In sales, we are always trying to read our prospects’ minds: we want to understand what they are thinking and what drives them. We are constantly on the search for some insight that will enable us to connect more effectively so that we can position ourselves and our product most favorably.
There are various ways in which we might try to do this. Perhaps, we consult our prospect’s purchase history; although that’s almost certainly not what’s on their mind right now. Marketing automation is helpful to a point — a high lead engagement score will confirm that your prospect is very engaged with your organization’s marketing but it can’t explain why they are so interested. Similarly, social media has been a boon for revealing the inner workings of our prospects; Facebook lets us know what they ‘Like’, Twitter tells us what they’re doing right now, and LinkedIn gives us access to their professional persona. This all sounds like a sales intelligence goldmine until the reality kicks in that far from revealing your prospects true selves, social media profiles are often curated to reflect idealized, contrived versions of themselves (that is, if your prospect is even using social media at all!).
Our content choices reveal our deepest needs
There is a higher buyer reliance on content than ever before to assist in research and purchasing decisions. In the latest 2015 DemandGen Report survey, 77 percent of B2B buyers said they did not talk with a salesperson until after they had […]
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