Too many of Signpost’s potential customers were slipping through the cracks of their communication systems. Adding a Calendly scheduling link into the automated introduction email helped plug the gaps and accelerate their sales cycle.
The challenge
Too many warm leads going cold
Julia Pan was watching it happen. Having devoted significant effort to creating a strong inbound marketing funnel, plenty of small business owners were reaching out to express interest in Signpost’s customer relations management (CRM) and marketing software. But far too many were falling out of touch before they could see how Signpost’s comprehensive platform worked.
As Signpost’s marketing and sales enablement manager, it was the right kind of problem for Julia to have. Clearly, there was interest in Signpost’s offering. Business was booming, and potential customers were reaching out left and right. But this influx of leads made it hard for the sales team to keep up. There was also no process for re-engaging leads who leaked from the funnel. And to top it off, inconsistency between the tools Signpost was using made it difficult to get new reps up to speed efficiently.
Julia knew they were missing out on chances to convert queries into customers. She needed a setup that allowed potential clients to book demos themselves without the back and forth with reps. With demand growing by the day, she needed a fast fix. And she couldn’t afford to lose more time on complicated training for her already hardworking team.
The solution
Embedding scheduling in smart marketing campaigns
Things were working well, but Julia needed to optimize and automate the processes that were already underway. The team needed a robust tool that could power the sales funnel but was simple to roll out and scale, and wouldn’t require extensive time to set up for each rep.
“A lot of other appointment setting tools are very convoluted. With Calendly, set-up was so nominal; implementation took less than 10 minutes.”
Julia began adding reps’ Calendly links to nurture campaigns, which a lead receives after requesting a demo on Signpost’s website. These emails are written as if coming from a real salesperson, with an individual rep’s Calendly link in them. It’s personal and immediate, and the lead can schedule a call right away.
It was a game-changer. In the past, an email exchange with a sales rep followed as the two parties tried to agree on the right time for a demo. But the new Calendly links meant potential customers could set their own appointment. With a single click, they could see the sales rep’s availability and book a mutually convenient time.
Julia’s sales team felt an immediate boost. Instead of wasting hours on monotonous scheduling, they spent their time prospecting for more business with outbound calls. When Calendly notified them it was time for a demo, they simply switched over to take the call.
The results
Better engagement, more sales meetings
Calendly helped streamline the communication process for customers and sales reps alike. Not only was Signpost converting leads into customers at a higher rate, but Julia’s team could also use the Calendly links to chase down the few remaining people that may have fallen through the cracks.
Small business owners are often juggling dozens of issues at once, so it’s understandable that they lose track of an email on occasion. Julia realized that Calendly links were just as useful on follow-up re-engagement emails sent just a few days after the first. “Now we can send a re-engagement email with a Calendly link in it,” Julia shares, “and if someone’s interest is reignited, there’s no barrier to reentry.”
Automation sped up Signpost’s entire sales cycle, and Julia scaled up the business with ease. She simply duplicated the settings used by existing sales reps to get new hires up and running in minutes. She sat back and monitored results from her team dashboard and made the necessary tweaks whenever she needed.
“A good tool is one that’s so simple, sales reps can basically forget about it and let the meetings roll in. That’s essentially what happened when we implemented Calendly.”
Julia Pan
Sales Enablement Manager at SignPost
With automated email campaigns that speed up the sales cycle, Signpost’s reps were able to make more sales in less time, and track their progress with integrated analytics software.
