Lead with empathy—but make sure it’s genuine

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So how is this parable relevant to lead generation and surviving a crisis?

For a lot of B2B companies, revenue is plunging right now.

Small businesses are either struggling financially or preserving cash until the crisis is over. This means fewer leads are coming through the door. Of the leads that are acquired, many of them have less budget to spend.

The result is a new sales landscape that is objectively more difficult than before.

In order for B2B companies to adapt, survive, and succeed in it, marketing and sales teams must take a page out of the zen playbook: To support themselves, they should first strengthen the team seated across them at the table.

Ahead, I’ll break down how marketing and sales teams can align unique insights, skills, and resources to generate leads and survive a crisis.

“Show empathy.”

The well-intended advice is becoming an ethereal kuwait mobile numbers platitude in modern business, parroted by marketing and sales teams everywhere.

Unfortunately, it’s also damaging the reputation of brands that broadcast “fake empathy.”

The viral video “Every Covid-19 Commercial is Exactly the Same” is a montage of big brands whose “empathy marketing” has backfired.

(They’ve even used the same somber background music!)

Instead of resonating with customers, aloof, artificial-looking empathy has triggered an uproar of comical aversion.

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To avoid fake empathy and actually connect with leads, here are some practical ways for sales and marketing teams to help each other step into a buyer’s shoes:

Marketing: Create a report for sales reps that breaks down your buyer’s emerging problems and priorities. Depending on your resources, this can start with Google searching “How [Prospects Job Title] are being affected by COVID-19” or, it could involve a detailed survey.
Sales: Interview current customers and prospects on how they’re responding to the changes in front of them. Then, pass this data on to marketing so they can create relevant content and accurate ads.
Sales: Discuss recent CRM data from high-value accounts. Is one persona more active than another? Is a select product or service skyrocketing in demand? Your CRM data contains key information that marketers can use to fine-tune messaging and tweak strategies.