Whether you’re qualifying leads or just cleaning up your database, you may have encountered this in your experience. You are calling or emailing to verify the information you have and your correspondent asks what you plan to do with the information.
B2B Prospects – What You Want With What You Know About ThemThis might sound harmless but it actually betrays a hint of mistrust on the part of your prospects and customers! Not everyone likes to share things about their business to faceless voices on the phone. Reasons range from minimizing the amount of marketing they’ve already been getting (e.g. inbox, voicemail etc) to just protecting their privacy.
Then again, if that’s all it took to stop campaigns in their tracks then it’s a wonder that anything gets marketed these days. That is why there are basic rebuttals that sufficiently explain the things you’re going to do to the knowledge you will gain from your target businesses. Try asking yourself the following questions to get started on one:
- Is it a specific or a general purpose? – Sometimes businesses have multiple purposes but that is also because they have multiple ways to acquire information. Break them down at least between two categories. Specific purposes pertain to singular use (e.g. sending seminar invites) while general use involve long-term relationships (e.g. customer loyalty programs).
- Are there any alternatives? – Other times prospects refuse because they prefer a particular form of communication (they want no phone calls for example, just email). You may not get the information you desired but you at least still have a chance to communicate with prospects on their own terms.
- How will they benefit from this? – Be it a specific or general purpose, both should be for the benefit of the customer first and your business second. This is why you shouldn’t take for granted the value you’re already offering. If they think a seminar or an e-book is not worth their information, the only thing you can do is work on their content. Don’t waste time trying to convince them otherwise!
You can’t afford any more delays in your marketing campaign so even the slightest hint of mistrust can trip it up. Each of the above questions represents a cause of mistrust and therefore, your rebuttal should reflect a response point-by-point.
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