Challenges

1. Need for consistent lead acquisition. Though Driveline had a solid client database, they wanted to orchestrate sales efforts and ensure a predictable and regular flow of leads every month. Also, they longed to expand the geography through retailers with 250+ locations US-wide.
2. Limited capacity for conducting outreach. The company was struggling to connect with customers, as they only had 2 employees working on their business development strategy. With a strap for time, they didn’t have a ton of experience with cold outbound either.

Belkins generated almost 20,000 leads from retailers and brands with 250+ locations all over the U.S.

Solutions

1. Defining precise targeting. To achieve the best results, while delivering a personalized offer, we split their ICPs into 2 segments — retailers and brands. We then drilled down even more, dividing each of the segments into Previous and New clients and sending them customized messages.
2. Testing and tailoring approach. To make sure we get the most out of our campaigns, we’ve monitored open and reply rates. Also, to get to the right person, we’ve tested different messages for different titles and departments, including merchandising, marketing, store development, procurement, sales, and so on.

Results

• In 13 months, we’ve managed to schedule 93 meetings.
• The outreach campaign, focused on past clients, brought more than 60% open rate, >10% reply rate, and multiple calls booked.
• To refine messaging for ICPs, we’ve tested 17 different approaches.
• We’ve generated leads from retailers and brands with 250+ locations all over the U.S.
• Thanks to targeting new clients per title, the email open rate went over 50%, with the reply rate around 9%.
• The activities, launched by the Belkins team, helped close a $1.5M deal and secured several more contracts with expected revenue of $3M.

140+ B2B companies have already shared their experience of cooperation with Belkins and left 5-star reviews on Clutch, the most reputable ratings and reviews platform for B2B service providers.

Challenges Belkins Encountered

1. Client’s availability. As we’ve already mentioned, there are just 2 people on the client’s biz dev team. We had to adjust and generate 2–3 campaigns in advance, test them for a month or so, and then discuss the results with the client. Luckily, we earned the client’s trust and received the green light to test different approaches. Thus, our key takeaway here is planning, analyzing results, and tailoring campaigns on the fly.
2. Getting to the right person in 10k+ retail companies. When looking for leads in large retail chains, we had to experiment with targeting to reach out to the actual decision-maker. We tested lots of different titles and departments, including merchandising, marketing, store development, procurement, operations, sales, facilities, etc. With each iteration, we narrowed the scope and made messaging more precise. Finally, our efforts paid off, resulting in a more than 50% open rate for new customers.