If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.- Sun Tzu, The Art Of War
The Battle for leads in the marketplace has never been fiercer. As access to information increases, buyers turn to the internet for researching and shortlisting. The result? Prospects typically engage with vendors more than halfway through their purchasing process. Now more than ever, the first interaction between a prospect and vendor is critical. Companies with a world-class prospect experience convert more inbound leads to opportunities. However, most firms falter on basic lead engagement principles.
Here's a personal example: I recently put out a bid to renovate my kitchen on a contractor website. I received three bids back via email the next day. I followed up on all three within a 5 minute window. The first contractor called me 15 minutes afterwards. The second took three days. Here is the exchange with the second:
Contractor B: We saw you inquired about our bid. When would you like to start this project?
Me: Tomorrow.
Contract B: (Laughing) That’s a little soon.
Me: No, it’s not. One of your competitors responded two days ago and is coming tomorrow.
As slow as they were, they were better than the third contractor. They never responded.
B2B buyers demand the same responsiveness. If your inbound marketing presence is worse than the competition, you are losing deals
