special empathy in communication, to be open to share what we are feeling from our country, to show understanding for the interruptions. An interesting recommendation in these times of great anxiety is to speak clearly and slowly in the calls, to transmit serenity and to show that we are very attentive to the one who is on the other side, a human being.
- Support the sales team: it is very likely that the sales team is feeling very pressured by sales that are more challenging than ever, and uncomfortable in a different environment of low sociability with other colleagues. This is a time when it is essential that they feel supported, both with good closeness and regular team meetings, and with training (e.g. for those who liked to "wear out their soles" to sell), good working tools and prospecting methodologies that work.
Conclusion
This is an opportunity for nearshore software companies, because the virtual shortens distances and makes us seem more local: distances are shortened because now we are all remote even if we are across the street. It's an unbeatable time for creativity in prospecting, because you have to take risks, and enter the discomfort zone of the new and unfamiliar, adapting to survive with unprecedented restrictions. And when normality returns and business travel, events and hand-to-hand business can come back, there is no doubt that the virtual has already gained enormous weight and is here to stay. So business travel and hand-to-hand will be much more selective (for key accounts or big deals), and all that has been learned will allow us to emerge stronger for the future.
Article originally published on the Beyond Partners Blog https://www.beyond.partners/es/la-prospeccion-tradicional-no-esta-funcionando-y-ahora-que/
Connect