56 appointments for a SaaS provider: Belkins being the 3rd most successful acquisition channel

Our strategy was to go after the accounts from the hospitality industry, mainly in the US, and then expand our reach into restaurants and, finally, to other continents. Here are essential insights into our lead research and outreach process.

• Figuring out ICP

Sometimes, it was challenging to find the right companies that fit an ICP when we dealt with other clients. In the case of Unifocus, we had a pretty understandable product with a well-defined target audience. We targeted the chains of restaurants and hotels with more than 20 locations. It was the client's requirement, and, simply having this tip, we’ve completed the lists of prospects from the USA and Asia-Pacific with almost 5.5K contacts.

But, some adjustments were needed, leading us to the next point.

• Making clarifications on contact lists

During our cooperation, we had to collate the received list of prospects with the names in the client’s CRM. We did this to ensure we do not hit any other existing opportunities in their pipeline.

• Launching email campaigns & flavor the templates

Basically, we had to reach two very similar yet specific types of prospects: hotels and restaurants. We started from the USA market and designed effective templates for lead generation. We worked on separate Unifocus UVPs:

1. For hotels: we emphasized the client’s current partners like Hilton, White Lodging, and Loews. It’s impossible to trash a letter from someone who deals with these giants, don't you agree?
2. For restaurants: our messages hit one of the most critical issues in the hospitality industry — how to improve the value proposition to workers and avoid turnover. We mentioned more flexible scheduling, cashless tipping, and same-day pay, which are possible with the labor-managementplatform.

The satisfying reply rates let us know we hit the bull's eye. We didn’t make sufficient template changes until we reached out to the APAC prospects.

Initially, we offered recipients only workforce management software in our emails. But later, we sent brochures about extra services like housekeeping management for some recipients among the hotel representatives who replied and paid more specific interest.

Tight communication with the client and a deep understanding of the product and the market allowed us to reach these outstanding results:

• 604 emails replied;
• 56 appointments booked within eight months;
• After seller prospecting and client referrals, Belkins, as the only SDR team, was the best channel of new clients acquisition;
• As a result, Unifocus had its calendar filled with at least three weekly appointments.

Key takeaways

1. Prepare the ground. Being on the same page with the client was crucial for our results. We spent much time communicating with the Unifocus team and studying their sales process and prospecting methods. It helped us a lot in identifying the ICP and eased the campaign.
2. A do-not-contact list may be even more important than a list of prospects. One of the critical issues was the perspective of hitting the current opportunities in our client's pipeline. So, don’t be afraid to ask for this list of contacts at the beginning, and keep in mind that you’ll need to update this list during the whole campaign.
3. Double-check tricky domains. We also revealed that some prospects might have several domains that led to their main website. A rigorous verification process helped us avoid repeated contacts and build a more accurate email outreach campaign.
4. Train your reactions and always be in touch with the team. What do clients always value? Fast responses, comprehensive explanations, and immediate reactions in challenging cases. So, within our team, we encouraged purposefulness and well-coordinated teamwork. The synergetic tandem of our expertise and the client’s outstanding professionalism did all the rest.

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