Sometime during early stages of the stay at home order in Virginia (to be clear: this pandemic has made me lose all sense of time), I, as a HubSpot Solutions Partner, received an invitation to apply to the Sales Pipeline Generation Bootcamp, taught by Dan Tyre.  The invitation and my Channel Account Manager, Parsa Rashidinia, promised that this bootcamp would be transformative and would give me some practical tools to grow our business.  I was excited because even with over two decades of experience in sales and marketing, I know I can always learn new skills and approaches.  My team and I want to be always evolving.  The bootcamp was 8 weeks of face-to-face webinars, role plays, and homework.  This bootcamp was work but was worth it because I learned to ROAR like a lion.  Dan Tyre’s intoxicating positivity kept me engaged.  At the beginning of the training, he motivated us by dubbing us lions.  Lions exude confidence, and to generate sales, confidence is required.  However, by the end of the training, something became crystal clear.  A lion’s roar demands attention and stops others in their tracks.  I came to understand that to build a strong sales pipeline, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, you must ROAR! 

What does ROAR mean to me? 

R- Real Reason to Call 

O – Operate with Empathy 

A – Agency Position Statement 

R – Reach Out 

To build a strong sales pipeline during COVID-19 or any time, for that matter, you must ROAR in your sales strategy.  Allow me to break it down. 

You must have a real reason to call. 

If you can’t figure out a reason to call, then maybe they are not the right fit for your company.  You should research the prospect.  Review their webpage, social media accounts, and google the company to get a clear understanding of their business and some insight into their current situation.  Don’t go in trying to sell to someone without getting to know them first.  (Sales is courting, and the deal is marriage.  Don’t underestimate the power of courting and getting to know your client.) 

What are some good reasons to call? 

• You have a time-sensitive promotion that you know the prospect could benefit from.  You look like a hero by trying to save them money. 
• Your company has just published some amazing content, like a blog, video, case study, eBook, whitepaper, or podcast, that speaks to the prospect, your target market.  These pieces of content not only help with inbound marketing, but they can be used to start sales conversations. Remember that they must be relevant to your lead. 
• Your company is holding a webinar.  If you have a high-value and qualified prospect, this may just be the ticket to get your foot in the door. 
• If your company released a new product or service this is a perfect time to reach out to prospects and existing customers. 
• A personal phone call to invite someone to an event that your company is holding always appears sincere. 

Operate with empathy, always. 

Even more so during the time of COVID-19, you never know what other people are dealing with. This is true not only in their professional life, but in their personal life as well.  They may be caring for an ailing family member, taking care of young children, or suffering from an invisible illness.  Take the time to check on how people are doing and LISTEN.  Really listen.  Never jump to conclusions when someone won’t pick up their phone, even if you had a scheduled meeting. 

Nail down your agency position statement. 

If you try to please all of the people all of the time, you end up pleasing no one.  This is true in life and is true in business as well.  Businesses that do not focus on a specific target market or buyer persona(s) end up fishing with random bait that may or may not attract the fish they want.  (Those dang sunfish!)  To catch a bass, you need to know what bait to use.  You need to understand your target and give them what they want.  You need a well-defined position statement because it is the blueprint for your business. 

MPWRSource’s position statement is: 

MPWRSource creates strategies, plans, and processes, as well as implements them with the right people, tools, and technologies, to grow your business and give you peace of mind.  We work predominately with existing and start-up B2B small businesses in the healthcare, accounting and finance, and local government industries.  Much like a spider web, we help grow and sustain businesses by bringing together a wide variety of expertise in a multitude of disciplines and interconnecting them through a holistic approach.  Small businesses are the backbone of communities, so by serving small businesses, we positively impact people’s lives.  

Reach out.  Just do it. 

In order to build your sales pipeline, you must reach out to your prospects, whether cold, warm, or hot.  You must use all the tools in reach including phone, email, social media, and video.  What is the worst thing that is going to happen?  The prospect says, “No.”  However, remember that is just “no for now”.  Three years from now that “no” could turn into one of your best clients.  It may take at least 4 to 6 touch points before you nail down a meeting, so don’t give up too soon.  And if you get nothing else out of this blog, use video as much as you can.  In the age of COVID-19, we long to see people, if only on their screens. This explains why statistics show that video emails have a much higher open rate. 

Thank you to HubSpot and the Lead Lion, Dan Tyre, for an amazing bootcamp.  I have learned invaluable tools that will carry us through this pandemic and forward.  I leave this bootcamp with an emphatic ROAR!