G2 has long been a trusted tool by B2B marketers who have relied on the marketplace to source customer feedback, leverage it for marketing content, and embrace buyer intent data to find and target in-market buyers. In a world where it’s crucial for sales and marketing to be aligned, Sales teams can also benefit from G2’s solutions and data.
To explain how this can be done, my colleague Caroline Celis – G2’s brilliant former Sr. Director of Global Business Development – joined me for a G2 Reach 2023 Masterclass session. Here, we had the opportunity to explore the diverse application of G2 in Sales to nurture prospects, retain and grow customers, and close deals.
Especially during the current economic climate we’re in, a tool like G2 is invaluable for Sales teams. In this article, I’ll summarize a few of our top tips to help you get started and thrive with G2.
Focus on the right prospects
Our first tip revolves around identifying and focusing on potential buyers. Key questions, like “who really is our target audience?” and “what tools can serve as an asset to reach out to them?” form the backbone of the Sales strategy. In this regard, Caroline emphasized the need to ditch the conventional wide-net approach - talking to every contact- in favor of a data-driven approach.
So how does G2 fit into the equation? G2 can aid you in strategically deciding who to reach out to and when. A contemporary Sales approach involves understanding buyer intent signals, and G2 masterfully provides these data-driven insights – informing you who is researching your products, your category, or your competitors, in real-time.
By fine-tuning your approach, you may create less pipeline. You should expect a significantly higher conversion rate, which, in sales, is what really matters. G2’s intelligence absolves much of the guesswork, allowing you to focus on quality meetings and not just pipeline numbers. Sales leaders should actively track pipeline conversion metrics in a timeline based on your average sales cycle. This will prove the value of Buyer Intent on revenue.
Personalize your outreach with Buyer Intent Data
Once you know who your targets are, based on Buyer Intent data, it’s important to put your best foot forward during your outreach. This is where personalization comes in. The era of generic, one-size-fits-all emails is diminishing rapidly. Today's buyers in both the B2B and B2C worlds appreciate personalized outreach; they want to be heard and understood.
Fortunately, G2 provides a plethora of data that allows teams to enrich the customer experience significantly.
Caroline offered examples of companies that used G2's Buyer Intent signals to achieve high open rates and generate quality meetings. These signals are powerful indicators of what a prospect is interested in, enabling you to tailor your outreach strategy based on real-time data. Tools like LinkedIn and ZoomInfo can further enrich this customization by targeting specific locations and job titles.
Utilize G2 for customer scoring and pipeline acceleration
To further optimize the use of G2 in Sales, don’t forget about customer scoring and pipeline acceleration. IBM, a sophisticated user of G2 Buyer Intent, sets an excellent example for other businesses to emulate.
The gist of the idea is that by using intent data from G2, you can reliably predict which of your prospects are most likely to convert and where they are in the buyer's journey. This allows your Sales team to prioritize their efforts effectively.
If there’s one thing we hope folks took away from our session, it’s that G2 isn't just for marketing professionals. It's a powerful tool that can give Sales teams an edge to refine their strategies, offer personalized experiences, and ultimately close more deals faster and more effectively. Implementing these insights can make a marked difference in how you approach and engage your prospects, turning them from potential leads to loyal customers.
Learn more about G2 for Sales and catch our full G2 Reach 2023 session.
by Jordan Wahl
by Stephen Hoops
by Jenny Gardynski