Attracting Buyers
Have Your Prospects Commit to a Meeting – And Qualify Themselves
B2B Content Marketing USA is based on the premise that a booked demo appointment, made by the prospect, is better than an email address any day—especially when the prospect fills out a questionnaire after specifying a date and time, qualifying themselves and focusing the conversation.
When prospects book their own appointment and answer qualifying questions, their commitment to meet with you is very high. They have put the date on their calendar and have made a very specific time to meet with you— the “buyer’s journey” at its best. They also appreciate that their time will not be wasted because they are very clear what their needs are—and that’s before you even meet.
Email Takes Longer
If we were to follow the standard content marketing practices discussed earlier, and if we proceeded through the 10 steps listed there, eventually we would get to the point where someone would step up and schedule a demo to see our product.
You would need a lot of time and effort to get enough people onto your mailing list, to figure out which content to send them, to follow up on what looks like a warm lead, and so on.
You Don’t Have Time
You don’t have the luxury of time, so it’s important to know what three elements you need to generate appointments ASAP. After all, you have technology solutions to sell and quarterly performance reports to fill out. This simple combination works because it avoids collecting a low-commitment email address and focuses on getting a high-commitment demo appointment.
- The Blog Post. This is the article (or one of several articles) that attracts prospects in the first place. We’re not talking about a new client announcement or interesting “industry” news. The article is targeted specifically to a keyword phrase or a combination of words that matches what prospects are using when they are searching for solutions. The article provides valuable information as well as the idea of what a good solution can do. At the end of the post is a link to the solution page.
- The Solution Page. The solution page has all the features and benefits of the product. It has a short intro and a longer “key benefits” list. The solution page is written in clear language and has attractive graphics and branding.
- The Schedule a Demo Button. The appointment button takes a prospect to a calendar where they can schedule the time and date of their demo. The prospect fills out a form that contains qualifying questions—a key sign of commitment to the call.
As you can see with this strategy, there is no gated content, email capture, social media “engagement,” or other unnecessary activity. It’s not necessary to understand where prospects are in the buyer’s journey, or whether they are being entertained.
Good Content—Good Leads
With good writing and research, and with the weight of authority your website will have once you follow the advice in this book, your article or blog post will show up in very good company in Google search results, where prospects are doing their research
A colleague of mine works with a company that manufactures store fixtures for chains like Starbucks. One day, the owner received a call from a real estate property developer who wanted a complete shopping mall outfitted.
Once the contract was signed, the owner asked the developer how he found his company. “I was watching the hockey game on TV,” the developer said, “and I saw your ad on one of the boards. I figured that if you are advertising on the NHL you must know what you are doing.”
Status comes in the context of where you show up, and being on the first few pages of Google next to larger competitors makes your company look very good indeed.
Once on the solution page, the prospect can click the demo button and book their own appointment.
“We can’t get people to put in their professional company email address, let alone provide any other information!” is the hue and cry of many marketing teams. That’s because every prospect knows if they give their real email address and other information in exchange for a white paper or other report, there is a good chance they will be called by a sales person or sent newsletters and other notifications they don’t want.
The difference here is one of intent: you are not asking for their name and email so that they can download a report or get added to a list. You’re having them book an appointment to talk about a solution to their burning problem or need, and you’re asking a few questions in order to make the appointment more productive. B2B prospects appreciate that.
This combination—blog article, solution page, and demo button—delivers qualified leads in buyer mode. It’s achieved by focusing on someone in the buyer’s mindset and letting them take the initiative to reach out.
Tired: Capturing emails and building a mailing list. Guessing where prospects are in the buyer’s journey. Sending them stuff to read. Trying to follow up.
Wired: Attracting prospects with well-placed articles. Educating them specifically about the problem the solution solves. Letting them book their own appointment, choose the time and place, and then answer qualifying questions that keep the conversation productive and focused.
