Problem: The Titles of People Making Inbound Inquiries Don’t Match Your Typical Target Customer
This can be very tricky. You are very excited as you receive a list of inbound inquiries, hoping this is your pot of gold. As you begin to look down the list you begin to notice that — wow — very few incoming contact titles match the type of target you are used to calling on. They don’t seem to match the contacts who make up your target client in your existing customer base.
Problem: Your New Inbound Leads Don’t Seem to Match Your Current Type of Customer
This could be because the inquires are coming from a source that doesn’t cater to your typical target contact. Or, you may have discovered a new title that could qualify as one of the target contacts having an interest in your company, product or service.
So the dilemma is: Do you call the list of people with questionable contact titles, or do you look at the company and try to find a more typical target contact within the company on the list? The answer? You may well have guessed it: both.
Depending on the Number of Inquiries, You May Need to do a Pilot Outbound Prospecting Campaign
It also matters how many target contacts are provided in your inbound inquiry list. If it’s a larger list, pare it down to a manageable list and conduct a small pilot on the names in your list.
When you call, find out if there is interest in your product or service. This may represent an untapped or new market. If you find that to be the case, great.
Also ask for the name and number of the target contact title in their company. You may find:
- the person with this title shares interest in your product or service with the title you are calling
- this is a new target contact title specific to this company
- this is not the correct contact title at all
Whatever the results, be sure you located the right contact title that will have interest in your company, product or services. It is also a good idea to provide feedback on your findings to sales and marketing at a minimum.