8 Ways to Use Marketing to Speed Up Your Deal Flow
Aug 13, 2024
While there are many strategies out there, here are eight key ways that tech companies can use marketing to move prospects through the pipeline faster.
There’s one thing that’s universally understood in the tech industry, it’s that closing deals can be painfully slow. The endless back-and-forth, the decision-making delays, the seemingly never-ending process—it can feel like an eternity before you finally get that signature on the dotted line. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
While some aspects of the sales cycle are out of your control, there are strategic marketing moves you can make to accelerate the process. Here are eight powerful ways to use marketing to speed up your deal flow, helping you get from first contact to closed deal faster.
Here’s a simple visualization that shows how the sales cycle length typically increases with the cost of tech products or services. The chart uses a horizontal bar graph to make it easy to compare different price ranges.
Here’s a visualization of a sales funnel. It shows how opportunities typically decrease as they move through different stages, from leads to closed deals. This kind of chart is great for highlighting the conversion process and identifying where the biggest drop-offs occur.
Bonus Tip: Preemptive Marketing Measures
Before diving into specific strategies, it’s essential to set the stage by being prepared for opportunities as they arise. This means taking proactive steps like gathering email addresses, participating in key industry events, and producing engaging video content. These actions ensure you’re always ready to capitalize on new business opportunities when the time is right.
1. Leverage a Well-Thought-Out Email Newsletter
An email newsletter is one of the most powerful tools in your marketing arsenal, especially when it comes to keeping your company fresh in the minds of your prospects. By consistently delivering valuable content directly to their inboxes, you can nurture leads over time, helping them move through the sales funnel more quickly.
While email newsletters are a staple in B2C marketing, they’re often underutilized in the B2B space—especially in the tech industry. Yet, when done right, they can be just as effective. For example, if you’re a tech company offering enterprise software, you can include your prospects in an email newsletter that consistently engages them with industry insights, product updates, and case studies. This keeps your brand top-of-mind, making it more likely that they’ll turn to you when they’re ready to make a decision.
However, it’s crucial to be respectful of how frequently you send emails. Bombarding your prospects can lead to disengagement or even push them away. Instead, focus on delivering high-quality content at a pace that keeps them informed and interested without overwhelming them.
Beyond Lead Generation:
An email newsletter isn’t just for speeding up your sales cycle; it’s also a versatile tool that can support other key marketing objectives. Use it to build a dedicated tech community, create a strong fanbase, attract potential employees, or even engage potential investors. By being strategic with your content, you can hit multiple targets with a single initiative.
Example: Imagine you’re a 3D printing company sending out a newsletter to a prospective lead:
• Spotlight Product: UltraFast 3D Printer
• Customer Success Story: Innovating with 3D Printing
• Upcoming Webinar: The Future of 3D Printing in Manufacturing
• Special Offer: Free Consultation
By providing valuable content that speaks directly to your prospects’ needs, you keep your company at the forefront of their minds, ensuring that when they’re ready to make a move, they’ll think of you first.
2. Capture Prospects on Social Media
In today’s digital age, social media plays a crucial role in B2B marketing, particularly on platforms like LinkedIn, where many tech deals are initiated. If you’re not leveraging social media to its full potential, you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to stay connected with your prospects and keep your brand top-of-mind.
The first step is to ensure you’re connected with your prospects on LinkedIn. Whether it’s through a direct connection request, a follow-up after a call, or even a casual mention during a conversation, getting them to follow your company page is key. Once they’re connected, you have the perfect opportunity to share high-quality thought leadership content that will appear on their feed.
While email newsletters offer a more direct and strategic way to engage with prospects, social media is a powerful tool for staying top of mind in a more subtle way. By consistently delivering valuable insights and industry updates through your LinkedIn posts, you position your company as a leader in the field. This keeps you visible, making it more likely that when your prospects are ready to make a decision, they’ll think of you.
Industry-Specific Content:
For example, if you’re a digital twin company, it’s crucial to post case study content or showcase the value you bring to the table—content that your prospects will understand and resonate with. For instance, sharing how your digital twin technology saved an aviation or aerospace tech company millions of dollars can make a significant impact.
Example Post:
“Excited to share how our digital twin technology helped [Aviation Company] save over $10 million in maintenance costs and reduced downtime by 25%. By creating an exact digital replica of their fleet, we identified potential issues before they became costly problems, ensuring smoother operations and greater efficiency. Learn more about how we can help your business achieve similar results. #DigitalTwin #AerospaceTech #Innovation”
The subtle presence you maintain through social media ensures that when the time comes to close a deal, you’re already in their minds, significantly speeding up the sales process.
3. Set Up Communication Structures for Success from the Start
Effective communication is the cornerstone of any successful sales process, particularly when dealing with high-value tech deals. One of the most common pitfalls in tech sales is spending time with low-level contacts who don’t have decision-making power. This can lead to wasted time, effort, and resources, dragging out the sales cycle unnecessarily.
At the outset of your relationship with a prospect, make sure to have the necessary informal meetings with lower-level contacts to gather initial information. But, be strategic. Early on, clearly communicate the scope of your products and services and emphasize the importance of involving key decision-makers in the process. This can be as simple as saying, “We typically work with X, Y, and Z decision-makers to ensure the project is scoped correctly and to deliver the value you’re looking for.”
