Multi-threaded deals are the culmination of successful marketing and sales connections your team establishes with multiple stakeholders at a target company. The more of the key players you can convince to do new business, the more likely they’ll get their decision-makers to sign off. According to Sales Hacker, there’s usually a minimum of three people involved from the buyer’s side, including that decision-maker.
And the best way to spread the word to them all simultaneously? Email.
Here’s the approach we find to be the most effective.
Step 1: Verify stakeholder email addresses
You may know the companies or industries you want to work with, but that doesn’t mean that you’ve got their stakeholders’ contact information immediately at your fingertips. Data like that doesn’t come cheap, especially when it involves email addresses. That said, if you have some basic information like a contact’s first name, last name, company name, and the company’s web domain, Marketing Armor’s Prospecto platform can find and verify current email addresses for them, as well as create a database of active contacts — all for less than the cost of a full-time business development rep.
Step 2: Find the best ones for a conversation
Make sure you’re still targeting the best people for conversations by first sending an invitation-style email. Something short and sweet, like:
Hi John,
I’d like to learn more about how your team manages [x]. Are you the best person for this discussion?
If John says it’s him, great! Follow-up and ask for a call, while giving a little background info about why you’re asking. Repeat this process for other people at the same company. You may find that John actually isn’t the best person, it’s really Jane across the hall — but John’s being cautious about giving out references because he doesn’t know who you are yet.
Target mid-level to C-suite contacts at the same company to lay the foundation for a multi-threaded deal. Once one or more agree to a phone call with you, you can vet them on whether they’re appropriate for your normal sales cycle, and how keen they are to buy.
Step 3: Keep them engaged
Normal sales cycles still take time, which means you need to keep your name in front of your leads. While you can certainly do this with brief follow-up emails, consider asking them to subscribe to a newsletter or other digital publication. Send them valuable content to demonstrate your knowledge and market authority. Share blog posts that give free advice on how to solve their pain points. Encourage them to visit your social channels to showcase your skills and previous experience. In other words, give them the full inbound marketing treatment. The more touchpoints you use, the more likely they are to engage.
Want to apply this 3-step process to your current outreach? Give us a call at (904) 900 – 5812, or click the button below to schedule a complimentary marketing consultation.
