Stop sending emails – do this instead.

Please stop sending emails – do this instead

Challenging the myths that keep B2B sales stuck.

How brutal is market familiarity?

We recently worked with a company who had well  over a century in business yet when we started reaching out to their ideal prospects, not one of their potential buyers recognised  their name just to reiterate they had been serving this sector for generations – way before any of us were born.  No where is their company name on the usual listings and OOO no obvious allegiance with any local causes minimal visibility at  business events or networking,  no social media activity and an unloved website.   Generations of customer service through the war years –  a huge story and zero recognition was the reality we faced.   That’s how brutal buyer familiarity really is.

You can’t assume the market knows you, even if you’ve been around for generations, you have to keep reintroducing yourself stay in the mind and on their radar.   Whatever you do don’t let your familiarity disappear – make it part of your company culture to be outward facing and active in the community you wish to serve.

Whether a young or old company how do you get and stay front of mind?   For us its three months of hard graft turning  cold prospect data into a warm graded pipeline as we professionally pursue them to get to them to   that  “tell me more” milestone; they know who you are, they trust us enough to take our calls, they are starting to see that you might be able to help.  

Then we hand it over to our expert client and see the real test –  what is the nurture process.  In so many times instead of taking the reins, someone fires off “we are over here if you need us” email  and wonders why nothing comes back.  If I had £1 for every time I hear that line when we ask how opportunities have progressed and we get the response…. “I sent an email”.

If that’s your follow-up, please read on (or even better call me!).

When someone recognises your name or answers your call without hesitation, you’ve broken through the noise.    However, buying takes confidence and confidence is built through connection and conversation not a “check-in” email. Pick up the phone, visit them, show that you’re serious about helping them solve something that matters.  Everywhere you look, outreach is automated and impersonal. The biggest edge you have but are not maximising is to be human so get of your a**e away from Ai and start engaging with the people you want to do business with.   People buy from people who make things make sense.

If you’re the one who helps them understand their problem why wouldn’t you get the sale?

Think Big. Act Small.

At YLG, we talk about the value ladder :  The Supplier  competes on price.  The  Service Provider  is  dependable but replaceable.  The Problem Solver gets results but stays transactional.   The Trusted Advisor helps clients see the big picture and make smarter decision.   Its hard to move from supplier to trusted advisor so ideally you want to their head as the trusted advisor from day one.  You do that by crafting your approach so it links what you sell to what they care about. Talk business outcomes, not just services. Show that you understand their world better than anyone else trying to get through the same door.

You can’t be a trusted advisor if you don’t know where your client is heading.  Get in their workspace, listen to how they talk, and understand what three years ahead looks like for them;  what’s their priorities, what’s on hold, and what’s still on a wish list – what do they know and  more importantly don’t they know.  Next focus on what they need right now to move forward. 

 That’s how you become relevant — and how you become the person they trust to call first.   Owning the relationship means leading the next move don’t be vague create the next step that makes sense.  Then stop waiting for them to reply to your email – pick up the phone go and see them get involved and help them.

That’s how you move from being another supplier to being the trusted name they remember when it matters.

At Your Lead Generation, we see it every week; teams who’ve invested months in having us warming up  their market, only to hand off the opportunity with passive email.  If you’re serious about growing your sales, own the next step.