One of the least understood drivers for revenue growth is a topic called “Reasons to Call.”
In consumer goods companies, the marketing department might call these “promotions” or “offers.” Perhaps the most common one is BOGO (Buy One Get One free). Another example is automotive manufacturers using the annual new model year introductions as a “reason to look” (an offer of sorts).
“Reasons to Call” is the B2B equivalent of these kinds of offers and promotions.
For this to work, you must have something interesting or relevant enough that connects with a need the buyer is experiencing. You’ll get a meeting with a buyer if they:
· Believe you have or know something special that can help them
· Are curious if you have benefits that match needs more than the last time they looked
· Have a new problem and are seeking help
· Have a natural business cycle and need help during that period, e.g. healthcare open enrollment, tax season, etc.
The tougher part, and what usually separates successful sales teams and reps from average ones, is using a disciplined approach to CREATE reasons to call.
Here are some of the best ones:
🛠️ R&D / Development. Ask your product or development team to provide smaller but recurring “announcement worthy” events and product improvements.
🧮 Financial Calculator. Show prospects how your product/service pays for itself (you need to know this topic very well).
🗞️ Industry News. Bring relevant news to the buyer’s attention.
🌟 Success Stories. Tell your prospects about recent successes customers have had using your products or services.
Buyers are busy and it’s easy for them to dismiss these ideas on the first attempt but be persistent!
The good news is people are naturally curious. Your prospects like hearing about things that are going on in the industry. They are particularly interested in information or tools that help them look good at their company.
I’ll leave you with two actionable takeaways here:
1. Take a strong stance in convincing your company that product and service development plans shouldn’t just follow typical 1-3 year development cycles, but rather should have some sort of improvements to talk about to the marketplace along the way.
2. Become a friend to your buyer. You don’t want every conversation to be about “Buy my Stuff.” It’s more important to help your buyer look good. Talk to them frequently. Find improvements that lead to top line growth or cost savings for their company.
Have you used or seen other good Reasons to Call?
