Technology and data are changing the sales game. Now, you can easily find out which contacts in your database are engaged and what web pages they're reading. This information is a game-changer for helping salespeople frame sales conversations that get results. You can also get a list of prospective companies that are looking at your website.
Coming from an old-school sales background, having access to all of this information still boggles my mind. It's pretty cool! Read more to find out how to identify warm prospects buzzing around your website.
How Websites Track Prospects
Prospect tracking relies heavily on collecting cookies or bits of data about a site's visitors. The cookies can contain information such as:
- Domain
- Initial timestamp (first visit)
- Last timestamp (last visit)
- Session number (how many times they've been on the site)
The cookies don't collect personal information such as names or email addresses, but they can identify which company a website visitor is from if they're browsing from their company domain.
Here's how websites know who's interacting with you online:
Current contact list: Active contacts in your database get assigned a unique cookie identifier, which allows you to track their movement on your domain. This way, you can determine which prospects in your current funnel are more engaged than others and what information they're interested in.
Visits from particular domains: As mentioned above, cookies can collect domain information. Therefore, if a person is browsing your website from their place of business, you can at least find out what the company's name is. A salesperson will have to search for target contacts at the company, but it's warmer than calling cold. At least you know there's interest there - from someone!
Warning: People can turn off their cookies, so the information is only available if people allow it.
3 Data Points That Indicate a Warm Prospect
It's all about the data and your ability to capture and extract meaning. Here are three data points that indicate a prospect is moving forward in the sales cycle.
1. Website Form Conversions
This is the most obvious: if someone fills out a form on your site, they are engaging and interested at some level. The more web pages with forms (a.k.a landing pages) you have on the website, the better. According to HubSpot, "Business websites with 10-15 landing pages tend to increase conversions by 55% over business websites with less than 10 landing pages."
That doesn't mean putting a contact form on every page. Increasing landing pages means having more offerings - ebooks, webinars, kits, worksheets, etc. - that are high-value and attractive to your target audience. Different landing pages indicate different levels of interest. For example, a demo or consultation form submission suggests a higher level of sales readiness than a how-to guide form submission.
When a website visitor fills out a form, the sales team gets a notification, and there you have it: a warm prospect.
2. Page Views
If a prospect is checking out your web pages, they are interested in you for a reason! The more pages they visit, the more interested they are.
With the proper setup, you can get real-time alerts when a contact in your database is on your website. Their contact record stores the information, so you can see all the pages that have been visited over time. You can also get a list of companies that have visited your site, which pages they've been on and how many times.
3. Email Opens & Clicks
Whether you send email from your private or corporate server, you can see who is engaging or unsubscribing. If someone is opening and reading the majority of the email you send, that's a clear sign of interest. Couple that information with the exact pages on your website they've visited, and you can frame a conversation that is sure to secure an appointment.
Warning: Email inbox providers like Apple, Gmail, and Outlook have different settings and email validation rules. Apple, for example, automatically opens every email, so the open rate is not a valid data point. Email inbox providers can also do things like click every link to ensure it's safe before sending it on to its intended recipient, so clicks can also be misleading. Use opens and clicks as a gauge, not an exact number.
Data is Dramatically Changing Sales Conversations
Knowing what web pages and emails a prospect has been reading and how frequently can give the salesperson key information to help them structure sales messaging that piques interest and gets a response. This data helps target the sales conversation so salespeople can provide the right information at the right time to keep prospects moving along the buyer journey.
(If you're interested in learning more about the technology with this functionality, call us.)
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