All sales conversations will either be “Inbound” (the potential client reached out to us) or “Outbound” (we made the initial outreach).
These types of discussions start differently, but as the conversation evolves the process becomes very similar.
The crux of a potential new client relationship is a felt need. With Inbound, the client feels their need acutely enough to look for agencies and reach out. With Outbound, the client my not have previously realized their need, or may not have felt ready to start looking for a solution. Either way, once it is established that a felt need exists, the process is very similar.
We regularly receive inquires via [email protected], which is connected to a shared Hubspot inbox which forwards to our biz dev lead (Currently @Ty Fujimura). Ty handles these leads and brings in a strategist or other team members during the process.
Individual team members may also receive inbound leads directly. When they do they can either transfer it entirely to Ty, or, if they seem qualified, feel free to set up a call and include Ty on it.
We regularly encounter firms who we think might we could deliver value for. They may be clients of our clients, or networking contacts, or total strangers doing cool thins we find out about.
We also use a platform called Lead Forensics which allows us to see which firms are visiting our website. When we get a hit from a potential client we think would be an exceptional fit, we like to reach out and introduce ourselves proactively.
We have a full workflow for making this outreach and working towards booking a meeting with the prospect:
These are the steps we use to get prospects from being a lead (inbound or outbound) to a customer.