Unfortunately there is always a chance for this if you rely on 3rd party services. One day you can find yourself in the deep water without a swimbelt. Now let’s see what are the chances to stay on the surface when this happens!

What happened to Google Analytics?

As most likely you’re already aware, the network location and network domain dimensions are no longer available in Google Analytics, taking effect on 4th February 2020.

You can see it for yourself: look up technology/network in GA after the above mentioned date, the only value you’ll find is “not set”, which is not much of a clue for AI data prediction tools, such as Leadberry.

So the way we identified leads for you until now is gone. This is not just a temporary data outage, it’s gone for good.

There was always a slight chance this would happen – there was word about it here and there. It was always like a Sword of Damocles: whenever the main source of data decides to change the way to go, we’ll have to take a new direction too.

What will happen to Leadberry?

We knew that once we can’t rely on GA, the only way to go is to set up Leadberry’s very own tracking code that can obtain the visitor data that is now missing from GA.

So we did.

From now on, Leadberry can only identify companies visiting your website if you install the custom tracking code provided by us. You can see how to do it here.

We’ll still retrieve the rest of the visitor metrics from Google Analytics. So time on site, pages visited, source of visit, etc. will keep coming from there. That means you’ll have to connect your sites to GA plus copy-paste the tracking code too to your site(s), but this is just one more step than it was.

What is the downside of this?

First of all, we know that connecting with Analytics by 2 clicks was much more convenient than dealing with the tracking code. So this may be a disadvantage.

But here is the thing: there won’t be any other way to collect anonymous visitor information from now on, only custom snippets. So to say so, this is the only way now. No more 2 click lead generation installation.

What is the upside of this?

A custom tracking code allows a more accurate visitor identification. This is because with that we can track the actual IP address of the visiting company (GA stopped providing IPs long ago – this is why we used network locations). It also leads not just to more captured companies, but to more accurate visitor data as well.

Back then we decided to go for a Google Analytics based service because getting started with the tool indeed took just a few clicks. Moreover, many companies are not really willing to place an extra tracking script to their sites, and we didn’t want to lose them either. Well, the decision is not up to our clients or up to us now. This way or no way.

What’s next?

If you’d like to start (or continue) using Leadberry, you’ll have to install the tracking code, as mentioned above.

Many lead gen tools used this or a hybrid solution already, so there is nothing new under the sun after all.

B2B lead generation and anonymous visitor identification tools have the option to start using their own tracking codes or vanish. We aim to head for the first direction

With this Leadberry is not only a visitor identification tool from now, but a proper gold mine of sales data, at your service.

What is this exactly?

Similar Leads is a brand new way to enrich your sales data with Leadberry.

Besides your webleads, we can search for alike companies in global business databases and list them for you based on the criteria you set. You can apply company Industry and Location filters in Similar Leads, so you can focus on the prospects that matter to you the most.

So besides hot web leads you can search for similar companies with Leadberry, which is an unmatched opportunity to give a boost to your sales efforts!

What data do you have on Similar Leads?

Well this is easy to tell: we can tell you all the data about similar companies as we tell about your “regular” web leads.

That’s right, all the company info, people data, LinkedIn connections are coming with Similar Leads too.

How much is it?

We’re coming to a good part now: there is no extra costs at all to access Similar Leads! All our current packages include the new feature. However, different packages show you a different number of Similar Leads monthly, you can check out the details on our pricing table.

We’re eager to learn about your experiences with the new feature. So if you had the chance to play around a bit with it, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line or comment and share your story!

Unfortunately the person who you are trying to meet typically won’t respond. However, his boss will. The boss will usually delegate down and write something like:
“Thanks for reaching out. Sounds interesting. Jeff Smith is the right guy to talk to.”
Or “Talk to Jeff.”

This is everything you need. It means you got connected from above. The person you want to talk to can’t simply ignore you.

