A Lead Generation Journey: Landing IBM as a Client
Having been in the lead generation business for 35 years, I have a lot of stories to tell.
One particularly memorable tale is when we approached IBM.
It was an account I really wanted.
Why?
Because they have a broad product and service offering, offering lots of things to tell to many people.
Moreover, they have a large field sales team and a significant sales force utilizing their business partner relationships.
I knew our Lead Generation MODEL would be PERFECT for them.
However, it took 2 years of mailing them and calling them. Not just regular mail. We utilized 3D Disruptive Direct Mail.
Additionally, we didn’t just make follow-up calls; we made timely follow-up calls, always gathering an additional Decision Maker Name and Title along the way.
Finally, the agent who was working on this account got them to agree to a meeting.
When I arrived at their office, there was a team of 8 marketing executives who promptly said: “Thank you for coming to visit us. We LOVE what you do. But we can’t hire you.”
Curious, I asked, “Why?”
They responded, “Because we have our own internal telemarketing department, and it is impossible to get anyone new on our procurement list.”
I pondered their response.
Then, I inquired, “What are your lead generation efforts for the next quarter?”
They proceeded to show me a very expensive die-cut print box with a pull-out multi-page brochure and a CD. The plan was to send it to 5,000 prospective customers across the country. The cost? About $29.95 per unit before postage, and this was in 2003.
Intrigued, I further questioned their strategy.
They replied, “Oh, see that room of people? Those are our telemarketers who will accept the call and pass the lead out to the field.”
Considering their approach, I boldly asked, “What if you do 5,000 your way and let us do 500 our way? If we can’t get you an 8% response rate, you don’t have to pay us a dime. But if we do achieve an 8% response rate, you have to pay us and put us on your procurement list.”
Eyebrows went up all around the table.
The program was launched.
However, they only got a 0.003% response rate.
In contrast, we achieved a 27% response rate.
Consequently, we’ve been on the procurement list for more than 20 years now. Moreover, we speak IT so well that many other OEMs came to the party like HP, Cisco, Microsoft, Dell, VMware, and more.
Curious to learn more about our success story? Give us a call! It’s a great story!
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