The Thomas Blog

4 Steps to Expanding Your Industrial Network on LinkedIn

Chances are you’re already using LinkedIn to keep an up-to-date roster of contacts, check out what connections are up to, scout out potential hires, and send messages.

This powerful tool serves as much more than a social network or recruiting outlet, though — it can play a major role in generating leads and sales for your industrial company.

There are a few steps for you to benefit from using LinkedIn to connect with people in their industry, so we wanted to lay out a few tips on how to get started. 

(We do want to note that although there's a paid version of LinkedIn known as LinkedIn Sales Navigator, we know you’re as budget-conscious as you are business-savvy, so we’ll be solely focusing on harnessing the power of free LinkedIn in this post.)

7 Ways To Increase Sales For Your Manufacturing Business This Year

Looking to increase your sales? Although successful, well-executed B2B marketing strategies take time to build and require ongoing, consistent effort, there are some things you can do today to help drive sales for your manufacturing company this year.

In combination with a long-term marketing strategy, these quick tips can go a long way in getting new leads and increasing sales for your manufacturing business.

B2B MQLs Vs. SQLs: What's The Difference?

Studies show that 68% of B2B marketers struggle with generating quality leads. And only a mere 10%-15% of B2B leads actually turn into paying customers. So what can be done to boost these numbers?

First, industrial marketers must understand that not all leads are created equal — and the industrial buyer's journey is actually pretty complicated. 

6 Ways Manufacturers Can Transform Their Sales Organization

The B2C space has adapted quickly to using technologies and tools to connect with more customers, and B2B businesses (including industrial companies) making a move too. We've pulled together some tips to incorporate tactics that fall under the sales transformation journey (and tied to inbound marketing) to help you become more competitive in the current market and have meaningful conversations with high-quality leads.

6 Ways Manufacturers Can Turn A Lead Into A Customer (With Examples)

You worked hard to market your capabilities and nurture your prospects. Now your sales team has a healthy list of leads. However, research shows that 40-50% of inbound sales leads are ignored and never followed up on, which can add up to a lot of lost revenue for your business.

Developing an effective lead follow-up process can ensure that you don’t leave potential opportunities on the table. Here are the strategies that should be a part of your process.

How To Get People To Read Your Sales Emails (And What Not To Do)

It's no secret that email marketing is one of the best ways to drive leads to your sales team. However, most manufacturers and industrial companies don't realize that it's also one of the best ways to close those leads and convert them into customers.

So while a lot of time and energy is going into optimizing marketing emails, sales emails are often relegated to an afterthought. In fact, the task of writing, designing, and deploying sales emails often falls on individual sales reps, who have little guidance, direction, or support. That's a recipe for disaster, and it shouldn't be the case.

If you want to optimize your sales emails for maximum results, be sure to follow these suggestions. 

How To Sell Industrial Products And Services To Your 4 Most Difficult Customers

Not all customers are created equally. Some will come to you fully informed and ready to buy. Others — likely the majority — require a great deal of time nurturing and educating. Oftentimes, many manufacturers spend a great deal of time and effort with a lead, only to reveal that they are not the right kind of customer for their business.

Thankfully, industrial businesses can leverage their website to help streamline and potentially expedite the sales process, while simultaneously weeding out unqualified buyers.

How Private Label Manufacturers Can Increase Sales

With an increase of opportunities for private label manufacturers, we’ve been covering topics like challenges in the industry and popular website designs to help business owners and marketers grow their business. Recently, private label manufacturing sourcing activity has seen steady growth — up 45% year over year.

Measuring The Industrial Marketing ROI Of Phone Calls

When it comes to measuring the return on investment (ROI) of your marketing activities, it’s essential that you’re actually measuring all of it. Thanks to the increasing prevalence of digital marketing, most marketers look at things like clicks, open rates and conversions. But if you’re like many industrial suppliers, you could be overlooking an essential piece of the marketing metrics puzzle — phone inquiries.