Traditional B2B networking has always relied on personal interaction. These days, coronavirus has done a good job of eliminating those opportunities. Even as some states look to slowly reopen their economies, the new normal will continue to be limited direct social interaction, and more reliance on technology like Zoom conferences, email outreach, and phone calls. That begs the question: how are you going to develop new business?
Before stay-at-home orders were in place, finding the right people with whom to talk shop primarily originated over email. People were keener on answering them than picking up their phones because email offered concise, consumable content in lieu of lengthy sales pitches. Even if you jumped on the email outreach bandwagon pre-pandemic, that came with the benefit of tradeshow lists and other corporate connections you could access so you knew the right addresses to send to. Now those options are limited, which means you’re sandwiched between that same rock and a hard place on how to track them down.
Prospecting automation will help. It has the ability to find and verify the email addresses for the prospects you want to contact, based on their firmographic profiles that include their industry, job title, and geography. Besides confirming those addresses, prospecting automation also handles initial email outreach on your behalf, sending brief messages you’ve approved to those verified contacts in order to gauge their initial interest and prompt them toward discussions with you.
This makes it easier to focus your efforts on those people who actually want to talk. After all, you can’t close new deals without phone calls. And with the uncertainty regarding what will be socially acceptable in the B2B world in the coming months, this automation is your best chance at getting new business in the door sooner rather than later.
