How to Get in Front of Buyers
If you’ve done much reading about proposals, then you know you are significantly more likely to be successful if you build a relationship with the buyer before they release the RFP. While this may sound great in theory, you might wonder: how do you actually do that? In today’s post, we’re covering a few tactics you can use to get in front of buyers before any decision is made.
How to Be in the Right Place at the Right Time
It’s tempting to scour online databases to find RFPs that align with your company and then send out as many proposals as possible. It’s a numbers game, right?
As you’ll quickly learn, this approach doesn’t work in the long run. You will likely spend countless hours creating proposals to have a win rate of less than 10%.
If you operate in the commercial sector, then online databases aren’t even an option, as those RFPs are sent directly to specific companies. That means you have to rely on other efforts to connect with buyers to make sure you’re one of the lucky few who are asked to submit a proposal.
Whether you support the public or private sector, you need a different approach to make sure your company is in front of the customer when they’re ready to buy.
“95% of individuals you reach out to are not ready to buy or issue a proposal,” says Scott Brogan, CEO of Company Expert, an organization that helps businesses grow their sales and marketing efforts. “They either don’t need your services right now or don’t feel enough pain to issue a proposal request.”
So what can you do about this?
Focus on building relationships.
Scott says, “Building trust and relationships ‘greases the path’ toward eventually sending you an RFP, gives your business more strength and predictability, AND you can be more selective about who you want to work with. You also may be able to preempt a proposal from going out to your competitors.”
Let’s take a look at a few ways you can start building relationships with buyers.
LinkedIn is the social media of the business world, and many sellers use this to their advantage. 27% of Americans are on LinkedIn, most of them professionals, making it the perfect place to focus on finding buyers for your product or service.
Scott Brogan recommends this tactic. “One of the ways you can begin to build trust and relationships is through LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the primary source for leads in the B2B space. It also helps you stay front-of-mind with your prospects, so when they do decide they need your services or issue an RFP, you're the first firm they think about.”
How do you use LinkedIn to stay top of mind for your prospects?
Create content.
LinkedIn has expanded in recent years, and what was once a job destination is now the place where professionals go for information. LinkedIn now has 15x more (or nine billion) content impressions than job postings. You can create articles, videos, images, and even do LinkedIn Live. What matters is making sure that your content speaks to the challenges and goals of your target audience. Share frequently to stay top of mind, and work on expanding your network to make sure your content reaches more readers.
When over half (52%) of B2B buyers say that LinkedIn content was the most influential driver in their buying journey, you know it’s time to make sure your content is what they see.
Events
2020 shook the world, and now that we’re all mostly living online, the networking at conferences and tradeshows of the past isn’t much of an option anymore.
That doesn’t mean you can’t use industry conferences to get in front of buyers, however. Many events are now online, and they need engaging, authoritative, and effective speakers to make the event a success. If you have something to say about a topic in your field, apply to be a speaker at an industry event where you know your target buyers will be. This will position you as an expert and also keep you top of mind. Bonus points if you have some sort of resource to direct them to, such as a study or free workbook that they can access on your website by giving their email. This sets the stage to build your relationship with them over the long term until they’re ready to buy.
Collaborations
Collaborations with other related businesses will help your business reach new audiences. For example, if you are a construction company, team up with a design firm to host a webinar of some sort that your buyers will find useful. You never know where you might find your next customer, and businesses with a similar customer base might just be the place.
Organic Search
Ranking organically on search means that when a buyer searches for an answer to a question or a solution to a problem, they find content on your website that helps them figure it out. This is a long-term approach that allows you to be in the right place at the right time and bring leads to your business.
To get started with this, create a list of questions that customers might ask before working with you. What problems are they trying to solve and what questions come up with that? You can do some basic keyword research by using Google’s free keyword planning tool to determine where to start your search. From there, write a few blog posts that address those questions, and invite customers to speak with you about next steps. They’ll already view your company as an expert, and you’ll have hot leads ready to work with you.
Paid Search
Paid search is similar to organic, but you pay to rank. It’s best if you start with intent-to-buy keywords first to avoid wasting money on ads. For example, if you are the construction company mentioned above, then you might run ads for “Construction company boston” to rank for searches in Boston. For best performance, make sure the ad goes to a sales page about your construction services, not your home page.
Social Media
LinkedIn is the best social media for the B2B space, but you can also use Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to reach your audience. Each has a different approach, and the best one will vary based on your organization and your target customer. For example, if you are a design company, then Instagram might be a good fit because it’s more visual. On the other hand, Twitter is perfect for sharing a quick overview of one of your recent pieces of thought leadership and then linking to the post.
Next Steps
Now that you know a few ways to get in front of buyers, it’s time to choose one and focus on it. Spend at least six months implementing any of the above and take note of how your sales process changes. If it’s working, try adding another tactic to the list. The goal is to get in front of buyers before they go to RFP or possibly persuade them to avoid that process altogether.