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29. Mai 2024
Melissa Hartmann
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From unknown website visitor to qualified lead

29. Mai 2024
Melissa Hartmann
Share post
Imagine working for a company that offers complex industrial solutions. Your task is to convince website visitors and fill the sales pipeline with potential prospects.

The challenge: As products become more complex and higher-priced, customers find it increasingly difficult to make purchasing decisions.

Wouldn't it be great to know more about your potential customers to guide them on their unique customer journey? In this article, you'll learn how Guided Selling can assist you in converting unknown website visitors into qualified leads.

What is a qualified lead?

The initial approach is crucial because customers only convert when they feel understood and engaged. That's why it's so valuable to know as much as possible about a lead.

If, for example, the salesperson knows the individual requirements and needs of a potential customer, they can address them much more personally and effectively help them with their problem.

Lead generation in B2B

In the B2B business, it can take quite a while for customers to make a purchase decision. One reason for this is that the products are often complex, require explanation, and are high-priced, making consultation with a sales representative essential.

Lead data is therefore valuable for accompanying prospects throughout the entire purchase decision process and ultimately converting them into customers. As new customers mean more revenue and growth for the company.

Methods for lead generation

To attract prospects, it is important to understand your target audience and their problems. This creates a solid foundation for planning and creating content that helps customers at every stage of their purchase decision.

Potential customers can be reached through both inbound and outbound marketing campaigns. Here is a list of various lead generation ideas:

  • Content Creation (e.g., whitepapers, case studies, e-books)
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Google Ads landing pages
  • Blogging
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Email Marketing
  • Events and Trade Shows
  • Webinars

By providing high-quality content, you establish yourself as an industry expert and at the same time build trust with potential customers.

With Guided Selling to qualified leads

B2B solutions are typically so complex that not all application and configuration options can be represented on the website. Additionally, customers require consultation to make an informed purchase decision.

Here's where Guided Selling comes into play: The digital Advisor accompanies customers on their journey and finds an individual solution tailored to their needs.

Converting prospects into leads

But how exactly does Guided Selling generate qualified leads? Firstly, the digital Advisor asks questions to determine the customer's use case. Then, the customer receives a product recommendation that ideally matches their needs. Thanks to the expert guidance, the customer feels understood and can now submit an inquiry via form within the recommendation. This inquiry, along with the recommendation, is then routed to the CRM and subsequently to the sales team.
As a result, the sales team learns which solution the potential customer is interested in and can tailor the initial approach to their individual needs. But what exactly does this achieve? By addressing customers as specifically as possible, they feel understood and well taken care of, which in turn increases their willingness to buy and accelerates purchasing decisions.

Lead scoring for optimized sales processes

Another advantage of Guided Selling, in addition to lead generation, is prequalification. For instance, when a customer fills out an inquiry form for a custom-configured solution, it becomes easier to assess the revenue potential. Based on this, the sales team can prioritize leads and know whom to focus on most.

Comparison of Guided Selling applications

There are various Guided Selling applications, each offering different benefits. Which variant is best suited for your company can be determined based on your product range.

Example: Product Finder

Product Finder: If a company offers a large number of different solutions and additional services, a classic Product Finder is ideal to generate the right recommendation for each customer.

For example, Jungheinrich, as a leading provider of intralogistic solutions, uses digital Product Finders to assist customers in choosing the right forklift and complementary services.

Jungheinrich's forklift Advisor guides to the perfect recommendation in just a few clicks.

Example: Product Configurator

Product Configurator: To showcase complex and customizable solutions, configurators are the better choice. This could, for example, involve complex industrial solutions that are assembled individually based on their intended use.

The Kalt Maschinenbau AG, a manufacturer of industrial machinery, utilizes a configurator that allows the configuration of complex factory solutions composed of multiple machines and equipment for cheese production.

Based on individual production processes, Kalt's configurator assembles a complex set of machines.

Conclusion

In summary, Guided Selling proves to be an optimal support in B2B sales, as it engages potential customers on their individual customer journey and prepares them for the sales process.

Additionally, customers feel understood and well taken care of, which is particularly crucial in B2B for establishing a trustworthy business relationship.

Get in touch now

You want to learn more about how you can support your sales team with Guided Selling? Then get in touch with us, we're happy to advise you!