It’s easy to think that with all of the emails, social posts, blogs, and website updates going on these days, all a company needs to do is tweet and watch the new business come flooding in. Unless you’re at the top of the competition ladder, that doesn’t usually happen, and treating your inbound marketing like an order-taking service is doing your business, well, a disservice. While it’s true that Millennials might need some arm-twisting to see the value of phone calls, these voice interactions still serve a purpose: identifying yourself to your potential new business partners, understanding their personalities, and seeing whether it’s really worth your time to close those deals.
Show them you’re real
You’re probably seen plenty of alerts about ransomware and malicious hackers out there who want to use digital tools to steal your information. So, a phone call basically serves as the two-factor authentication of business development — you already showed your leads who you are and what you do, now you’re just confirming it’s true. And if that call is over Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or a comparable service, all the better — it means putting faces to the LinkedIn profiles your leads have hopefully also been checking out.
Remember a calendar invite
You’d be surprised how often people forget what meetings are on the docket, even if it’s on their own calendar. Invites with notifications are a good way to avoid that problem. Although missing that discovery call might not seem like a big deal initially, it can be surprisingly difficult to reschedule times with some leads, to the point where it feels like you’ve essentially gone back to step one with trying to get their attention.
Arrive on the call early
In some cultures, being “on time” is actually “15 minutes early.” You don’t necessarily have to be that eager with your calls or Zoom meetings, but it’s a good idea to hop on before the rest of the attendees get there, especially if you’re presenting visually. Showing up and being prepared says a lot about your company’s professionalism and how interested you really are about getting leads to do business with you.
Mix calls with email marketing
As mentioned earlier, email marketing is still important to your outreach. It puts your name in front of people who have never heard of you before, teaches them about your products and services, drives engagement with your brand, and establishes trust in your market authority. And there are plenty of times where that is enough to get people to want to talk with you. But phone calls are still essential tools in driving those conversations when online responses may hit a lull. Use digital analytics from your email campaigns and website to see who’s been spending the most time engaging with your material, then focus your efforts on contacting those people directly. Sometimes this initiative is the final push that’s needed to get them going. Bottom line? Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.
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