What to do with new B2B leads after an event like MJBizCon?
You’ve attended a major industry event like MJBizCon, and now it’s time to follow up on all those new B2B sales leads you’ve collected. First, you need a follow-up strategy. Luckily, I’ve already written all about this topic on the Cannabiz Media Blog. You can follow the link to learn more about the four important parts of a conference follow-up strategy. Once you’ve created your strategy, it’s time to put the plan into action – read on to learn how.
Step 1: Identify channels to target B2B leads after the event
When a conference as big as MJBizCon comes to a close, you probably have a stack of business cards and lists full of hints and notes. That’s great! Enter all the information into your customer relationship management platform (like the CRM tool integrated with the Cannabiz Media License Database) so you can start executing your follow-up plan and track future communications.
Once your CRM is set up with all your new lead data, it’s time to start engaging with people. There is a lot more to following up after MJBizCon than just a single phone call or sending a single email. The following are the top three connection channels for post-event B2B follow-up:
For each person you interacted with during the event, categorize the leads based on how likely they are to buy from you in the near future. In other words, is every lead a cold, warm, or hot prospect?
Create personalized email follow-ups based on this information, the notes you took about each person when you met them, and details you can learn about each prospect through your own online research. Messages with content that is actually useful for the recipients and not just advertising. Learn more about what to say in your outreach messages in Step 2 below.
phone
Look at your lead categorization. It’s likely that there are many people you met at MJBizCon or some other event that it makes sense to call directly after the conference is over. However, there are also many leads who are unwilling to take a call from you. Again, think about how likely it is that each lead is willing to buy your products and services. Where people are in the buyer journey has a big impact on whether or not it makes sense for them to invest time in the call.
That being said, unless you had a conversation with someone during the event that ended with a promise to follow up on the phone, you may want to engage with leads via email and/or social media before calling them. This will put you back on their radar screen and they may be more willing to take a call from you if they remember who you are.
social media
One of the first things you should do—either during the event or as soon as you return to the office after the event—is connect with each lead on social media. LinkedIn is a top priority for B2B leads, as are cannabis industry-specific social media platforms like Leafwire.
To connect through LinkedIn you may need to invest in an account that gives you the ability to send InMail connection requests to people, but there is a way to bypass using InMail. You can join a LinkedIn group that a prospect is a member of. Once you’re a member of a LinkedIn group, you can send direct connection requests to anyone else in the group, including your prospect. Read the guide to using LinkedIn for prospecting in the cannabis industry for more tips.
Step 2: Determine what you will say in your follow-up engagement
With your CRM set up and your social media connections established, it’s time to send follow-up email messages. After meeting a prospect at an event, I recommend sending no more than five follow-up messages to create a one-to-one connection (e.g. sales pitch, demo, trial, etc.).
If you send five messages and a recipient doesn’t respond, it’s appropriate to move them to your email marketing list for ongoing nurturing messages. Nurturing keeps your brand in mind, but you don’t bug people with sales-driven messages. To be more conservative, set a limit of three post-event follow-up messages, then move leads who didn’t request a call to your email marketing nurturing list.
Your follow-up messages after MJBizCon or any other event should not be purely promotional. The goal is to remind recipients of who you are, make a personal connection, and offer something of value that shows recipients that you are a helpful and knowledgeable resource that understands their needs and pain points. Once you make that connection, you can try to sell, but if you lead with a sales message, most people won’t respond positively.
Here’s a list of five messages you can send after MJBizCon or other events to reconnect with B2B leads without being overly salesy:
Message #1: Reconnect/Nice meeting you
The first message you send after an event should be 100% focused on reminding recipients how you met and who you are. Mention something you’ve spoken to each person about to personalize the message content.
You shouldn’t send generic messages to a list of leads. Instead, you should reach out individually to make real connections. Tell them you’ll be checking back in the following week, knowing you’ll both be busy catching up after the conference.
Message #2: Arrange a connection time
This is your first sales-oriented message, asking the recipient if they would like to make an appointment for a phone call. Mention a pain point or issue you’ve talked to them about or they might be having—something you know you and your company can help them with.
Message #3: Educational, Useful, Helpful Resource
If you didn’t get a reply, the third message you send should focus on adding value by providing a link to an educational, useful, and helpful resource, such as: B. a detailed blog post on your website or a video on your website, an e-book from your company or something similar. Tell the recipient that you understand they’re too busy or not ready to make a phone call, so you can share something that can help them in the meantime.
Message #4: Answer questions and provide another resource
In the fourth message, ask if the recipient has reviewed the first resource you sent in message #3 and offer to answer any questions they have. You can also provide another resource that you think they might be interested in. For warm and hot leads, you can use a relevant case study as a resource that you add to this message. Just make sure it addresses the same needs or issues your recipients have.
Message #5: Offer a special promotion
This is the last personal outreach message you send after the event where you met every potential client, so go big. This message can be sales-oriented. In a last-ditch attempt to spark a conversation or make a sale, offer recipients a special promotion that your company is only giving to people you met at MJBizCon (or whatever event you attended). Be sure to include an expiration date with the offer so people are motivated to contact you quickly!
Step 3: Determine when you will follow up on B2B leads
Your first follow-up message should be sent within two to three days after MJBizCon (or any other event you attend). However, consider the day of the week when you send email messages. You don’t want to send your emails on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday because those days typically see low open rates for B2B email marketing messages. For example, if there is a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday two to three days after the event, wait until Monday or Tuesday to send your first message.
Your second message can be sent three to five days after the first—again, be careful not to send it on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Alternatively, you can send the second message a week after the first. In any case, you should start sending weekly with message no. 3 at the latest. Try sending the weekly message on Tuesday or Wednesday for the best engagement.
Keep in mind that MJBizCon 2022 ends just days before Thanksgiving. You definitely don’t want to send your follow-up messages during Thanksgiving week when a lot of people are out of the office. In this case, it makes sense to wait until the week after Thanksgiving to send follow-up messages.
When you’re done sending out your event follow-up messages (whether you choose three, four, or five messages), continue sending out a weekly email marketing message to nurture those leads . Stay on the same day and time, if possible, each week for best results. To learn more, read the guide to promoting your business with email marketing before, during and after cannabis industry events.
Key takeaways on following up B2B leads after MJBizCon and other events
The key things to remember when following up B2B leads after MJBizCon or any cannabis industry event are to personalize your outreach, avoid continuous selling, and be persistent – one attempt isn’t enough.
Use the recommended channels, email messages, and contact times in this article to ensure your follow-up to this year’s MJBizCon – and any events you attend in the future – is as successful as possible.
Schedule a demo to see how you can use the CRM and email marketing tools in the Cannabiz Media License Database to track your own leads and connect with leads from cannabis and hemp license holders in the United States and to make contact in international markets.
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