Moving Prospects Through Your B2B Sales Funnel

Now that we understand that we can educate prospects to become buyers, we need a clear and consistent strategy to move prospects through the B2B sales funnel from the Awareness stage and convert them into a new, high-volume customer. It’s important to remember too that your business is not the only one making this adaptation; a quick Google search for a simple term like “digital marketing” will generate hundreds of millions of possible hits.

Your ideal customer needs to feel that their needs are understood in order to make a purchase decision, and similarly, you need to have a comprehensive understanding of your own company and the value it offers. And when your organization has a fully aligned sales and marketing approach, you’ll have that same understanding of your customer base.

When these qualities are determined by data, you have a great opportunity to capture a lead and move it through your sales funnel to successful conversion.

A lead nurturing workflow—a series of automated marketing actions and communications designed to engage and nurture leads over time—builds relationships with potential customers and guides them through the buyer’s journey. This typically involves sending a sequence of targeted and relevant content to leads based on their interests, behaviors, and stage in the buyer’s journey. The content is delivered through automated emails, triggered by specific actions or time-based intervals. The workflow aims to keep leads engaged, provide value, and address their needs and concerns throughout their decision-making process.

You’ll need to use progressive profiling to gradually gather additional information about leads over time. Instead of asking for a large amount of information upfront on a lead capture form, progressive profiling allows marketers to collect data in a more gradual and non-intrusive manner.

Every one of us as a customer has abandoned research into a product when our information gathering is slowed by an overly intrusive or large lead capture form. Progressive profiling allows you to build a profile of your lead over time as they interact with various content. The marketing automation system then tracks the lead’s interactions, behavior, and engagement with the website and marketing content.

As the lead continues to interact with the website or engage with marketing content, subsequent forms presented to the lead are dynamically updated based on the information already collected. The form fields are adjusted to ask for new information that has not been previously provided.

Each time the lead encounters a new form, they are asked for one or a few additional pieces of information. This approach reduces form fatigue and makes it more likely that the lead will provide the requested information.

The additional data collected through progressive profiling allows marketers to personalize their communications and segment leads based on their interests, behaviors, and preferences.

And while you are obviously familiar with the need for tracking standard content reporting metrics like page views or conversion rates, these progressive practices will allow you to observe where a prospect drops out of the sales funnel. Armed with that information, you can adjust your marketing efforts and strategies to easily micro-tune your approach so that it is better aligned with your ideal customer profile.

Basic outline steps that help effectively move prospects through the B2B sales funnel

1. Define your target audience: Clearly identify your ideal customer profile (ICP) and understand the characteristics of the companies or individuals who are most likely to benefit from your B2B offerings.
2. Generate awareness: Use content marketing, social media, email marketing, webinars, and industry events to create awareness about your brand and solutions. Provide valuable content that addresses the pain points and challenges of your target audience.
3. Capture leads: Offer gated content, such as e-books, whitepapers, or industry reports, in exchange for contact information. This helps you capture leads and build your email list for further engagement.
4. Nurture leads with relevant content: Utilize targeted email campaigns and marketing automation to nurture leads with personalized content. Send them industry insights, case studies, success stories, and educational content to keep them engaged and informed.
5. Qualify leads: Implement lead scoring to identify and prioritize the most qualified prospects. Assess their level of interest, engagement, and fit with your ICP to focus your efforts on the most promising opportunities.
6. Personalize the sales approach: As prospects move further down the funnel, personalize your sales approach based on their specific needs and pain points. Conduct thorough research to understand their business challenges and demonstrate how your solutions can address them.
7. Arrange meetings or product demonstrations: Offer one-on-one meetings, product demonstrations, or personalized consultations to showcase the value of your B2B offerings. Tailor these interactions to address the prospects’ unique requirements.
8. Address objections and concerns: Be prepared to address any objections or concerns that prospects may have. Provide relevant information and evidence to instill confidence in your solutions.
9. Offer trial periods or pilot projects: For more complex B2B solutions, consider offering trial periods or pilot projects to allow prospects to experience the benefits firsthand before committing to a full purchase.
10. Present case studies and testimonials: Share success stories, case studies, and customer testimonials that highlight the positive outcomes experienced by other clients. This social proof can build trust and credibility.
11. Negotiate and close the deal: As prospects become more interested and committed, negotiate the terms and conditions, pricing, and contract details. Address any final concerns before closing the deal.
12. Provide exceptional post-sales support: After the sale, continue to provide excellent customer service and support. This builds customer loyalty and increases the chances of repeat business or referrals.

Throughout the B2B sales funnel, communication and collaboration between your marketing and sales teams are essential. By aligning marketing efforts with sales strategies, you can create a seamless and effective experience for your prospects, increasing the likelihood of converting them into long-term, satisfied customers.