New way of getting B2B customers – what are your thoughts?

[Paul_R]

Hey Guys! Happy 2013! Hope it’s a good one for you all!
I’m looking for your take on an idea…
A friend of mine is looking to start a new business that helps businesses in the B2B arena (so businesses who supply to other businesses) find new customers more effectively.
He’s asked me to join him and work on it, and I kind of like the idea, but I’d love to hear your take on it and any thoughts you have on the concept!

Here’s the spiel…
Basically, how do you currently get warm leads for your business?
Telemarketing?Pay-per-click advertising?SEO? Trade Shows?...
Well, how about if you stated what type of customers you are looking for (your ideal customer in terms of industry, employee size, turnover, decision maker title, etc…) and then individuals who know the type of customers you are looking for could introduce your company to them if they are interested in hearing from you?…
Here, via an online platform, you state what customers you are looking for, and how much you are willing to pay for warm leads that have been pre-qualified. People who then know the customers you are after are then alerted, and are told they will be paid the amount if they can facilitate an intro on your behalf.
You get pre-qualified warm leads via a referral (the best type of lead!), and the person referring the customer to you gets money for facilitating the introduction. You only pay if someone can provide a pre-qualified lead.
The model works on a national & global scale, so you can get introductions across the country (/globe!) which previously you would have no access to.

So, what do you guys think??
- Could you use this to get new warm leads for your business?
- Would you be prepared to introduce people from your contact base to businesses in return for money? (which could range from £50 upto £1k+, depending upon the industry type)

Be great to hear the thoughts of everyone and see if (a) you could use it for your business, and (b) whether you would be willing to introduce people from your contact base in return for money.

Cheers guys!
Paul

[Steve R Jones]

So in short, I contact my top 100 clients.
I tell them I met this guy name Paul on-line today... And tell them he's a standup guy and should do business with him?

[Paul_R]

Hi Steve, thanks for the reply!

In short, you get notified that I'm looking for (lets say...) small businesses (under 50 people) who need accountancy software - and i'm willing to pay $100 to anyone who can make an introduction.

You then speak to (or email) your contacts and see if anyone is interested in being introduced. If one or two are on the look-out for new accounting software at that time, or would be interested in hearing about a new product, then they would agree to be introduced.

You would then introduce me to them, and i'd pay you the $100. (If you made 2 intro's, i'd then pay you $200.)

I get access to a new potential customer, you get $100 for making the introduction, and the customer hopefully gets to hear about a product/service they actually need/are interested in.


What do you think?

Would you use it to get introduced to new customers? And would you introduce people for cash?


Paul

[Steve R Jones]

You can't beat "Networking" aka referrals.

I was raised by two Real Estate Sales Agents.... who always hounded us kids for information about wanting to know if any of our friends were moving

Anyway, someone like me would have to become fairly familiar with you and your software before we could make an introduction....

What measures do you have in place to protect yourself? Someone could give you a half a dozen people to contact who have the gift of gab, but no intentions of buying anything

[Paul_R]

Hi Steve, great points...

Maybe a review or scoring system for people - so you can see who is a 'good introducer' and who isnt (i.e. who has made 5 introductions and only 1 has actually happened/come to anything).

What you think? Would something like an ebay-type reviewing system provide a bit of trust?

[Steve R Jones]

I've never ventured into the world of "LinkedIn." But appears to be close to what you're talking about and it's already established.

[Kevin Peter]

Marketing Automation with CRM sync is the key. This helps you capture the traffic from website driven various inbound and outbound marketing tactics. We get around 9000 - 12000 warm leads for B2B cloud based product, who have filled out a form or requested a call back. The demand generation way kicks in and every aspect.

[wdcbangalore]

I think social media is the best medium to get more business,specially Linked in is the best social network for getting investor and customer for your business.