What to do next? 2 things you want to do:

1) Send a short thank-you note

2) Setup an appointment

Write a thank-you note

Email the referrer a thank you email. You want to open up dialogue in case you need their help in the future. (Three sentences max)

• Thank them for the referral
• Tell them after your meeting you will report back
• Report back after the meeting

Schedule your meeting

• Email the target to schedule your meeting
• Forward the referral email
• Change the Subject from forward to reply: “Fwd: Appropriate person” to Re: Appropriate person” because Fwd has lower response rates
• Write: “Jeff, (insert referral name) thought it would make sense for us to talk. If so, let me know how your calendar looks.” (Include your signature). Trust me. Don’t write anything else – this is all you need. Jeff has to take the meeting because his boss asked him to.
• Schedule the meeting. Use Calendly, cut the back-and-forth emailing to zero. Asking “when is it suitable for you” without a calendar invitation is lame and your meeting will never happen.

What if you don’t get any response?

• Use sequences instead of just one-off email. More than 50% of the meetings happen after the 2nd email.
• Connect on other platforms: LinkedIn or Twitter.
• Send a video message. Usually decision-makers are extremely busy. Try Bonjoro or Useloom.
• Find common connection and get introduced. Leadberry has a social box designed to show common connections without wasting your time on research.
• Go offline. Seriously, send them something using good-old mail. This move will really differentiate you.

How many emails do you get daily? A few dozen? Maybe more like a few hundred, right? Well, imagine that the email you just sent to your dream customer is email number 96 in the inbox of your potential client that day and s/he has absolutely no clue why she is receiving it. This is where it becomes important for you – the sender – to be aware about getting attention and action from that potential customer that will get the ball running, and your business relationship off the ground. So, what do you need to pay attention to?

1) Subject (line) + personalization: create a subject line that is already enticing and describes in a few words the benefits of opening that email. People get so many rubbish subject emails that they have no intention, nor reason to open them, that you simply cannot allow yourself the luxury of sending another one of these to your potential clients. What will I find in your email that makes it worth for me to open? How will I benefit? Regarding personalization, with today’s automation technology and email database availability, it’s a matter of software tool selection to be able to include the potential customer’s first name in your email – so no big deal on your side, however a big deal on the customer’s side. Trust me, people love to hear their own names, so offer this pleasure free of charge!

2) Connect with the subject: you surely know what referrals mean, right? Well so do your potential customers. Make sure to include a short sentence on how you found them. Did they come searching for something on your website (Leadberry’s B2B sales automation tool allows you to identify companies who have visited your site, so that is one easy way to do it.) Did someone recommend this person to you? Mention this to your customer, as we all connect much easier though positive feelings and emotions (which sound credible and authentic), especially when the connecting link is something positive to think about.

3) “What’s in it for me?” If you did your homework during the Value Proposition Design phase, you know exactly what’s in it for the customer, and what would they like to get sorted, out of the way, to get on with their lives in a meaningful way. Tell them how your product or service is going to help them! They don’t care about you, they care about themselves and the benefits your product or service offers them. Keep this in mind.

4) Call to Action and minimal commitment required: this point is about getting them to do something you want, in order to approach a business transaction between you two. ‘Do you want to double your leads? Click here, and we will send you a free How to Guide!’ is a simple example on getting them to do something that is beneficial for them and requires minimal commitment. You want to get their curiosity at this point, and refrain from selling anything. Focus on earning their trust and building your credibility. This will pay off in the long run, for sure.

With today’s software and technology, it’s much easier to start off with a warm lead, instead of just a cold one. So, get those emails written and start attracting customers!

Most businesses tick the box of customer segmentation by saying ’our customer is typically (age) old, lives in (place of residence) and is (marital status)’. Perhaps a few ’insights’ on what they think or feel at times of wanting your highly valued product or service. Sound familiar? Well, these same businesses often go out of business or stagnate exactly because of this dead-end profiling.

The solution? Don’t start with your product or service (again) but go out of the building and talk to potential customers to identify jobs. What do they want to get done that if they can’t/don’t, it will have a painfully negative consequence for them? Or a missed opportunity they could benefit from? List these and prioritize your post-its. Customers not only want functional jobs satisfied (mow the lawn), but also social ones (have a party in a garden that impresses guests) and emotional ones (feel good as the envied and cool host with a nice house and garden). Say we want to help business owners grow their business by innovating their business models. Our customers’ main jobs to get done would be to find, learn and apply methods; make decisions with confidence; assess and reduce risk; improve or build a business; improve skillsets and advance their career, etc.;

Next: identify their pains and gains. Such pains could be lack of time; dealing with risk and uncertainty; going down the wrong path; wasting time with ideas that don’t work; or not having a clear path to applying method. Their expected gains could be: leads to results, quick win; clear indicators to measure progress; can apply with confidence; connect with like-minded people; leads to better collaboration; concrete tips (e.g. to reduce risk) and applicable ideas.

