Smart Communications

- Partner Success Story -

Smart Communications' Challenge

The company is searching for new customers in the Benelux and Nordic regions but faces

challenges connecting with the right decision makers at in-person events and conferences.

Solutions Provided	The Result
Helped Smart Communications identify potential leads quickly	With ME Matchmaking, Smart Communications could meet more targeted prospects They could gauge the interest level of the prospects quickly through virtual meetings
Planned and arranged virtual meetings with the right decision makers	Smart Communications have done 16 initial meetings so far More than 50% of those meetings have resulted in follow-ups They have secured at least two hot leads that will end up in a business relationship

We talked to Ronald Kerkhof, Sales Director at Smart Communications, to learn more about their experience with virtual 1-to-1 meetings and the results they’ve gained through this service.

Hi Ronald! Tell us more about what Smart Communications does.

We offer customer conversation cloud services to banking, insurance, telco, and utility companies but we work with other industries as well. As they are providing mass communications, we step in to make those conversations feel meaningful, personalized, and tailored to the consumer. We do so with high scale in the cloud, and make sure that we apply the right governance and compliance especially for financial institutions, as well as telcos and utility companies we work with.

That’s really interesting. Who falls into the Smart Communications target audience?

We want to talk to business leaders because they set the strategic directions and goals. Usually, that‘s where the decision-making also happens. Therefore, we like to talk to senior management positions such as C-levels, and C-levels minus 1 or -2, depending on the size of the organization. We also love to talk to IT because we can achieve a lot and help them too. So, we do like to talk about innovation with business leaders. Currently, finding new customers in the Benelux and Nordic regions is my responsibility.

I understand that you’ve been using ME Matchmaking for a few months. How has the overall experience been so far in terms of prospects and quality of meetings?

We had a cluster of meetings in November 2021 and a few the following month. We have more meetings booked for Q2 2022 as well. So far, I think we’ve had 16 meetings. During the meetings with the Swedish market, the people we spoke to were very open and easy to connect with and we‘ve had some follow-up meetings. I’d say we’ve booked follow-up meetings from more than 50% of the initial meetings.

What about potential business deals?

Our business takes a bit of time, six months is considered a short sales cycle. Usually, it takes one and a half years. As we had our first meetings in November, we‘re just getting started really. Although securing a deal is nice, advancing in a sales cycle, or even uncovering a sales cycle is as close to a deal as you can get. Afterwards, it’s up to us to make sure we get the deal in. I think the proof point is already there if we’ve established good connections with the right people who are willing to direct us through their organization to qualify and discover their needs further. ME Matchmaking has helped us do that for sure. I’m quite positive there are two or three prospects that will end up in a business relationship.

That’s great to hear. How do you feel about virtual meetings in a sales environment?

For uncovering potential, virtual meetings are terrific, because you can cut to the chase much quicker. It‘s more of a conversation with virtual meetings compared to meeting people at exhibitions or conferences. Maybe they will look at your booth or PowerPoint slides, and it‘s just a one-way process of sending information to them and you don‘t get anything back. With virtual meetings, a prospect can ask, “I‘m looking for this, I‘m looking for that, can you help me?” And if you can, they will consider working with you there and then. If you can’t, then it’s an easy “no” but at least you know where you stand. I also liked that I could select upfront who I was going to speak to. At conferences and live events, you have to get lucky with who you meet. Virtual meetings feel more targeted. That‘s what I like about it.

Would you recommend ME Matchmaking to other companies?

Yes. If you have time to prepare for the meetings and get to know the customer, ME Matchmaking is helpful and I recommend it.

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