In the column `
,”
Inside Sales
is the role of narrowing down prospects with a high probability of closing a deal and acting as a bridge to field sales (traditional outside sales). We introduced that by taking on this role, the entire sales activity can be made more efficient, and by approaching customers at the right time, there is the potential to achieve even better results than before.
This time, we will explain how to further improve the efficiency of sales activities using examples.
Advertising and SEO measures are essential for increasing the number of inquiries.
At our company, we are engaged in web marketing with the goal of “customer inquiries” as with general corporate websites.
Additionally, we have set the dozens of inquiries we receive each month as a KPI (key performance indicator).
The KPI does not include the number of downloaded materials or the number of e-mail newsletter registrations, but only counts inquiries regarding the service.
Since April 2017, we have steadily achieved our goals, and by December 2017, we were able to achieve 1.3 times the goal.
Specific measures to increase the number of inquiries include
advertising and SEO measures
.
In particular, in 2017, we actively worked on the following matters.
・April: Advertising such as retargeting ads
・October ~ SEO (Search Engine Optimization) measures
We are receiving orders one after another from inquiries.
In web marketing, the goal is to receive inquiries from customers, but in BtoB sales, the ultimate goal is to receive orders.
When it comes to whether inquiries lead to orders,
it’s definitely connected!
In the nine months from April to December 2017, in the case of
, our representative service, we received inquiries at the beginning of the month for projects that were quick to complete, and in some cases orders were received within the month. .
The number of cases that turn from inquiries to business negotiations is about a few dozen per month, and there are always a few cases that turn into orders.
In terms of amount, there are some months where we have received millions of yen from multiple orders, and there have been multiple cases where one project has been worth several million yen.
The annual advertising fee for the “HR Pro” we sell is 600,000 yen, so the impact of these sales is not small.
That’s why we believe it’s important to take the initial measures (lead generation) to increase the number of inquiries and continue to do so over the long term.
Looking for ways to improve the efficiency of overall sales activities
We do not have a dedicated inside sales person, and after we receive an inquiry through web marketing, we pass the lead information to the sales person.
Many of our sales staff are young members who have transferred from other industries, so we believe it is meaningful to pass on these leads and quickly gain experience in negotiating and receiving orders.
However, because leads are suddenly passed from marketing to sales, there are many cases that lead to business negotiations but unfortunately do not lead to orders.
In that case, be careful not to neglect lead nurturing in order to once again try to “approach customers at the right time” in the marketing area.
This flow is still incomplete and is still being explored, so I think it will be a long time before it bears fruit, but it is true that marketing results have clearly improved in 2017 compared to 2016.
We started 2018 with a renewed desire to further improve the efficiency of our overall sales activities and contribute to sales.
summary
◆In web marketing, “goal = inquiry” is common. In our case, we place advertisements such as retargeting advertisements and implement SEO measures with the goal of increasing the number of advertisements to several dozen per month.
◆In our case, the number of cases we convert into business after receiving an inquiry is several dozen per month. From here, we receive several orders. In terms of amount, there are some months when we receive millions of yen from multiple orders, and there are multiple cases where one project is worth several million yen.
◆At our company, leads are handed over directly from the marketing staff to the sales staff, but in the future we will strengthen inside sales (the role of narrowing down prospects with a high probability of closing and acting as a bridge to field sales), and I want to improve the efficiency of my overall activities.