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The Inbound Growth Blog covers all topics relating to an integrated marketing strategy. We write about inbound marketing, social media, integrated marketing strategies and the sales process.

5 Ways To Hit Your 2014 Sales Number With Inbound Marketing

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Posted by John Beveridge on Nov 13, 2013 8:30:00 PM

5_Ways_To_Hit_Your_2014_Sales_Numbers_With_Inbound_Marketing_blogIt's that time of year again. You're trying to finish off the year with a bang and hit your sales number. If that's not enough, you need to figure out how you're going to do it again next year in a tough economy. Sound familiar? If you're like many SMB business owners and executives, you're finding traditional lead generation methods aren't working like they did in the past. You're not generating enough leads with cold-calling and your unsolicited promotional emails end up on a one-way trip to Deletesville. 

So how are you going to hit your number next year? Research done by the Corporate Executive Board may provide a clue. In research shared in the book, The Challenger Sale: Taking Control Of The Customer Conversation, executive buyers were asked what characteristics of a sales professional influenced their buying decision. Here are the top five responses:

  1. Demonstrates a high-level of professionalism (100%)
  2. Offers unique, valuable perspectives (97%)
  3. Doesn't overstate value or understate difficulties of the purchase (92%)
  4. Knowledge of my business helps me avoid landmines (88%)
  5. Frequently educates me on issues and outcomes (83%)

To summarize what buyers value in a seller, they're looking for an honest partner that educates them on new ways to solve business problems in a way that works for their company. Inbound marketing is a great way to position you as that honest partner. Inbound marketing is a process that attracts qualified buyers to your website and converts them to leads and customers using SEO, content marketing, social media, lead nurturing and marketing analytics. Simply put, inbound marketing helps you sell the way buyers want to buy. Here are 5 ways inbound marketing can help you hit your 2014 sales number.

1. Focus on a targeted niche and go deep

I'm a big proponent of focusing your growth strategy on niche markets. This is particularly important for SMB companies. Rather than try to be all things to all people, focusing on a niche (usually an industry) gives you the opportunity to "develop the knowledge of (the buyer's) business to help them avoid landmines." It also gives you the opportunity to offer unique perspectives on how your solution can help the buyer improve business outcomes.

From an inbound marketing perspective, focusing on a niche lets you create blog articles, eBooks and other content that provides the information buyers are seeking. Rather than a generic blog article on using BPM software to improve business outcomes, an article on using population health management software to improve a health plan's HEDIS outcomes is far more valuable to that targeted niche.

2. Target your content to buyers, not competitors

One of the mistakes many companies make when first publishing inbound marketing content is to get too technical. Executives looking to solve problems aren't interested in the technical details of a particular solution, at least initially. They are interested in how that solution can help them increase revenue, decrease costs or improve efficiency. 

If your content is too technical, you'll get found by competitors, not buyers. In my industry, business owners aren't interested in technical aspects of landing pages, they're interested in how an inbound approach can help them hit their sales numbers. Your best bet is to learn what's important to your customers and produce content about those topics. Use the words your buyers use, not your words.

3. Be persistent and consistent with your inbound marketing

The positive outcomes of inbound marketing are the result of consistent effort. To get found by buyers in search engine queries, you need to regularly produce fresh content about the problems and opportunities your targeted buyer faces. It takes time to develop the website domain authority and social media reach you need to hit your numbers.

But if you regularly produce good content for your target audience, you'll generate quality leads that will develop into sales opportunities. Commit to an editiorial calendar that details what content you will produce and when. Don't skip a deadline - make it a priority to be consistent in your inbound marketing efforts. Here's an example of the search engine traffic you can expect with consistent content creation.

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4. Use email marketing to nurture leads into customers

If you're a B2B company, most visitors aren't ready to buy when they first come to your website. The typical buyers goes through 3 stages in her buying process:

  1. Awareness: The buyer is aware of a problem or opportunity within their business. (e.g. - profit margins are decreasing.)
  2. Consideration: The buyer defines the problem and identifies potential solutions (e.g. - I can cut costs, increase revenues or a combination thereof.)
  3. Decision: The buyer settles on a solution strategy and chooses a solution provider (e.g. - I want to increase profit with inbound marketing and am evaluating providers.)

Your inbound sales process should qualify your inbound leads and provide them with the right content at each stage of the buying process. While most of your inbound leads aren't ready to buy when they first become leads, some are. That's why it's a good idea to make an initial soft sales outreach to your inbound leads. For example, "I see you downloaded our eBook on Population Health Management. Is there anything I can help you with?" Let the response dictate your course of action. If they are still defining their business problem, use email marketing to help nurture them through their buying process.

For B2B companies, the bottom-of-the-funnel offer is usually a consultation or demo that transforms an online relationship to a personal relationship with a sales professional. If you're helpful as your prospect goes through her buying process, you'll have a good chance to win her business when she's ready to buy.

5. Use inbound marketing analytics to keep you on track

As you develop your growth plan for the coming year, set SMART goals for your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs.) For online lead generation, KPIs typically will include website visitors, leads and customers. If you monitor your KPIs monthly, you can adjust tactics to make sure you hit your goals. For example, if you need 5,000 website visitors per month to hit your sales goals and you're only at 4,000, you might decide to increase your blogging frequency from twice weekly to daily.

On a more granular level, inbound marketing analytics can tell you which online lead generation offers are performing well, which blog articles are generating the most leads and which email marketing campaigns are clicking. You should constantly analyze these metrics to determine what resonates with your target audience.

Summary

Traditional lead generation techniques like cold-callling, spam email blasts and direct mail are becoming less effective every year. SMB companies should consider inbound lead generation as they develop their 2014 growth plans. Inbound marketing is a great way to attract qualified buyers into your sales funnel by helping them with new ideas to solve their business problems. A well-run inbound marketing campaign is a great way to help your prospects and position you as a trusted advisor. If you're interested in learning how inbound marketing can work for you, schedule a free consultation with a certified inbound marketing specialist.

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Topics: Inbound Marketing, Marketing Strategy

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