These days, knowing your prospects is more crucial than ever. It's not just about understanding their interests; it's about deciphering their intentions. Buyer intent provides valuable insights into whether a prospect is merely curious or ready to invest in your product or service.
By analyzing the digital footprints left by your prospects, you can gain a deeper understanding of their purchasing journey. This knowledge allows you to tailor your approach, ensuring you engage them at the right time and with the right message. Let's dive into how you can uncover and interpret this data to enhance your sales strategy.
Decoding Buyer Intent: More Than Just Interest
Buyer intent goes beyond mere curiosity. While interest shows a level of curiosity, intent signals a commitment to spend on your product or service. The sooner you can distinguish between the two, the better. In high-stake prospecting scenarios, particularly those typical of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) cycles, being the first to engage an interested prospect can make all the difference. According to a Forrester report cited by Harvest Strat, the first seller to engage an interested prospect wins the order over 85% of the time².
To accurately assess your prospect's purchasing intent, you'll need to analyze the intent data they've left behind online. This includes their digital footprints throughout their customer journey, which may encompass behavioral data. To make sense of this, you will require an analytics platform⁴. Start by gathering data points from your website's contact forms, social media platforms, and the lead scoring/profiling data within your CRM, sales enablement, and marketing automation applications.
Seeing Through Their Eyes: Interpreting the Data
Julia McCoy, writing for the Content Marketing Institute⁵, emphasizes the importance of viewing data through the prospect's lens. She suggests "taking a walk in the user's shoes" to understand their journey better. Given the likely volume of data, Johanna Rivard from PureB2B⁶ advises starting with "Why?" instead of "What?". Ask questions like: Why is the prospect team visiting these web pages? How did they get there? What information are they seeking?
McCoy further breaks this down by urging you to determine whether your prospect executive is looking to make an immediate purchase, gather information, get questions answered, or revisit a previously seen page.
What to Track: Keywords and Phrases
Karan Sharma, CEO of Hubsell, provides timeless advice on identifying common keywords and phrases that indicate a prospect's shift from initial consideration to active evaluation and purchase readiness⁷. His insights, although a few years old, remain relevant. Brainstorm with your ABM team to compile a comprehensive list of search terms that reflect your prospects' progression through the sales funnel.
Most senior executives are well-connected on social media, frequently engaging with peers in other organizations. This makes social listening crucial. Social media marketing expert Robert Caruso recommends using AI-powered semantic search solutions like IBM Watson for large enterprises and nmodes for SMBs⁸. These tools can help you track and interpret the conversations and queries your prospects have online.
Leveraging Tracking Technology
To effectively track your prospects, start with analytics tools for your web, mobile, and social properties. However, the Interactive Advertising Bureau suggests that in today's mobile-centric world, tracking should focus on device identifiers rather than cookies⁹. Additionally, Daniel Newman from Futurum Research highlights the importance of data cleanliness and accuracy¹⁰.
A robust data strategy for ABM requires the integration of a Customer Data Platform (CDP), which consolidates data from various sources, providing a unified view of your customer journey¹¹.
Enhancing Your Sales Strategy
Understanding your prospect executives' moves is not just about gathering data; it's about interpreting and acting on it effectively. By distinguishing between interest and intent, you can tailor your engagement strategies to meet your prospects where they are in their buying journey. Utilize the insights gained from digital footprints, leverage advanced analytics tools, and adopt a comprehensive data strategy to stay ahead in the competitive landscape.
Ultimately, the goal is to engage prospects at the right moment with the right message, increasing your chances of converting them into loyal customers. Embrace these strategies, and watch your sales outcomes improve significantly.
