Anna Myzerniuk joined Belkins almost 1.5 years ago as an SDR. Now, in the position of account manager, she can boast about more than 20 projects in her portfolio, which has given her deep expertise in various industries and growing markets. How does Anna use this knowledge? She actively participates in numerous projects and applies the most advanced sales practices she has mastered.
“I’ve always tried to find a perfect work/life balance, but it turned out that the best way for me is to stop dividing work and leisure. Thanks to Belkins and its flexible working schedule, I can mix my daily routine and personal stuff with work. I guess this is my secret to success – working on a project anytime”.
Brief Overview
Belkins’s AM Anna Myzerniuk recalls one of the fascinating projects in her career. The task of Anna and her team was to provide the appointment setting for a toy manufacturer that planned to enter European and North American markets. The traction of the outreach campaign was so high that it almost paralyzed our SDR department. How did Anna cope with it? Read ahead!
Project
-
What was the project you were working on?
I led the project for the Ukrainian producer of wooden toys, Cubika. They design and manufacture toys for toddlers and preschoolers. Cubika positions its goods as eco-friendly, using only natural and organic materials both for toys and packaging.
-
What was the biggest challenge?
Cubika pursued a goal to scale its business internationally and launch the brand in the US and European markets with the help of distributors. The targeted markets were completely unknown to our client, and so were the general marketing communication rules. That’s when they addressed us.
I can’t remember any issues with prospecting and getting in front of the right decision-makers. What then caused the main challenge? Believe it or not, it was actually caused by a surplus of performance from our outreach campaigns. The average open rate was about 41%, while the reply rate was 20%! And more than 20% of marketing qualified leads (MQLs) were interested in receiving samples and scheduling the meeting. The average thread length was about 5-6 messages, which meant a very active conversation with the prospects before the call.
-
What solutions helped you to overcome it?
Such a number of highly interested prospects required additional efforts and quicker communication with the client to fulfill their demand. I had to keep every detail under control. So I created additional spreadsheets that included information about MQLs, sent samples, delivery details, and all email conversations that needed tailored replies. It helped us to keep it all at hand. The client and I transferred almost all communication there and agreed to check this document at least twice a day to catch up on all updates.
-
Can you explain the technical aspects in detail?
Don’t get us wrong: when the campaign exceeds your and your partner’s expectations, it signals nothing but good news, hard work, and exceptional expertise. But the biggest struggle in overperformance is that you must remember to follow up with all strongly or tentatively interested prospects. With such a high reply rate, it’s quite easy to miss something. We usually use Streak CRM to track emails in clients’ inboxes and then create follow-up tasks. But with long personalized conversations with prospects, it’s better to keep them all separately on a spreadsheet where you can find all the additional info you need.
Here is an example of how we showed additional info to the client about the targeted markets:
-
What knowledge helped you in resolving the issue?
In this project, I found my skills to structure and prioritize information very useful. And to do this correctly, you definitely need to develop your perseverance and have an eye for detail.
-
What would you recommend to users facing similar issues?
Use the best tracking instruments and practices to avoid missing any opportunities. Any misstep might affect your sales and the client’s general reputation. Imagine if you miss a single positive reply! Every email exchange brings valuable experience and the hope for a big transaction! All emails should be responded to, even if they are not positive.
-
Choose a metaphor to describe the project in one sentence.
Without suggesting any negative context, I would say:
Controlling the chaos.