Now comes the fun part! Take a look at your value proposition box (see below square) and see how you create gains that address customers’ expected or desired gains; and how your painkillers address customers’ pains; You won’t be able to address all gains and pains with your gain creators and pain relievers – but don’t worry, customers don’t expect you to do that anyway. Focus on the most important ones. Keeping the above business consulting example, I could help my customers shape ideas, create products and services people want, provide a proven and effective suite of business tools, offer a common/shared language to communicate and collaborate with your team, help you understand what matters to customers and provide step-by- step instructions to get started. Those are the gains, while addressed pains could include a practical, visual and enjoyable format, minimizing risk of (big failure) and offering a brief, clear and applicable content.

Image idea copyright of Strategyzer AG, Alexander Osterwalder

Action to take: draw up your customer profile circle and value proposition square the way illustrated below and described above. 

Image source

Successful businesses view themselves through the eyes of their target groups.  There is always a key message, which needs to get across to the particular audience.  There is always a well defined audience that demands our products or services, and they choose us, instead of the competitors, because we add value on X, Y and Z points in their lives.

Demographics are nice to have (OK, often compulsory), but in many cases, they are still not adequately detailed to understand how our target audience lives.  A handy way to get into their shoes is by utilizing the Customer Avatar method that, in essence makes you think of your customer group as a single person. 

The first block of the Customer Avatar is the profile of that person. How does her life look like? How many kids does she have? Are they in school? Is she divorced? Does she work full time? What are her hobbies? Why does she choose those particular hobbies? What about her friends? 

The second block of the Avatar is her problems: what is her life’s pain (OK, not in a deep Freudian sofa type of analytical way, but currently something(s) she wishes would go away)?  What does she hate in her everydays? What takes up most of her time? Why does she have to choose certain things over others? 

The third block of the Avatar will be your customer’s needs and desires.  These come partially from her problems in Block 2, but also partially from some things she really would like to have (and is not connected to her problem).  You want to influence her feelings instead of her rational mind.  If you can evoke feelings, people will resonate.

The fourth and final part is the part you have been waiting for so long (drums): your product or service!  Yes, your offer comes last, not first!   Highlight some tangible characteristics from your product or service that are really added value for your customer.  This will make the difference in your customer’s life and in your direct-response ad copy.

We will close this post by highlighting some of the most common marketing mistakes/myths people make. 

Myth: Everyone needs me (my product or service). 

Reality: a specific niche segment will need you, and if you keep shooting at everyone, you will throw out a lot of valuable marketing budget.

Myth: My potential clients know what I do. 

Reality: you need to tell them why they are so bloody lucky to have you around. 

Myth: Everyone thinks about the world the same way I do. 

Reality: think about the world as your customers do, and business will boom sooner than later.

…and finally, here’s 12 questions to get your mind going about your avatar (compiled by Bill Pescosolido)

• Where does my avatar hang out?
• What websites do they go to?
• What do they read?
• What do they watch on tv?
• What do they do in their free time?
• What are their goals?
• Who are their heroes?
• Who are their enemies?
• Who do the want to please?
• Who are they responsible for?
• Who might they let down or fail?
• What keeps them up at night?

Get cracking with that customer avatar! 

And don’t forget! Once you identified you customer avatar it’ll be easier to attract them with your services. With the help of Leadberry, you can easily follow up on you B2B customers!

Why?

We always aimed to bring you only the best quality leads. We not only struggle to filter out obvious ISPs but actually all low quality hits, so you don’t have to filter through some data that you don’t need but you can focus on your best results at once.

We designed Leadberry this way for 2 reasons:

1 – Increasing usability

2 – As some of you surely know we used to have a monthly credit based model, so what we wanted to do is NOT burning up your money for useless leads. At the end of the day, we wanted Leadberry to win the “best value for money in the B2B lead gen universe” prize.

