Lead generation for IT companies using Outbound marketing tools
BA Geo has been actively collaborating with IT companies for over 3 years, providing them with outsourcing lead generation services utilizing Outbound marketing tools such as:
• Email outreach;
• Linkedin lead generation;
Among these, we consider Cold Email as the most effective marketing channel due to its broad coverage of the target audience through automated search, verification, and personalized message sequence deliveries.
Unlike Cold Calls and even LinkedIn lead generation, Cold Email provides outreach without being intrusive.
One of the key indicators of expertise in our field at BA Geo is our performance in this marketing channel in 2023 for product and outsourcing IT companies.
Here are our metrics for the specified period:
Open Rate - 60-70%
Click Rate - 30-40%
Reply Rate - 5-7%
Unsubscribe – less than 5 %
Bounce Rate – less than 3%
Expressed in terms of the quantity of sent email campaigns, these results translate to the following:
How to start cooperation:
STEP 1 - Conduct an introductory meeting where we discuss the terms and expected outcomes of our collaboration;
STEP 2 - Fill out a questionnaire that significantly aligns us with your company's marketing strategy.
STEP 3 - Hold a meeting to discuss and assess the action plan, stages, refine the marketing concept, approve ICP, and address other important details.
STEP 4 - Sign a contract and start our cooperation.
What is needed for maximum Email Outreach efficiency
Before starting Email outreach, take 3 steps:
• Configure and prepare the sender's domain and accounts for authentication with various email services;
• Work on the marketing strategy, including competitors and successful buyers;
• Coordinate ICP and target audience specifics.
Failure to perform these simple steps, each of which consists of intermediate points, may not only fail to achieve the desired result for Cold Email but also harm future work with this marketing channel.
To generate leads faster and more efficiently during our work, we take 5 main actions:
• Formulate several hypotheses and test them on real short mailings;
• Conduct AB testing of letter writing for each ICP;
• Simplify the stages of mailing hypotheses, avoiding certain metrics to obtain a more transparent result;
• Have an SDR position to pre-qualify received leads and speed up their conversion;
• Deeply personalize letters for better conversion.
For example, in the screenshot below, one of the mailing hypotheses is processed using Woodpecker capabilities:
If a hypothesis has good open rates (for IT companies, 60-70%) and a Reply Rate exceeding 5%, then the hypothesis is considered successful and is included in the mailing.
Importance of Call to Action (CTA) and Lead Magnets
One of the crucial factors for the success of the Cold Email marketing channel is the presence of well-prepared marketing lead magnets by the company, to which CTAs will be directed. These CTAs aim to introduce potential clients to the client's brand, fostering their interest and trust.
These lead magnets can include real client testimonials and brand ambassadors, awards and certificates, promoted relevant products, motivational pages on the website or YouTube videos, valuable downloadable resources, reviews on platforms like Clutch, Upwork, Behance, and more.
In today's marketing landscape, where daily spam emails (including AI-driven automated ones) are on the rise, lead magnets serve as essential tools for warming up leads and prompting clients to respond to emails for product or service purchases.
To guide clients in their decision-making process, CTAs can also involve subscribing to the company's thematic newsletters, reviewing personalized annual plans, acquiring trial versions of products, filling out feedback forms, or receiving personalized discounts – the options are numerous.
BA Geo is always ready to provide consultation and recommendations on this matter. Working collaboratively with the client's marketing department, we can optimize this crucial tool for lead conversion.
Within the BA Geo team, the Sales Development Representative (SDR) plays a key role in building relationships with potential clients, qualifying them into MQL or SQL based on lead quality, and crafting email chains and hypotheses.
What is a "Qualified Lead" for Which You Pay?
One of the crucial stages in achieving results for the BA Geo team is working with the sales funnel.
In every company, there are unique characteristics of the sales funnel, the duration of lead movement within it, and the involved employees. Progressing through each step of the funnel until closing a deal involves specific actions assigned to individual employees or departments.
There is an important distinction between MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) and SQL (Sales Qualified Lead), where the former refers to functions of the Marketing Department, and the latter is a step of the funnel for the Sales Department.
During the Awareness stage, potential clients get acquainted with the company and its products, with the marketing department responsible for these clients.
When working with the Cold Email channel during this stage, we receive various responses from potential clients. Some understand the content of the emails they receive, while others may not comprehend the product or service offered and may ask clarifying questions.
For example:
"Does your company specialize in developing turnkey mobile applications, or do you focus only on prototypes?"
The response above to Cold Email is still considered marketing, and this lead is still in the Awareness stage of the funnel, not yet qualified as MQL. Although the lead has shown interest in the company, it cannot be qualified as "your lead" yet. It requires further warming up for progression in the funnel or stopping and removal.
After confirming that the potential client correctly understands the company's activities and is a relevant lead, they can be assigned the status of MQL and move further along the funnel.
Depending on the engagement status of the MQL or its halt in the funnel, additional warming may be required—handled by the client's Marketing Department.
The SQLs are managed by qualified Sales Managers in the Sales Department, whose subsequent actions can involve pitching, BANT sales qualification, and more.
BA Geo considers fulfilling its Email Outreach obligations as the handover of leads qualified as MQL, to the client's Marketing or Sales Department.
These could also include leads who have subscribed to newsletters, started using trial software versions, filled out feedback forms on the website, and performed other actions based on the CTAs outlined in the email and agreements with the client.
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