Menu LET’S DO SOMETHING AMAZING. Gilroy is a leading enterprise B2B agency, and the brains behind SMART ABX ™ With a heritage spanning over 40 years, we work directly or in partnership with many of the world’s leading brands. READ MORE WHAT WE DO DATA INSIGHTS AND SALES INTELLIGENCE PROPOSITIONS AND MESSAGING DIGITAL MEDIA CONTENT STRATEGY SMART ABX CUSTOMER ADVOCACY AND GROWTH OUR WORK WHAT WE THINK Hold the phone Are you making the right calls on B2B lead-gen? We’re all looking for the same thing: better quality leads that are more likely to convert. The good news is we’re getting there, as new data platforms, tactics and tools add precision to our efforts. The bad news is, there are still no shortcuts. Let’s think back to where we began. In the bad old days – and I’m old enough to remember them – marketers would dump 100-long lists of unqualified prospects on desks and then urge sales to hit the phones and make some money. It didn’t work. Studies suggest it takes an average seven dial-outs to reach a prospect, but also that nearly half of salespeople stop dialling after the third unsuccessful attempt. This isn’t laziness. Sales just don’t have the bandwidth to deal with enormous lists. And if a prospect has little or no knowledge of who they are and what they’re selling, they may as well save their breath. All too often, campaigns like these were seen to have failed, creating mutual distrust between sales and marketing – some of which still lingers today. Then came Nirvana – or so we thought. Content syndication promised a new way to play. Agencies could generate qualified enquiries, with demonstrable engagement. But while these prospects were part-qualified, their interactions – such as downloading content, submitting contact details or even agreeing to a follow-up – weren’t necessarily a clear statement of intent to buy. Under pressure, sales once again picked up the phones, but made calls based on too many assumptions. Prospects weren’t yet sales-ready. The deluge of orders never arrived. Conversion results improved, but only marginally. More recently, telemarketing was cited by some as a silver bullet, the thinking being that if sales teams can’t commit to closing leads, let’s hand the task to someone else. But the average agent, however skilful, just doesn’t have the deep technical knowledge to lead a customer’s advisory buying journey – even in the early stages. Ill-informed, but expected to deliver meetings in volume right now, they picked up the phone far too early, and annoyed prospects rather than persuading them. Today we can do things differently. The abundance of MarTech coming online brings the prospect of rich, detailed, contextual customer conversations. We can track multichannel engagements and cross-check against first, second and third-party sources. We can psychometrically profile individuals and access a wealth of information about their organisations. Crucially, we can re-target, nurture and re-qualify, so we’re much more certain about attitudes and intentions. There’s still a place for content syndication. There’s still a place for emails and picking up the phone. But let’s hold the calls until the timing’s perfect and we’ve properly qualified with multiple engagements around a consistent theme rather than single-click interactions. Let’s think: less high-volume, more high-quality leads. Tele-verification rather than telemarketing. Realistic commitments to faster follow-ups. Smaller lists with more chance of success. We have a common goal. We all have a part to play. Together, let’s build ecosystems of shared success based on truly-qualified prospects approached at exactly the right stage of the buying journey. The technology exists, we just need to be willing to do the hard work. Let’s make that first phone call count – every time. Kevin Sleap is Gilroy’s senior partner. GRADUATES We’re investing in the very best young talent that the UK has to offer. You’ll need a strong degree that’s relevant to our business – but this doesn’t necessarily have to be a marketing or digital marketing degree. Most importantly, you’ll need a sharp mind; great communications skills and the drive to succeed. Our grads need to hit the ground running, working straight into our account or shared services teams, where you’ll be expected to contribute from day one. In return, we offer a vibrant, collaborative culture and the chance to work along seasoned specialists. In addition to the in-house training, and that offered by our partners, this role comes with an annual bursary for the first three years, to fund approved external training and personal development. If you’re a recent grad, and think you have what it takes to work at Gilroy, we’d love to hear from you: hello@gilroy.co.uk JOIN US AT GILROY WE’RE HIRING! We’re looking for outstanding ADs, SAMs and AEs to join our fast-growing client services team. If you’re a self-starter, great at multi-tasking and a team player, then please get in touch at hello@gilroy.co.uk APPLY HERE General Application Are you looking for a new career? Why not send us your CV and a covering letter and if we find a role suitable we will be in touch. APPLY HERE CONTACT US Enter your details and we’ll get back in touch to discuss your requirements. GET IN TOUCH Call: +44 (0) 8456 184 184 Email: hello@gilroy.co.uk Follow us: linkedin.com/company/gilroy WHERE TO FIND US Ground Floor, The Pavilion, Viewpoint, Basing View, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 4RG Privacy Policy | Cookie Settings | Terms and Conditions linkedin email © 2021 Gilroy. All Rights Reserved.