Since we switched to UNLIMTIED lead packages recently, we figured to upgrade our main filtering algorithm and let you be the judge of the amount and quality of the leads you’d like to see on your dashboard, as you don’t have to be afraid anymore about running out of monthly credits. And now you can see the result of this effort

So how does this work exactly?

There is a new section on your settings page under the filtering tab. You can find a little slide over there that lets you control the filtering sensitivity of the tool. You can adjust this to set the filtering strict / turned off completely. Important note: setting this filter to a lower sensitivity will most likely result in a much higher number of leads on your dashboard, but this will also mean that leads with lower quality scores will also show. You can adjust this filter any time, so you can play around with it as you like it!

From now on, a lead score will also appeared next to your leads making it fast and painless to tell whether a lead holds strong potential, or not.

Pro Tip: use our Zapier integration with your CRM and the new filtering update together to supercharge your lead gen game!

Now we move forward with the 14 + 1 Must-have Components To Get Cold Leads To Say “YES”. Read on!

1 – Write like you talk, as you’d speak to a friend. Don’t use office voice.

2 – Read out loud. When you finish your email, read out loud and make sure it’s flawless and you don’t sound like a robot.

3 – Followup. More than 50% of new business comes from the 2nd email.

4 – Get to the point and be transparent. Don’t use cheesy, tricky or shady subject lines. Be transparent, everyone appreciates it.

5 – Keep it as short and concise as you can. People are extremely overwhelmed. Expect 2-3 seconds attention span, like a fish.

6 – Personalize. Use the first name, that’s the minimum. Go a few steps further. Do your homework before reaching out. People sense the difference between a cold email and they love when you at least did your homework.

7 – Instead of reaching out completely cold, find a trigger. Why it’s important and why right now?

8 – Instead of reaching out completely cold, reach out for those who already show some interest. For example they visited your website? You can get their contact info easily even if they haven’t signed up to your email list.

9 – Don’t use images. Images makes email stuck at the SPAM filter. Many companies filter out emails with images by default.

10 – Write and email about them and never about you. This is the most common mistake we see: “Hello, I’m XY form Z company” or “we do XY”. Who cares? Everyone has their own problem. Put yourself into their shoes and write only about them. “I read your last article and seems your main focus is getting more leads. Do you need any help in that?”

11 – Don’t use the “office voice”, it’s boring. Even if you’re in a serious industry, other humans are sitting on the other side.
Create a Call-to-action with the smallest step possible. Never expect a commitment, just an easy-to-say-YES, for example “Yes, send me more ideas”

12 – Close with an easy-to-answer question. “Would it be OK if I’d send you a few examples?”

13 – Use signature. Never use anything like “XY Company” or “XY team”. Always be personal.

14 – Be aware of SPAM laws. Use full name, full company name, physical address, opt-out option for example “if you’re not the appropriate person, please let me know”.

+1 –  Use the PS section. Have you known that everyone reads it? Even those who are just scrolling emails on a mobile phone? After the Subject Line this is the 2nd most important section in your email.

Is there anything you’d like to add? Let us know!

The eBook continues, stay tuned!

Now we continue with the 10+1 core components of effective emails! Read on!

1. Subject line

The subject line – as you may already know – is the most important part of your emails. Your open rate may depend on it!

“Appropriate person” as a subject line is tested and proven.

Other option: “Hi [First name ], I’d like to help you with [result]

This is the most important element of a cold email. Never try to sell with the subject line. Your first aim is to setup a meeting. Be transparent.

2.First sentence

“I am writing in hopes of talking to the appropriate person who handles (role)

Be vague. Let them define it. “Who handles marketing” works better than “social media management” because you don’t know who exactly you’ll be referred to.

3.Second sentence

“In that pursuit, I also wrote to [your boss], [your boss’s boss].”

Don’t get stuck with doorkeepers. Remember: Bosses delegate — Employees cover their ass. Use this to your advantage. Many times prospects take your meeting because of the leverage you create in this sentence.

It means your message will be carried by someone within the company. It means much higher response rates for you. Pretty neat, eh?

(Credit: This is the genius idea invented by Bryan Kreuzberg from Breakthroughemail)

Important: never CC anyone. And never try to reach out to the entire company.

