What happens when a sizable piece of your marketing plan fails?  

 

The Covid-19 pandemic turned the business world upside down and is all well known. While some businesses experienced unheard-of growth, most of them narrowly survived the ensuing economic fallout. They are beginning to observe a return to some pretense of “normal” after more than two years of residing in that awful period. 

 

Most B2B sales characteristics won’t go back to their pre-COVID levels. Since the situation after Covid-19 will fundamentally alter how you conduct business moving forward, inside sales teams adopted strategies that controlled the short term and planned for a post-crisis future. 

 

Here are a few strategies most lead generation and inside sales teams have already taken in light of COVID-19 to maintain lead generation without face-to-face events. So, if you are still in a dilemma, hit the road with these strategies.

 

1. Account-based marketing (ABM)

 

Account-based marketing (ABM) is the name for nurturing key prospects with tailor-made solutions. Companies target such prospects or accounts with ABM that provide significant development potential for their businesses.

 

What can ABM do for your sales growth?

• With ABM, you go for an account that is an individual prospect likely to be your potential client. Then, you share personalized content and relevant information, imparting great value to your prospecting.
• Since it’s a one-to-one approach, sales reps can focus on every account with much time and effort. In addition, it leads the prospects to move down the sales funnel more easily and quickly. 
• ABM also allows your marketing and sales teams to work together with the perfect alignment. This collaboration makes things smoother than the traditional technique.
  
  

2. Evaluate marketing data

 

Evaluating marketing data is the most effective way to measure the crucial aspects of lead generation and inside sales so that you can understand past, present, and future scenarios.

 

By analyzing marketing data, you can learn the following things:

• The post-pandemic period was difficult to navigate, and marketers used a variety of strategies to resurrect the business. You can evaluate these efforts and their results using analytics to determine how worthwhile they are.

• By monitoring your marketing activities at present, you may identify errors and take action to correct them. Additionally, you will select and concentrate on your key prospects.

• Utilizing forecasting data enables you to foresee and plan for client behavior. You can use the relevant data to modify your product offers or develop creative solutions to help you reach out to new clients and expand your business.
  
  

3. Cost per lead (CPL)

 

Cost per lead, or CPL, is a payment method for online advertising. It is another metric used to assess the cost of the marketing campaign and its viability for the business. It promises a certain number of fresh leads and even targets your desired audience. Calculating it is simple.

 

Total Marketing Spend / Total Number of Leads = Cost Per Lead.

• You can assess the profitability of your marketing after you are aware of the cost per lead. 
• Using CPL data, you can find the marketing channels that provide leads at the lowest CPL.
  
  

4. Up-to-date your inside sales team

It is generally acknowledged that businesses won’t ultimately return to centralized work settings. In this situation, you should ensure that your sales team is up-to-date with the latest trends and strategies. 

 

Team leaders of the sales teams may consider the following approaches:

• Make a priority of developing a workable plan to teach current salespeople and onboard recruits. Ensure that everyone is intensely motivated by continuous improvement and that existing reps have access to training on new tactics.

• Create a link between your sales staff and other teams to increase productivity. Working with the internal team promotes the cross-pollination of ideas and effective collaboration.

• Outline how a hybrid sales strategy will assist top-performing field salespeople. Many salespeople might wish to return to their tried-and-true methods before the pandemic. Share that the new approach may result in a better work-life balance.
   

Related: How to set goals for your inside sales team

5. Focus on technology

 

The last two years have seen changes in lead generation and inside sales roles, and unique strategies must adapt. The stirred situation has forced B2B marketers to prioritize or rearrange existing technology investments that aid salespeople in pursuing new leads, nurturing existing ones, and closing deals.

• Companies may be in danger if inside sales tactics aren’t adjusted to the modern digital buyer’s journey. So don’t let your business struggle to acquire an inside sales persona demanding after the post-covid era.

• It’s time to offer tools to help scale and automate your sales strategies to save your business from witnessing a sharp decline. In addition, the use of hybrid work will prevent a considerable return to the before-covid-19 sales environment.

• An automated procedure based on the lead score can quicken the sales cycle, enhance lead progress through the funnel, and boost the total ROI.

• In today’s digital advancement environment, a sales tech stack that supports sales enablement is essential. Businesses should take the time to assess how the market has changed and put more effort into building a robust tech stack.
  
  

6. Build online communities

 

Marketers have already seen the power of digitally hosted events. From 70% to 80%, B2B businesses preferred virtual interactions after the pandemic (source). It’s time you could expand your reach and grab more people’s attention by going online, participating in online forums, and building your online communities. 

 

You may consider:

• Respond to questions, so audiences understand and enjoy them while avoiding seeking attention or praise. 

• Check current talks to ensure you aren’t bringing up subjects that have already been discussed to avoid repetition.

• Show your expertise by keeping a decent and professional demeanor even when members of your audience leave rude comments. 
  
  

These are the few practical and appreciated strategies for lead generation and inside sales business after the Covid-19 pandemic. For B2B marketers, a fuller pipeline, stronger revenue operations, and more successful sales teams are all advantages for growing their organizations. So, these strategies will help you grow and move forward to a better future.