Some sources will tell you it takes 8 touchpoints to make a sale in the B2B world. Others will tell you it takes 8 touchpoints just to book an initial sales call. No matter the actual statistic, the truth is that it takes multiple touchpoints to convert a lead to a customer.
Before we dive even deeper into this topic, let’s first get clear on what exactly a touchpoint is.
A touchpoint is a form of interaction between you and your potential buyer.
In marketing and sales, touchpoints can range from highly personalized to generic and broad-reaching.
Examples of personalized touchpoints are face-to-face meetings, phone calls, or 1:1 emails tailored specifically to your prospect. As a rule of thumb, these forms of personalization require more of a time commitment on your part, as the seller, but will typically yield a higher conversion rate.
On the other hand, examples of broad-reaching touchpoints are social media posts and mass emails. These touchpoints have the capability of reaching more people with less of a time investment on the seller. However, because of the lack of personalization, they yield a lower conversion rate.
At Dunlap Marketing, we believe that a combination of both highly personalized plus broad-reaching touchpoints leads to a sales cycle that feels good to both you and your prospects.
Below are 12 examples of various business-to-business touchpoints you can start incorporating into your own sales cycle.
Personalized Touch Points:
- Company events
- Networking events
- Referrals
- Face-to-face interactions
- 1:1 phone calls
- 1:1 emails
- 1:1 chat on your website
Broad Reaching Touch Points:
- Organic social media
- Paid social media
- Blog posts and other website content
- Emails to your entire email list
- Mailouts
By marrying together personalized and board-reaching interactions with your potential buyer, you will find a rhythm where your prospects feel like they are getting the information and attention they need in order to make a buying decision, but doesn’t necessarily require you to be everywhere all of the time.
For more information on sales strategies, email Mike at miked@dunlapmarketing.com.