Baiting the Hook: A Wise Fisherman’s Advice for Selling to B2B Buyers

Selling to B2B buyers is a lot like fishing, and you will find that some of the most successful marketers will use the same basic tactics as a fisherman in order to enjoy success. Here are a few ways in which you can use the advice of a fisherman to ensure you consistently enjoy more success with your B2B marketing.

Know the Right Place and Which Fish to Target

A good angler will research the water before they even cast a hook. They will have done their research, they will know which fish they are after, and they will have a good idea of where they can find them.

You also need to research where your prospects gather so that you can reach out to them in these places, and you need to know who you are targeting. Just as an angler will know what fish they are after, so too do you want to know the customers you are targeting.

Choose the Right Techniques

Fishing may seem simple enough, but it takes years to master. Something as seemingly basic as fly fishing may look simple enough, but a lot more goes into it and the angler must really know what they are doing to be successful. This is just like selling to B2B targets where the right techniques learned over time are going to be essential in reaching the decision makers.

Use the Right Bait

The right bait is crucial for a fisherman, just as it is for B2B marketers. While a fisherman need to choose between various types of bait, you need to consider the right marketing materials that will work for your targets.

This could consist of content marketing, social marketing, white papers, email marketing, or something else. This is the bait that you will use to reel them in, so research what they want, find out the type of content they seek and the types of offers they look for, and keep casting the bait.

Know How to Reel Them In

When building leads, you have to know how to reel them in. A fisherman will reel a fish in differently depending on the type of fish it is, and you will have to work out whether to reel your leads in slowly by providing useful content, or pull them in quickly with a special offer.

Turning those leads into customers is another area you will need to work out. Lead management software may help, like specialist mortgage software for the mortgage industry, so see how many leads you can reel in.

Change Tactics

When one thing does not work, don’t give up and instead use what you learn for your next attempt. Just as a fisherman will choose a different spot and use different bait, so too can marketers change their tactics. For example, you could make a more tempting offer, change your headline, or use different types of content to attract your customers.

Use Advice from Fishing to Boost Your B2B Marketing

Fishing and marketing have much in common, and perhaps you can learn from the tactics of the best fishermen when it comes to targeting and reeling in B2B buyers. Think over these tactics and see how you can apply them to your marketing efforts in the future.

Michael Bird is a marketing consultant. He likes to share his experiences on the web. You can read his articles mainly on B2B, sales and marketing websites.