Marketing automation software allows you to track a prospect’s online interactions, including links clicked, how long they spent on each page on your site, which forms they filled out – and which they abandoned (you can even capture that abandoned data) and which emails they opened. This information all comes together to help the sales team form a powerful pitch that is perfectly tailored to the prospect’s needs. Were they interested in widget A or widget B? Which white papers did they download and what does that tell you about the unique challenges they are seeking a solution for?
In addition to this tracking information, users are also getting email alerts when their prospects take action, reports detailing unidentified visitors in the past 24 hours and using new advancements like desktop alerts and mobile applications to keep tabs on their prospects 24-7. All of this data at your fingertips means you know much more about your prospect than they probably know about you. This puts you in a powerful position – one you’re going to use to your advantage during the sales process.
It is important to use this information wisely. Though most people are aware of the ability to track activities online, some people may still be adverse to the idea of being tracked. The first time you call a prospect within a few minutes of them visiting your website, they may brush it off as a coincidence. If you call them within a few minutes every single time they visit your website, they may be a little bit intimidated. It is important to make sure you and your sales team are on the same page about how much is too much.
The exception to this, of course, is when someone requests immediate follow-up, as with a support form or a contact form. In these cases, a fast response time can been seen as impressive. For those moments, marketing automation give you a leg-up by sending you alerts. Some marketing automation systems even incorporate web-to-phone technology that can instantly connect sales and service representatives to incoming prospects by phone as soon as a request is submitted.
As a general rule, simply keep in mind that when calling on prospects you should use your insider knowledge to wow them with a personalized pitch, not scare them by coming on too strong.
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[...] companies use a software solution that will track visitors on their website, allowing them to see the company or location of a “lurker.” These [...]