Whether large or small, most manufacturers share a few common characteristics, especially when it comes to their sales and marketing efforts. Delivering high-quality sales leads and achieving aggressive sales and revenue goals takes time, talent and teamwork. At custom manufacturers, OEMs and Tier 1, 2 and 3 suppliers, those precious resources are often in short supply.
That’s where outsourced inside sales resources and professional lead generation firms like Volkart May come in. We operate as an extension of a manufacturer’s in-house sales and marketing team. We work collaboratively to identify the right prospects, engage decision-makers and book sales-ready appointments directly on sales’ reps’ calendars.
We believe a manufacturer’s time is better spent closing a sale than finding one. That’s where the expertise, technology and proven processes of a lead generation company come in. We use the power of our skilled conversationalists to maximize opportunities and help manufacturers reach your sales and revenue goals.
Four lead generation success stories in manufacturing
Here are four recent examples that show how we’ve earned our stripes in the manufacturing sector.
Generating leads for national manufacturer
Large sales territories make it difficult for Tennant Company sales reps to stay connected with decision-makers. That’s why the manufacturer of commercial floor cleaning equipment relies on outbound calling to keep their brand front and center.
Unfortunately, their previous call center struggled. They could not fill the pipeline with qualified leads. Leads required manual entry to the company’s CRM system—a 3-4 day process that delayed follow-up calls and reflected poorly on their reputation. Callers lacked the skills to engage and empathize.
Volkart May helped this leading OEM to:
- Replace script readers with sales people
- Eliminate spreadsheets and data entry
- Use metrics to improve results
Switching to Volkart May produced immediate, compelling results. We deployed our seasoned B2B calling team to identify decision-makers and collect information on purchase timing and interest. Most importantly, we generated an ongoing stream of qualified leads.
Our results tell the story:
- 700 leads generated in the first 18 months
- 23 percent decrease in cost per lead
- Completely electronic hand-off of qualified leads
That caliber of service, and Volkart May’s commitment to results, keeps Tennant coming back. The annual campaign is now in its fourth year.
View the full case study and watch this video testimonial from Tennant.
Reaching OEM decision-makers to fuel sales goals
A services company specialized in programs for manufacturers and wanted to expand its customer base within the Midwest. However, the organization lacked a full-time salesperson to handle prospecting.
Working together, Volkart May helped to:
- Identify the characteristics of the ideal OEM prospect
- Source a list of qualified manufacturing companies across five states
- Hone a dialogue (not a script) that would pique the attention of busy senior executives at manufacturing firms
Finally, our professional callers hit the phones. We navigated to the correct decision-maker, obtained an opt-in email address and sent introductory information about the company. A few days later, we called back to review the material, discuss current challenges and schedule an in-depth appointment. It’s a multi-faceted process that generated results quickly and cost effectively.
In the first 90 days, our outbound calling to OEMs:
- Reached 1 in 3 of the target manufacturing executives
- Obtained more than 200 opt-in email addresses for manufacturing prospects
- Generated 41 appointments with senior decision-makers
As a result of outsourcing their B2B sales prospecting, the company landed three new strategic manufacturing accounts in a single quarter. Calling continues, and they’re well on their way to realizing their annual sales and revenue goals.
Engaging HVAC customers on a tight timeline
Trane was ending support of a product. Before that product sunset occurred, the HVAC manufacturer needed to convert current customers to a new model. There was a tight timeline for notifications, sales and installs—but few internal resources to support this important communications effort.
Volkart May stepped up with experienced contact center professionals and scalable resources. Our contact center provided both outbound calls and inbound customer support for a truly integrated campaign.
- We called proactively to inform customers of the new product and generate leads
- We took inbound calls from direct mail respondents
- We sent follow-up emails to those requesting additional information
Our proactive outbound calling helped reach decision-makers at a variety of organizations. The leads we generated led to sales of replacement products—and new sales of other products.
The results show the power of 360-degree support and one-on-one customer engagement.
- 72:1 campaign ROI
- $164 cost per lead
- 42 percent of decision-makers reached
- Leads generated in every sales territory
What began as a small project expanded nationally into multiple, concurrently-running independent campaigns, each with its own script and objective.
View the full case study and hear from Trane, in their own words.
Making a difference in the OEM sales process
Heat exchangers play a critical role in HVAC units, engines and various other applications. A global manufacturer excelled at demand generation and awareness of its specialized heat exchanger components, but lacked the internal resources to convert these interested prospects into qualified leads and closed sales.
Volkart May provided the extra resources the manufacturer needed. We started with information the OEM collected from inbound inquiries, such as website leads, webinar registrations and downloads of articles and whitepapers. From this basic demand generation detail, we built robust prospect profiles and helped nurture these prospects until ready to hand off to sales reps and distributors.
We created an outbound calling campaign that targeted engineers and executives to:
- Follow up and collect information on inbound inquiries
- Provide complete, accurate prospect data for future marketing
- Identify decision-makers and schedule appointments for the sales team
Our efforts succeeded. We generated additional awareness and create a full pipeline of opportunities for future sales.
In the U.S. market, outbound calling:
- Reached nearly 60 percent of decision-makers
- Generated new qualified leads and sales-ready appointments
- Advanced three out of four appointments to the next step in the sales cycle
We conducted additional outreach abroad for a robust and effective manufacturing sales effort.
Move your manufacturing sales forward. If you’re a custom manufacturer, OEM, or tier 1, 2 or 3 supplier, learn more about how our services can help you meet sales and revenue goals efficiently.
