3 Ways To Increase Your B2B Sales By Being An Outcast

In Sports Sales, there are many ways to have success. In?a Previous Article? ?we reviewed how to “Find the Big Fish” when it comes to B2B sales, and in?a Separate Article ?we discussed making the transition from a B2C to B2B sales expert.

In the latter article we hit on the importance of taking a?creative approach?– being “magnetic” or “different.” Let’s dive more into that.

In the B2B sales world, there are a lot of things that?most?sales reps are doing: prospecting every day, going after the biggest companies in the biggest markets, sending outreach emails with a “congrats on your success” type of introduction, etc.

So, right now, let’s NOT focus on those things. Let’s think?outside of the box?and discuss three ways to increase your B2B sales by being an outcast:

1. Prospect in Unpopular Markets

First, I absolutely?think you should be prospecting in the biggest metro area where your venue is located. If you work for the Detroit Pistons, absolutely spend time prospecting companies in the city of Detroit. If you work for the Miami Marlins, absolutely prospect in Miami.

But also keep in mind that if you have 10 colleagues who spend a good bit of time prospecting in those areas, that you’re likely going to be targeting the very same companies. In some cases, it’ll be fine for multiple people to reach out to the same company, especially if you’re targeting different decision makers. But in other cases, you don’t want to be reaching out to the same companies that your teammates are, at the same time. Not always a great look.

Having said that, you should spend a portion of your day being a?prospecting outcast.?You should focus on areas that most salespeople don’t think to spend time on.

Going back to the city of Detroit – first off I don’t know much about Detroit – but there are probably several hundred CEO’s of $50M+ companies who’ve received messages from the Pistons’ sales staff. And from the Lions. And from the Tigers. And from the Redwings. So I’m guessing that the average President or CEO has about 15 sales reps (from sports teams) reaching out to him or her. That’s not to mention the hundreds of other salespeople who are trying to sell them something else…

Now, think about the smaller surrounding cities. If you hop into?ZoomInfo ?and do a quick search, you may notice half the amount of qualified businesses – but all of those businesses likely receive?less outreach?from local sports teams. That’s less competition and saturation.

Put yourself in the CEO’s shoes. The more emails they get, the less likely they are to read them in full, or to respond. You’re putting yourself in a great position if you’re reaching out to similarly-qualified businesses who simply don’t receive as much outreach.

For example, the biggest businesses in New Orleans are saturated with rep outreach. But if we search in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Houma, Biloxi (MS), Gulfport (MS), Mobile (AL) – we put ourselves in a better position overall to receive a response.

Ultimately, similar to investing, you’re diversifying your outreach. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Spend time in untapped markets and you’ll find yourself creating many more new business relationships that result in more sales.

2. Create Wow Moments

In Sports Sales,?wow moments?are usually categorized as something you do for a current client. For example, if one of your Season Ticket Holders is at a game, you could consider a bobble head drop-off for their 5-year old a?wow moment. It’s a gesture that goes a long way for a client and furthers your business relationship. Something they’ll never forget.

But, how often are we thinking of these creative and powerful gestures when it comes to?prospecting??It can be big or small.

For instance, imagine if you spent several weeks or even months going back and forth on a season ticket, suite, or partnership proposal with a prospect. Then, one day your prospect tells you that they can’t justify the expense or just can’t fit it into this year’s budget. Most sales reps would be bummed, type back a generic email response, and then set a follow up for a few months out.

But what if every time you receive that feedback, you write a handwritten thank you card and mailed it off to them? Check it out:

Susan,

Thank you for all of the due-diligence over the last several weeks. While we would love to host you at SoFi Stadium this year, I understand the current hurdles you face.

?Thanks for being so methodical and thorough in all our discussions. Now I know why you guys run a successful business – you’re a key ingredient.

Thanks again Susan, and look forward to working with you down the road.

– Anthony

If you have access to any special items like autographed photos or jerseys, and you know the company is more than qualified, imagine the impact if you included one of them. I would bet that most teams save their autographed items for current clients or new clients, to help close a deal. And I would agree with doing so. But think long-term here.

Naturally, our prospects don’t expect cards or special items to find them in the mail. Let alone from one of the major sports teams in town.

Be an outcast. Be different. Shock your prospects with small, kind gestures and I promise you, several weeks down the road you’ll be doing business with a good portion of those prospects!

3. Always Follow Up

I remember a conversation a couple years back with a long-time friend and former coworker –?Jon Gibson ?– about B2B prospecting. Jon sold premium products at a very high level with the New Orleans Saints & Pelicans and is now a Manager of Premium Hospitality for the Washington Commanders.

In his 10 years or so in Sports Sales one of his biggest takeaways is the importance of consistent follow up with companies. He said you do so much work to prospect, craft a good email outreach, but it’s very rare to get a response on your initial email. Once he tightened up his follow-up process, he said he started getting. ?a lot?more responses. And a lot more responses brought him more sales over time.

Follow up in general is a pretty standard thing to do in sales, but most salespeople get lazy with the follow up process in B2B sales. Have you ever come across a company in your CRM system with some lackluster notes from a coworker?

Too many times I’ve seen someone send an initial email to a decision maker, then plan their next follow up for a month and a half out. Does that make any sense? You’re not even giving yourself a chance. Yet, it seems to be the standard for most reps.

Those people are likely trying to cast a wide net, but not much else. If you want to maximize your response rate and your sales, be sure to have a consistent formula for how you follow up. Maybe it looks like this:

Step 1 – Initial outreach email to Decision Maker (DM)

Step 2 – Phone Call to DM and voicemail or message through gatekeeper

Step 3 – Short follow-up email to DM replying to first outreach, mentioning you missed them on phone

Step 4 – 3rd?follow-up email to DM, even more concise and firm (still respectful & professional)

Step 5 – Find next best DM and start process over

Or maybe it looks way different. Keep in mind there are a million more creative ways to approach prospecting, but the above process is an example of framework you can put together to hold yourself accountable to following a system. Most often you’ll get your response on the second outreach, if you get one at all.

Biggest takeaway here: most people don’t consistently follow up with decision makers after the initial outreach – don’t be most people. Develop a follow-up process when B2B prospecting that gives you a chance to increase your response rate, and thus, your sales.

Did you ever think “Being an Outcast” could help you with B2B sales?

While there are countless ways to better your new business approach, prospecting in unpopular markets, creating wow moments, and always following up are three very powerful ones. It doesn’t always take a complete makeover to change your process for the better.

Start prospecting in areas you normally wouldn’t for just a month or two. See how it goes. Then start creating wow moments with your prospects. See how that goes. Finally, toy with your follow-up process and see if that makes a difference for you.

Overall, try being an outcast when it comes to B2B sales. Being different and creative will serve you well with your response rate and ultimately, your sales.

Happy Selling!

-Anthony