LEARNING LAUNCH    Challenge    I work at a cloud applications firm in commercial (B2B) sales. Our value proposition is centered

on helping organizations better connect with their customers. As the business environment

continues to rapidly evolve and more technology applications are released, it has become

increasingly difficult to engage net new accounts, or companies untouched by our

marketing/advertising programs. Businesses (potential new customers) are more stretched and

time-poor than ever and, as a result, filter as much external communication as possible. This

new paradigm of deliberately avoiding distractions from digital marketing/advertising now shifts

power to the business buyer and they are instigators of opportunities with potential vendors.

One of the main key performance indicators that measures sales performance is pipeline

generation (or potential revenue from new customers) which is subsequently more difficult to

sustain in this new environment. Sales professionals must now be a lot more thoughtful of the

ways they communicate with potential new customers in order to consistently generate sales

pipeline.     Selection    I decided to incorporate text messaging (SMS) into my existing communication channels (phone

calls and email) as a way to break through to potential customers. Key benefits are that 98% of

texts are read, as opposed to an open rate of 20% for emails, and 90% of text messages are

read within 3 minutes upon receipt. Subsequently, I was able to communicate a lot faster with

potential customers and ensure that the majority of my messages are acknowledged.    Application    The following 4 variables determined the effectiveness/ineffectiveness of my text messaging

strategy:    ● Length

● Time of Day

● Brevity/Elaboration

● Context/Purpose

I always checked the length of my text message so that it could be read without any

screen-scrolling. Appreciating that potential customers are likely texting their

family/friends/colleagues during the day, I sent my texts in the morning or late afternoon. If I had

difficulties getting in contact via email or phone about an important matter (project or priorities), I

elaborated with relevant detail in the text message, immediately prompting the potential

customer and building their trust. Conversely, if it was related to a simple matter (meeting

request), I kept this brief and asked the question. My focus was minimizing the length of a

response or time taken from the potential customer to create the most effective engagement. I

never asked a broad or generic question over text and, instead, kept each message very

specific towards a common goal or outcome.    Insight    Text messaging proved to be extremely effective and yielded strong improvements in

communication that greatly contributed to my overall sales performance. Some examples of this

included obtaining timely agreement on an important next step and re-engaging unresponsive

potential customers. I learned that people are much more inclined and open to communicating

via SMS provided there is relevant context and an already established relationship. I attribute

this to creating a significant pattern-interrupt that was completely opposite to generic or

excessive advertising/marketing messages people usually receive. I had some reservations

initially about encroaching on people's personal lives and attempting a non-traditional form of

buyer communication, however, design-thinking has demonstrated that the problem justified a

new approach. The notion of being comfortable with uncertainty and discomfort has been a key

takeaway from applying design-thinking to my problem.    Approach    For my next communication experiment, I would attempt sending direct messages to potential

customers via Instagram. It is evident that people are spending more time on this social media

platform (almost an hour per day) and could also be an effective method for fast and reliable

communication. Design-thinking would be applied in the same format to determine if the

variables (see under application heading) change or shift in dominance regarding their

effectiveness.


LEARNING LAUNCH Challenge I work at a cloud applications firm in commercial ( B2B ) sales . Our value proposition is centered on helping organizations better connect with their customers . As the business environment continues to rapidly evolve and more technology applications are released , it has become increasingly difficult to engage net new accounts , or companies untouched by our marketing / advertising programs . Businesses ( potential new customers ) are more stretched and time - poor than ever and , as a result , filter as much external communication as possible . This new paradigm of deliberately avoiding distractions from digital marketing / advertising now shifts power to the business buyer and they are instigators of opportunities with potential vendors . One of the main key performance indicators that measures sales performance is pipeline generation ( or potential revenue from new customers ) which is subsequently more difficult to sustain in this new environment . Sales professionals must now be a lot more thoughtful of the ways they communicate with potential new customers in order to consistently generate sales pipeline . Selection I decided to incorporate text messaging ( SMS ) into my existing communication channels ( phone calls and email ) as a way to break through to potential customers . Key benefits are that 98 % of texts are read , as opposed to an open rate of 20 % for emails , and 90 % of text messages are read within 3 minutes upon receipt . Subsequently , I was able to communicate a lot faster with potential customers and ensure that the majority of my messages are acknowledged . Application The following 4 variables determined the effectiveness / ineffectiveness of my text messaging strategy : ● Length ● Time of Day ● Brevity / Elaboration ● Context / Purpose I always checked the length of my text message so that it could be read without any screen - scrolling . Appreciating that potential customers are likely texting their family / friends / colleagues during the day , I sent my texts in the morning or late afternoon . If I had difficulties getting in contact via email or phone about an important matter ( project or priorities ) , I elaborated with relevant detail in the text message , immediately prompting the potential customer and building their trust . Conversely , if it was related to a simple matter ( meeting request ) , I kept this brief and asked the question . My focus was minimizing the length of a response or time taken from the potential customer to create the most effective engagement . I never asked a broad or generic question over text and , instead , kept each message very specific towards a common goal or outcome . Insight Text messaging proved to be extremely effective and yielded strong improvements in communication that greatly contributed to my overall sales performance . Some examples of this included obtaining timely agreement on an important next step and re - engaging unresponsive potential customers . I learned that people are much more inclined and open to communicating via SMS provided there is relevant context and an already established relationship . I attribute this to creating a significant pattern - interrupt that was completely opposite to generic or excessive advertising / marketing messages people usually receive . I had some reservations initially about encroaching on people 's personal lives and attempting a non - traditional form of buyer communication , however , design - thinking has demonstrated that the problem justified a new approach . The notion of being comfortable with uncertainty and discomfort has been a key takeaway from applying design - thinking to my problem . Approach For my next communication experiment , I would attempt sending direct messages to potential customers via Instagram . It is evident that people are spending more time on this social media platform ( almost an hour per day ) and could also be an effective method for fast and reliable communication . Design - thinking would be applied in the same format to determine if the variables ( see under application heading ) change or shift in dominance regarding their effectiveness .