Sales people will be all too familiar with the methods of selling products and services and the race to hit targets. If you’re in IT services or software sales you’ll definitely understand the hard work that goes in to differentiate from competitors who are selling almost exactly the same thing (if not the exact same thing).
There are a few four letter words we could use to express the pressure this can sometimes put on us as individuals, but I think “phew!” will simply do it here (you may come up with others, but think twice before posting them in the comments section below).
Inbound marketing does not work if you are publishing and promoting great content without an online audience.
Developing a group of people online who are interested in you, your company and what you have to say is inbound marketing’s most fundamental ingredient.
Blogging, when done correctly, is a hugely important practice that guarantees inbound leads. However, we don’t always have time for a powerful piece of writing that is exciting, in-depth and ticks all the boxes. There is definitely a place for the two hour blog, but it’s also worthwhile investing time in developing a bank of well-written, enjoyable and informative blogs.
If you want to be the ‘go to’ blog in your target market, then first you must speak to your customers’ and prospects’ issues. You do this by identifying the issues correctly and pointing your reader to other resources that they will find helpful.
A well-structured blog is also important for you in terms of generating inbound links and converting your reads to leads.
Do you think a customer comes to you because of what you offer or is it because what you offer helps them to be better at what they do?
Traditionally, software company websites are product-focused, but, with numerous other companies now selling similar products, how does your software company stand out?
Picture this scene:
You are a potential customer with a serious business issue that software could solve. You and your decision-making team gather a list of all the software companies that offer this particular software. You begin to compare all twenty four companies and find out what’s on offer is reasonably similar. How do you choose the best solution? (more…)
Inbound marketing is pull marketing to generate inbound leads. Your inbound leads, in the most part, have searched online for answers and have come to you to ease the business pain they are experiencing, because you can offer them software solutions to their challenges.
Your sales people have committed years to honing their sharp striker skills that have enabled them to go out, push forward, and close business, and a significant proportion of their leads have traditionally come from outbound methods using cold-calling via telemarketing or face-to-face meetings.
Have you noticed recently that it’s getting harder to hit the same targets even though you are furnishing your sales people with inbound leads?
![By David Gallaher [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.brightfire.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/striker-203x300.jpg)
LinkedIn groups are a great way to meet new contacts and potential leads, and posting questions on a subject in a relevant LinkedIn group is a great way to engage with other group members.
You already have the group in common. If you both share interest in each other’s posts, then it’s likely there is value in you both engaging on a more regular basis. Certain LinkedIn members will stand out from the crowd and, if they look like they could be a good contact or a lead, then you should consider linking-in with each other to keep up-to-date with each other’s posts, both on an individual and company basis.
Churn is an important metric for companies offering cloud-based services and in startup companies your churn percentage is always reasonably low, in the beginning – you may actually manage to retain around 99% of your existing business. However, if your focus is growth then, as well as cross-selling, customer acquisition will be a major focus for you while sustaining existing relationships.
If you’re on a growth track, within a few years, you will reach a point where the challenge in churn management becomes the growing loss of revenue, as both your churn and revenue start to increase. For example, a churn of 1% of £45K turnover looks and feels a lot different from a 5% of £63K. Your revenue may have increased by 40% but your loss via churn has rocketed from £450 to £3150 and growing. A 600% increase in lost revenue is a major concern.
![By Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC (http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=6089) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.brightfire.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cloud-churn-300x300.jpg)