It might feel intimidating at first, but this approach ensures you’re engaging with the right people from the beginning. If a deal isn’t going to move forward, it’s better to find out sooner rather than later, allowing you to focus your efforts on prospects who are more likely to close.
While this strategy is more about sales efficiency than marketing, it’s crucial in preventing wasted time and helping you move more deals through the pipeline faster.
4. Leverage Video Case Studies to Tell a Powerful Story
In a world where attention spans are shorter than ever, video content is king. Video case studies, in particular, are an incredibly powerful tool to connect with your clients and prospects by showcasing your work and successes in a compelling and engaging way.
We’ve seen it time and again—clients sending videos to their prospects that highlight their achievements or present case studies relevant to the industry. This approach not only makes your content more engaging but also provides a tangible demonstration of the value you bring to the table.
To maximize the impact of video case studies, ensure that your marketing and sales collateral are top-notch. Your brand should be front and center, with the video telling a story that highlights your strengths and how you’ve successfully addressed similar challenges for other clients. This combination of visual storytelling and strong branding can be a game-changer in moving your prospects closer to making a decision.
Whether you’re showcasing how your product helped a client save millions or how your service streamlined a critical process, video case studies offer a dynamic way to engage prospects and drive sales.
5. Host Industry-Leading Events to Accelerate Deal Flow.
Hosting industry-leading events is a powerful way to speed up your sales process. At Fellow, a tech marketing agency that partners with some of the most innovative tech companies in the world, we’ve found that hosting events tailored to our clients’ industries creates invaluable opportunities for connection and collaboration.
By bringing together top-quality candidates, clients, and industry leaders, you’re not just hosting an event—you’re facilitating relationships and discussions that naturally center around your brand and offerings. Whether these events are small, intimate gatherings or large-scale conferences, they provide a reason for people to talk about you and your solutions.
These events create a perfect setting for your prospects to engage with your company and industry leaders, making it easier to move them through the sales funnel. It’s not just about the event itself but the follow-up and continued engagement that these events generate. They give you another reason to reach out to your prospects and continue building the relationship, ultimately speeding up the deal-making process.
6. Be a Plug to Your Clients
Being a “plug” to your clients means going beyond just selling your products or services. It’s about understanding your clients’ needs, as well as their clients’ needs, and using your network to make valuable introductions that can help them succeed.
For example, if you’re working with a company that sells 3D additive printing solutions, consider who in your network could be a valuable connection for them—perhaps a manufacturer or another key industry player. By facilitating these connections, you demonstrate that you’re invested in their success and that you’re a resource they can rely on for more than just the products you offer.
When your clients see that you’re willing to go to bat for them with serious Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs), they’ll recognize that you’re a valuable asset in their business ecosystem. This not only strengthens your relationship but also speeds.
7. Ask the Right Questions
Asking the right questions is a crucial skill that can dramatically speed up your sales cycle. A deep discovery process allows you to uncover problems your clients might not even be aware of yet, especially if you’re highly specialized in their industry. By doing so, you position yourself as a trusted advisor, making it easier to close deals more quickly.
The art of asking the right questions takes time to master and will vary depending on the industry. However, here are ten generic, yet thought-provoking, questions that salespeople can ask tech companies to better understand their needs:
1. What are the biggest challenges you’re currently facing in your tech stack?
2. How do you see your company evolving in the next three to five years, and how do you anticipate your technology needs changing?
3. What’s the most significant pain point that your current solutions are not addressing?
4. How do you measure success with your current technology investments?
5. What are the top three priorities for your IT department this year?
6. Can you describe a recent situation where your current technology solution fell short of your expectations?
7. How do you ensure that your technology investments align with your business goals?
8. What is your process for evaluating new technology vendors?
9. Who are the key stakeholders involved in your technology decision-making process?
10. If budget and resources were no object, what technology improvements would you implement today?
By asking these kinds of questions, you can gain a deeper understanding of your prospects’ needs and position your solutions more effectively. A thorough discovery not only builds trust but also helps to identify and address potential obstacles early, making the closing process smoother and faster.
8. Leverage Strategic Partnerships
Strategic partnerships can be a game-changer when it comes to closing deals faster. A company that has built strong partnerships within various ecosystems not only gains business from these alliances but also benefits from the trust that partners have already established with their clients.
When a partner recommends your company, you come with a built-in level of credibility, which can significantly shorten the decision-making process. This is especially true if you’re working with partners who have deep relationships and the trust of their clients. The endorsement from a trusted partner can eliminate much of the skepticism that prospects might have, allowing deals to move forward more quickly.
It’s important to remember that not everything is about closing a deal immediately. Building a network of strong partnerships is like assembling an army and gathering tools that will make future deals easier and faster to close. As you grow these relationships, your ability to close deals quickly and efficiently will only increase.
Fello Agency: Your Tech Industry Partner
Fello Agency is a leading tech marketing agency collaborating with some of the world’s most innovative brands. From the depths of quantum computing to the heights of AI, we partner with visionary companies to craft compelling narratives that showcase their groundbreaking technologies. We’re passionate about helping engineers share their stories and make a lasting impact on the world.
