Want to Make a Lasting Impression with Your Prospects? Read This.

By Mary Matton on September 11, 2019

We’ve been writing a lot lately about humanizing B2B sales and marketing, and about taking a real approach to connecting with prospects and building relationships with customers.

We’ve talked about the importance of relatability, where you’re finding common ground with your buyers and engaging on a personal level. We’ve emphasized empathy, where you’re putting yourself in your buyer’s shoes so that you can connect on what really matters to them. And we’ve highlighted authenticity, where you’re interacting and communicating with your buyers in a way that is genuine and thoughtful so that they know they can trust you when you say you care.

Now, we’re bringing it all together with the final concept in our REAL Approach to humanizing sales and marketing: finding creative and meaningful ways to make a lasting impression with prospects.

Let’s be honest: no one, especially a salesperson or marketing professional trying to support business growth, wants to be forgettable. The problem is, B2B buyers (and people in general) are bombarded with so many grabs for their attention that they’re more likely than ever to tune out anything that isn’t a truly standout communication or experience. This is probably why “memorability” is one of the top B2B sales and marketing words of 2019 that my colleague Nina recently wrote about. Basically, if you can’t cut through the clutter, people won’t remember you or your brand.

But, how?

What do lasting impressions look like in B2B sales and marketing?

Creating a lasting impression is, in many ways, a culmination of relatability, empathy and authenticity – with a healthy dose of creativity thrown in. People who make lasting impressions do the unexpected, think outside the box, and go above and beyond for the other person.

Our head of marketing Daniel Rodriguez recently shared a great story on the MarTech Podcast about how a salesperson he knows went the extra mile to make a lasting impression. As he tells it, one of Daniel’s former colleagues found out that a prospect’s wife was a children’s book author. Daniel’s colleague bought the book and hosted a little story time with members of the sales team, then sent some fun photos along with his next message to the prospect. Needless to say, that creative, unexpected message made a positive lasting impression!

And honestly, this is exactly what Alyce is built to support for our own clients. By enabling B2B sales and marketing pros to understand their prospects and customers better and making it scalable to send thoughtful, picked-just-for-them gifts, we’re in the business of turning pivotable moments into lasting impressions.

What happens when you’re leaving a lasting impression?

When you decide to get creative and say no to formulaic outreach, you can surprise and delight your buyers on an individual level and stand out from the crowd. When you leave a lasting impression with your buyers, you guessed it – they’re more likely to engage with you and to do business with you. And that’s a REAL win.

Now, here’s your REAL challenge: How can you use relatability, empathy, authenticity and creativity to make a LASTING impression on prospects this week?  Share your ideas in the comments!