Intro
If you have a promising sales agency and offer quality services, getting a meeting to end with a signature is easy. But how to get meetings? Of course, we’re not talking about just any kind of meeting but the ones with prospects who will fit your standards and be a pleasure to work with. For that, we suggest vetting out lead generation channels rather than sweeping up anyone who will listen and filtering leads later. So, here are some tips on how to do just that – book truly meaningful appointments.
1. Social selling
Social media is old news – there’s nothing groundbreaking about it, and it has been extensively for all sorts of business-related purposes. On average, people spend about 147 minutes a day on social media, and industry professionals are no exception.
Social selling is a process that involves researching potential prospects, connecting with them on the platform of your choice, and interacting with them in multiple ways. As you’ve probably already assumed, the most popular platform for social selling is LinkedIn, although other platforms are being used more and more.
The one caveat here, however, is that there is no instant gratification – building trust with online groups and followers takes time. But those who end up making the call have already gotten the chance to see your value through the content you create and share, and they’re already half-convinced.
The first step to getting started is to have your sales reps optimize their profiles. Appearing knowledgeable and trustworthy through posts doesn’t do much if, upon clicking on the profile, the client is met with little to no information. Show their expertise through their CVs, post amicable profile pictures, and don’t be afraid to link other social media profiles as well. This gives the prospect a feeling that they got to know you personally, which is great for building trust.
Another important step is staying active constantly. On LinkedIn, you can join groups for industry professionals (or even based on personal interests) and join relevant forums. Sharing a non-LinkedIn post and adding your thoughts to it reassures the audience that you’re actually reading up on trends and continually educating yourself rather than just recycling whatever LinkedIn’s topic of the week is. If you don’t have that much time, you can make your presence known by liking and commenting on the posts you see. Keep in mind that comments like ‘Looks great, Brad!’ or ‘Agreed!’ make it obvious that you’re writing just to get your name on people’s screens.
So, just like in real life, if you’ve got nothing valuable to add to the conversation, just give it a thumbs up and move on.
2. Be active in industry events
Since you’re already active on social media, keep an eye out for announcements about upcoming relevant events. When someone’s planning on hosting a workshop, webinar, or presentation, it’s good to be on their radar from the get-go. If you’re just starting out, making an appearance at these events makes people remember you – especially if you ask smart questions or make comments that add value to the conversation.
By being a speaker at an event, your leads get a preview of both what you’re selling as well as an insight of you personally. Publicly speaking on industry trends and innovations really sets the tone that you’re a true expert, confident and in-the-know. The speech or presentation should offer an actionable takeaway. If you’ve given your lead something worth their time, they’ll leave wondering what else you could do for them.
When dealing with what is essentially selling yourself along with your services, remember to make it all very marketable. Your brand needs to be memorable and derive a response from the viewer – but first, it has to be seen by them. That’s why we recommend investing in physical, printed ads if you’re going to an in-person event. Make flyers or a banner and hand out your business cards; give your leads something tangible to remember you by. How many times have you added a phone number to your contacts list, only to go Who the heck is Brad? In about a week?
3. Make it easy with automation
Okay, now you’ve gathered some leads, but you also have to keep track and nurture all of them. If the client feels like you’ve forgotten about them, you’ve lost them. But, when you use a software solution that helps salespeople stay organized, that won’t ever happen.
There are many sales platforms out there. So take some time to do research and find the best one (or you can even hire an IT team to build you a custom one!). On most of them, you can get notifications such as reminders to contact somebody and set up tasks for follow-ups with all the necessary information in the same tab.
Similarly, if you find a lead online, and are trying to guide them through your sales funnel, rest assured that they’ll give up if you make things too complicated. The best practice is to have a very visible link to your website and a clearly marked button that gets them to book a meeting. Or, if you’re going with social selling, you can even add in your bio that you’re open to messages and emails for inquiries. Of course, make sure your address is clickable or can be copy-pasted so that a typo doesn’t ruin your chances.
Making sure everything runs smoothly while the prospect is trying to reach you tells them two things:
- You’re available and easy to work with – they won’t have any trouble contacting you during your cooperation.
- They are important to you – replying quickly and never forgetting to follow up are the soft skills of the digital era and are what creates both an excellent first impression and trust.
4. Don’t forget to stay human
Lately, we’ve been seeing more and more talk about H2H, or human-to-human marketing. Essentially the core idea here is that even when you’re a business talking to a business, you’re not two spectral entities interacting over the internet – you’re two humans, sitting in their offices, reading each other’s words and thoughts.
That is the kind of approach people want to see and the kind of attitude that builds trust and leads. Although we’ve emphasized the importance and usefulness of automation, spam will always be spam (and get deleted without even a glance), so personalize everything you send. If it’s an email, go beyond just addressing them by their name – ask questions and ask for their opinion on matters. If you’re selling via LinkedIn, don’t be afraid to go for the I’ve seen on your profile that... Having a conversation about their experiences or personal interests reminds people of talking to a friend and takes the pressure off the sales aspect of the conversation.
Conclusion
Getting leads to book an appointment is one of the most strenuous and frustrating tasks a salesperson must tackle, especially if they’re looking for meaningful meetings. Just as you are looking for quality over quantity in your prospects, they are doing the same with you. Posting hundreds of random articles and regurgitated LinkedIn posts will only annoy the audience but posting something valuable (even if just once in a few weeks) will make them look forward to your posts.
Having an audience – either virtual or seated in an auditorium while you give a presentation – is like having a bunch of people lined up at a shop window, waiting to see what’s inside. Your job is to give them a sneak peek into what you’re offering and invite them inside. That’s how you get a meaningful sales meeting.
If you want to leave the sales to a highly skilled off-site team, NextPilots have your back!