Introduction
When a company embarks on prospecting campaigns to reach key decision-makers, it’s important to have a well-defined strategy. These decision-makers occupy strategic positions within an organization, so you can’t just contact them willy-nilly. To help you better define your strategy, we have worked with
a prospecting agency
average statistics to give you a clearer picture.
The importance of prospecting
LinkedIn and e-mail prospecting play a very important role in business development and B2B (business to business) marketing. It enables companies to find new customers, build lasting business relationships and stimulate growth. Here are a few reasons why prospecting is essential:
- Expanding your professional network: I don’t need to introduce you to LinkedIn, THE professional network par excellence, with millions of users. Through prospecting, you can expand your network and connect with influential people in your sector.
- Identifying qualified prospects: Prospecting enables you to specifically target people or companies who are likely to be interested in your products or services. This ensures that your marketing efforts are directed at a relevant audience.
- Personalized communications: Using LinkedIn and e-mail, you can personalize your messages to address the specific needs and concerns of each prospect. This increases the chances of arousing their interest.
- Building long-term relationships: Prospecting isn’t just about selling, it’s also about building solid business relationships. By engaging in meaningful conversations, you can earn your prospects’ trust and loyalty over the long term.
- Efficient tracking and management: LinkedIn and e-mail tools make it easy to track interactions with prospects, schedule reminders calls and manage relationships effectively. This facilitates lead management and process optimization
Prospecting jargon
To talk statistics, you need to understand two fundamental concepts. Nothing difficult, but let’s get the basics straight.
Acceptance rate
The term “acceptance rate” on LinkedIn refers to the proportion of people to whom you have sent a connection request and who have accepted this request to become a first-level connection on LinkedIn.
The acceptance rate can be an important indicator of the effectiveness of your networking approach on LinkedIn. A high acceptance rate can indicate that your profile and connection requests are well targeted and that users are interested in connecting with you. Conversely, a low acceptance rate may mean :
- that your approach needs to be adjusted
- your connection requests are not sufficiently personalized
- or connect with people who are not relevant to your professional network.
- your profile isn’t qualitative enough: poor-quality profile photo, headline that doesn’t interest your target, profile that isn’t very active…
- To help you optimize your profile, MirrorProfiles has produced detailed Guides on this subject.
Open rate
The e-mail open rate measures the number of recipients of an e-mail marketing campaign who have opened and consulted the message sent. It allows you to understand the effectiveness of your e-mail campaign by evaluating how many recipients showed interest in opening the e-mail compared to the total number of e-mails sent. Here, you have to be very careful with your object! The more impactful it is, the more likely you are to get an opening. But be careful, an opening doesn’t necessarily mean an answer.
Response rate
The response rate measures how many people reply to a message you’ve sent them, whether by e-mail, on social networks or elsewhere. This shows whether your message has had an impact and whether people have reacted to what you’ve said. For example, if you send out 100 sales e-mails and 10 people reply, your response rate is 10%.
It’s like throwing a bullet at someone. If the person catches the ball and sends it back to you, that’s an answer. If she doesn’t, it’s as if she’s ignoring your message. The response rate measures how many times the ball was returned compared to the number of times you threw it. This tells you whether your message has been well received and whether people are interested in it.
The importance of the prospecting profile
One very important thing to consider is your profile. Let me explain. Let’s say you want to approach the HR manager at Orange. However, your LinkedIn profile indicates that you are an employee of XXX. You’re not the highest-ranking person in your company, and this can influence the acceptance rate.
That’s why you need to choose the right prospect for your target market! A profile closer to your target will have a better chance of being accepted. That’s where a tool like Mirror Pofiles comes in! With it, you can rent LinkedIn profiles to maximize your acceptance rates during prospecting. What’s more, ABM strategies (multiplying contact points within a single company) require a certain volume of prospecting. With several MirrorProfiles, you can multiply your contact capacity.
The same applies to e-mail prospecting: choose the right person to contact, and target a relevant subject that will catch your target’s attention.
We will now discuss the statistics of prospecting campaigns on three main targets: CFO, CEO, CTO and HRD.
Statistics by target
CFOs
A CFO, or Chief Financial Officer, is a company’s chief financial officer. The CFO is responsible for the company’s financial management and supervision of all financial activities.
Here are the statistics we obtain on average:
| Email open rate | Email response rate | LinkedIn acceptance rate | LinkedIn response rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70 % | 10 % | 30 % | 20 % |
CEOs
The position of CEO (Chief Executive Officer) is one of the most senior management positions in a company. The CEO is responsible for the overall management of the company, and plays a key role in defining the company’s vision, strategy and direction.
Here are the statistics we obtain on average:
| Email open rate | Email response rate | LinkedIn acceptance rate | LinkedIn response rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70 % | 7 % | 30 % | 15 % |
CTOs
A “CTO” stands for “Chief Technology Officer”. The CTO is an executive position responsible for overseeing technology strategy and managing technology-related activities within the company.
Here are the statistics we obtain on average:
| Email open rate | Email response rate | LinkedIn acceptance rate | LinkedIn response rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 % | 5 % | 20 % | 9 % |
HR Managers
The position of Human Resources Director (HRD) is a key role within an organization. The HR Director is responsible for the strategic and operational management of the human resources function.
Here are the statistics we obtain on average:
| Email open rate | Email response rate | LinkedIn acceptance rate | LinkedIn response rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70% | 7% | 22% | 10% |
Boost your chances of a response: our tips
On LinkedIn :
- Segment your audience
Carefully identify the people you want to target. LinkedIn offers numerous advanced search options to find relevant contacts based on criteria such as industry, function, location, etc.
- Use a personalized approach
Personalize every message you send. Specifically mention why you want to connect or chat with this particular person. Avoid generic messages.
- Highlight value
In your message, highlight what you can bring to the person you’re contacting. Explain how your offer or proposal can benefit them.
- Establish a prior connection
If you have contacts in common with the person you’re targeting, mention them in your message. Shared connections can help build trust.
- Be clear in your call to action
Be clear about what you’d like the person to do next, whether it’s scheduling a call, discussing your services, or something else. Make the action easy to understand and follow.
- A/B testing with multiple Linkedin MirrorProfiles accounts
When your profile A has already sent a connection request, test 1 week later with profile B by putting in a note message or customizing the Linkedin profile differently.
By e-mail:
- Use an eye-catching object
The subject of your e-mail is the first thing the recipient will see. Make sure it’s eye-catching and relevant to attract attention. However, it must be consistent with the content of the e-mail. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing your credibility, and therefore of spamming the next time.
- Customize content
Personalize each e-mail to suit the recipient. Mention specific details that show you’ve done your homework and understand their needs or challenges.
- Offer value right from the start
In the first few lines of your e-mail, briefly explain what you can bring to the table. Recipients need to understand why they should read on.
- Include a clear call to action
Be clear about what you’d like the recipient to do next, whether that’s reply to your e-mail, schedule a call or visit your website.
- Personalize your e-mail signature
Make sure your signature includes your name, company, contact details and relevant links, such as your LinkedIn profile or website.
Conclusion
Canvassing key decision-makers requires a thoughtful, personalized approach. Don’t go off in all directions: you need a strategy and the right channels. Now that you know the average KPIs, it’s up to you to adapt your messages to ensure maximum response!