“immediate no thanks.” – kind of response is what you get when you pitch a whole company.

4. Third sentence: First Call-to-action

“If it makes sense to talk, how does your calendar look?”

Don’t use “meeting” and “schedule”, be as informal as you can. “Chat” also works.

5. Pitch and Positioning

[our company] helps [SaaS] companies doing [lead generation]. We do this by [turning anonymous website visitors into sales leads].

Answer this question: What’s in it for me?

It should be 1 or 2 sentences. Sell the meeting only, don’t try to close the whole deal in the first email.

6. What’s in it for me?

It means [more & better quality leads from the same budget] to you.

Answer this question: What’s the solution you offer (your elevator pitch)

7. Why does it matter

The benefit for clients is [these leads already show some intent or interest and you don’t need to waste time with manual data cleaning and enrichment or manual data entry to your CRM].

Answer this: What does it mean to me? To my company and me personally?

8. Get creditabilty

“Some clients including…”

Provide credibility. If you don’t have past clients, mention relevant accomplishments. If you’re confused, just skip it.

9. Final Call-to-action

“If it makes sense to talk, how does your calendar look like?”

Repeat Call-to-action. People are distracted. Especially in front of a computer.

10. Last sentence

“If it’s not you, who is the appropriate person to speak with?”

This sentence does 3 things. It gives the reader the opportunity to delegate immediately. You’re providing them an easy way out. You are also being consistent with your subject line, “Appropriate person”. Being authentic and transparent from the very beginning is the key. You can lose big clients with just 1 wrong email.

+1. Opt out and anti-SPAM

These are required by SPAM-CAM law and also gives an easy opportunity to contact you.

• Full Name
• Title
• Company name
• Phone number
• Physical address

To be continued…

Method overview

Credit

We’ve learnt this genius idea from Bryan Kreuzberger at Breakthroughemail. Send 3 emails to 3 different people in a company. For each people mention 2 other colleagues you sent your email to. Target multiple levels of decision-makers in the same company: C-level executives, managers and executives. This way you have a great chance that they mention you in front of the others and you get a positive response.

And here they come, the 3 email templates that can actually get your foot inside those doors. 

EMAIL 1

Hey [firstname],

I am writing in hopes of finding the appropriate person who handles customer experience. I also wrote to [colleague 1] and [colleague 2] in that pursuit. If it makes sense to talk, let me know how your calendar looks!

[our company] helps [SaaS] companies doing [lead generation]. We do this by [turning anonymous website visitors into sales leads].

It means [more and better quality leads from the same inbound marketing budget] to you.

The benefit for clients is [these leads already show some intent or interest in your product or service. You don’t need to waste time with manual data cleaning or manual data entry to your CRM].

Some of our clients include [Money.net, PrimeRate, JLL, Dressa and Rising Stack].

If you are the appropriate person to discuss this, when would you be available for a quick introduction call? If not, who would you recommend me to talk to?

Bests,

Full Name

Title

Company name

Phone number

Physical address

EMAIL 2

Hey [firstname],

Did you read my note from last week about [our company] and our tool that [do or benefit for you].

SaaS companies usually use inbound marketing only, like SEO or paid ads. With Leadberry, our clients are able to deliver B2B leads right into their pipeline. This way they can reach those busy decision makers who never signed up to email lists and get a positive reply.

If you are the appropriate person to discuss this with, when would you be available for a quick introduction call? If not, who would you recommend me to talk to?

All the best,

Full Name

Title

Company name

Phone number

Physical address

EMAIL 3

[firstname],

I reached out previously regarding lead generation and haven’t heard back from yet.

This tells me a few things:

• You’re being chased by a T-rex and haven’t had time to respond.
• You’re interested but haven’t had time to respond.
• You aren’t interested.

Whichever one it is, please let me know I’m getting worried!

Thank you!

Full Name

Title

Company name

Phone number

Physical address

Probably you heard of the “break up email”. The “break up email” got over-used in so many industries that people just ignores it. The “T-Rex email” performs better. Use this T-Rex email instead of the usual “break up email” to close the sequence. Usually people replies because of the urgency and the little humor takes away the edge of the urgency.