Outbound B2B Lead Generation
“126 Leads From Outbound Channels
– A 5X Improvement”
Background
The Outsourced Accountant (TOA) is a global outsourcing partner for accounting firms.
Their success in Australia and New Zealand has led to ambitious growth targets for North America.
Prior to engaging Marketing Results, the bulk of their leads were coming from events, partners and telemarketing.
They also had an in-house team responsible for outbound email campaigns, but were experiencing challenges concerning data, deliverability, conversion and lead volume.
TOA engaged Marketing Results to improve the effectiveness of their outbound lead generation efforts and validate outbound marketing as a feasible channel for their expansion into North America.
What Makes TOA A Good Fit For Outbound Marketing?
- B2B company with a reasonable Allowable Cost of Acquisition
- Targeting a specific audience
- A compelling and differentiated value proposition
- Many of their prospects are unaware their solution exists
- A proactive sales team who are hungry for leads
Objectives
- ESTABLISH outbound marketing as a predictable and scalable lead channel in the client’s marketing mix.
- DE-RISK their lead volume with a multi-channel solution that leverages personalised email, LinkedIn and phone sequences without messy silos of data.
- NURTURE prospects with hyper-personalised, behavioural communications sequences based on their previous engagement.
- MAXIMISE available sales capacity with a predictable flow of warm prospects who understand TOA’s value proposition and are eager to learn more.
- EDUCATE TOA’s in-house marketing team on outbound ‘best practices’ and develop TOA’s internal execution capabilities.
How The Objectives Were Achieved
We built a multi-channel outbound marketing process that allowed TOA to systematically engage with North American accounting leaders across LinkedIn, email and phone.
The benefits of a multi-channel approach were:
- We could use each channel to improve the effectiveness of the others. For instance, referencing a new LinkedIn connection via email or a recent email in our phone scripts.
- It allowed us to maximise our coverage of the Total Addressable Market (TAM) because some contacts were more readily contactable on one channel or another.
- It ultimately created a more sustainable approach because we weren’t reliant on a single channel.
The project was broken into three phases:
PHASE #1: VALIDATION
We started with a 90-day done-for-you pilot program. The intention was to validate our approach as quickly as possible.
We needed to demonstrate that we could overcome the sticking points that TOA had encountered themselves, before rolling out our strategy across the organisation.
We managed all aspects of execution, including: data preparation, messaging, daily outreach via email and LinkedIn, and the scheduling of meetings for BDMs.
PHASE #2: SYSTEMISATION
Once we validated the strategy, we began documenting the process.
Our goal was to give TOA’s team everything they would need to successfully execute all facets of this campaign in house.
This was accompanied by a 48-page Outbound Marketing Playbook detailing step-by-step instructions for all facets of the process.
PHASE #3: KNOWLEDGE SHARING
With the system built and the processes documented, the next step was to train TOA’s in-house marketing team.
While the Outbound Marketing Playbook served as a valuable execution manual and quick-reference guide, the bulk of the knowledge sharing process took place during daily training sessions held over eight weeks. Together we progressed through these stages:
- Conceptual understanding of the strategy and tech stack.
- Guided execution and ownership of a select few daily tasks.
- Offline projects around critical tasks (e.g. data research, cleaning and import).
- Execution of all outbound functions, backed by troubleshooting and coaching.
- TOA executing all outbound functions independently.
Key Results
ESTABLISHING TRACTION
Generating our first lead took some patience. We tested dozens of message and audience variations before arriving at a combination that produced meaningful traction. Once this was rolled out across our outreach efforts, we began producing a predictable stream of leads.
WARM SALES CONVERSATIONS
By split testing our messaging, we were able to establish which benefits resonated with prospects. Prospects were so enticed by our communications that they were handing over their phone numbers and requesting we give them a call that day:
LEAD VOLUME
Over the past six months, TOA have generated 126 leads from outbound channels, 28 of which came through in the last 30 days. This represented an approximate 5X improvement for this channel.
FUTURE PROSPECT POTENTIAL
In addition to the leads that request a meeting immediately, TOA’s sales team has generated hundreds more new LinkedIn connections. These represent a great opportunity for TOA to nurture and re-engage these prospects in future.
ACQUIRED IN-HOUSE CAPABILITY
TOA have been able to fast track the extensive learning curve usually associated with developing outbound marketing expertise.
This Marketing Case Study has been approved
by The Outsourced Accountant.
