Quincy Compressor is proud to offer the world’s finest industrial equipment. The 96-year old company designs and manufactures air compressors used by some of the largest, most successful companies in the world and in the most demanding applications. These customers count on Quincy’s quality and reliability.
While existing customers are loyal, until four years ago potential new buyers of the company’s reciprocating and rotary screw air compressors, as well as after-market and service offerings, often didn’t turn to Quincy first.
In 2010, that changed: the management team embarked on a new strategic imperative to stir up demand among new prospects or non-customers — and drive growth in key markets.
Partnering to Make a Difference
Quincy engaged PointClear to identify prospects and provide real opportunities to the company’s three top-performing distributors representing 30 percent of national sales, as well as to the company’s direct sales team. Two full-time PointClear prospect development associates — college educated and experienced in B2B sales and supported by a dedicated program director and analytical professional — started work on Quincy’s behalf.
Using segmentation, testing and advanced data-driven strategies, PointClear developed a program to identify, qualify and nurture new business among multiple target industries, including manufacturing, gas/petroleum refining, mining, utilities, food/beverage processing, bulk conveying and printing. Key to program planning was determining (and agreeing upon) the definition of a lead.
“PointClear worked with our marketing and sales people, as well as our distributors, to precisely define a lead,” said Jacqueline Gay, marketing services manager at Bay Minette, Ala.-based Quincy. “What type of company is most likely to buy; how many employees does it have; what are its annual sales? PointClear helped us answer those questions, allowing us to focus on our most productive targets,” she said.
Within days, PointClear was penetrating new markets — and began providing qualified opportunities sales reps needed to meet revenue goals.
Uncovering High Value Sales Opportunities
“More than 85 percent of the opportunities PointClear has sent our way are prospects not previously on our radar screen,” said Gay, who works closely with a marketing team that supports internal and external sales representatives and distributor locations. “We are connecting to new targets in our universe of prospects. We’re closing sales that before might have gone to a competitor,” she said.
Few companies have the resources in-house to adequately and completely cover target markets. In most cases that means only a fraction of the deals that could be are closed because only a fraction of the market is contacted. PointClear contacts all companies in the focus markets to make sure they know Quincy’s solutions exist and the value proposition is understood.
Engaging Decision Makers
Market coverage is valued, but that’s not all that sets PointClear apart. “Their approach is different,” Gay said. “PointClear associates don’t just call prospects; they have conversations with them. They engage our potential customers about pain points and specific solutions. Whether the target is experiencing downtime, costly overruns, lack of capacity or lack of in-house engineering expertise, PointClear’s people have the skills to engage in meaningful dialogue.”
This knowledge-based approach not only advances the sales cycle, but provides critical market intelligence to enhance the sales process, including information about competitors, priorities and marketplace trends.
Multiplying Business Impact
PointClear uses a multi-touch, multi-media, multi-cycle process. By combining the right frequency, messaging, and mix of calls, voice mail and e-mail (with links to Quincy’s website, white papers and research), PointClear drives 90% more interaction with this company’s prospects than a single-channel, single-touch method would.
“Through our work with PointClear, we’ve learned about 6 percent of our target market is in a buying mode for our products/services at any one time,” said Gay. “PointClear knows what it takes to identify, qualify and nurture the highest-performing sales targets, and is continually fine tuning the contact strategy based on which tactics work, which ones fail, and why.”
Sales Opportunities Maximized
Gay summarized three key benefits of the long-term Quincy/PointClear partnership: Quincy prospects know who Quincy is; Quincy’s sales, marketing and distribution teams know precisely who their prospects are and what’s going on in the market and the funnel; and most importantly Quincy’s pipeline stays full of actionable sales opportunities.