Sales leaders today need to be able to capitalize on every opportunity at the exact right time — in what we call the revenue moment.
This is the point in time when an account is showing itself to be most ready to buy, and, as the name suggests, it’s fleeting.
The trick is recognizing when that moment occurs and knowing the most effective way to respond. That requires a mixture of art and science to ensure visibility into pipeline, intent signals and account readiness so your sellers can act on them — quickly.
The Dark Funnel
B2B buying has changed drastically in recent years. In order to recognize when revenue moments are happening, we need to understand and adapt to modern buying behavior. Buyers conduct most of their research online, and they do so anonymously.
Before making a decision or even reaching out to a vendor for information, buyers have explored countless online resources across the internet, including industry publications, blogs, social networks and review sites like G2 and TrustRadius.
They may have anonymously explored your website, but only 3% of them will identify themselves to you by filling out a form. Unless you have a way to identify the other 97% of visitors, you’re missing out on clear signals of interest in your company.
The good news is that as buyers do their research, they leave behind a trail of digital breadcrumbs that can alert you to revenue moments. This breadcrumb trail exists in what we call the Dark Funnel, a data realm full of signals about buyers’ interests and intent. These signals are brimming with useful, actionable intent data that sellers can use to reach out with relevant value at exactly the right moment.
Cut Through the Noise
All this Dark Funnel data has the potential to equip your sellers to recognize and respond to every revenue moment. But it’s a massive amount of data — and it can become noise unless you can distill it into action. AI and predictive analytics make it possible to use large amounts of data to tell you things about where the prospect is in the buyer’s journey, which buyers to prioritize today, and how to best engage with the prospects.
Don’t let the moment pass.
With Dark Funnel data and the tech needed to turn it into actionable insights, you have the tools you need to seize on every revenue moment. But you need to make sure your sellers can do it fast. Again, it’s not a revenue week or month. It’s a revenue moment.
Part of this comes down to setting expectations. Your SLAs can outline the time it should take for your sellers to reach out (and how many touches are expected) when a prospect shows itself to be in market for what you’re selling. It’s a good idea to have a backup plan in place to make sure that if your seller can’t or doesn’t reach out, for whatever reason, the revenue moment doesn’t go unaddressed. This is a case where AI-powered conversational email can be a deal-saver. It makes it possible to get the conversation started at just the right time, with relevant and engaging outreach, even if your seller is on vacation or is just having a bad day.
Another essential for reaching out at the right time to the right people is having high-quality contact data for the main decision-makers on the account. After all, it doesn’t do a seller much good to know that this is the moment if she then has to spend a day or two tracking down contact info for all relevant personas.
Relevance Is Key
Timing is one part of the equation; the other big factor is relevance. After all, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Here are the things I look at when coaching my sellers to engage in a way that’s relevant to the prospect:
Fit – Before reaching out to a prospect, understand what makes the account a good fit for what you’re selling. Look at all the data you have about the account — things like company size, geography, and vertical — and be clear about what unique value you can add.
Persona – Current economic conditions mean more personas than ever (and different personas) are now involved in deals. Engaging all of them from the start makes it much more likely that your efforts will result in a win. Look at your data to determine which personas are essential for successful deals. Then get clear on how your solution can help them in their individual roles, and include that in your individualized outreach.
Behavior – Understanding buying behavior is fundamental to hyper-relevant outreach. What is the account researching and talking about online? Use that to personalize your first outreach. Try popping relevant keywords in the subject line of your email or using them in your first phone call.
Timing – How you address the prospect will vary depending on their buying stage. You should be able to determine that from your data. Tailor your outreach so it matches their level of awareness and readiness.
As sales leaders in this economy, it’s more important than ever to provide the tools they need to never miss a revenue moment. It’s important for seller success, of course, but it’s also essential for the company’s bottom line that we’re not leaving opportunities on the table.
One part of doing that is to light up the Dark Funnel with the right data and technology solutions so you can accurately connect digital breadcrumbs back to the companies leaving them. Having the capacity to stay on top of these signals, and then seamlessly aggregating and serving up to your team as actionable insights, gives you a competitive advantage. It takes what was previously hidden and turns it into a revenue moment that you can seize.
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