We know the goal of multi-threading is to engage multiple buying team members to build trust and win over the group. But how can revenue teams accomplish this? Here are some core strategies for effective multi-threading.
Build Multi-Threading Into Your Business Processes
In a world where buyers work in groups, most businesses still use systems and processes that reward driving individual leads, rather than true demand (i.e. engaged accounts).
For instance: Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) are inherently single-threaded, but if marketing is measured on driving MQLs, they’ll continue to pass solitary leads to sales. The same is true if your BDRs are comped on booking meetings with one contact. These approaches leave reps starting sales processes in single-threaded deals.
But a sales rep — or even the sales team — shouldn’t be responsible for influencing an entire account. As 6sense’s Mark Ebert wrote in No Forms, No Spam, No Cold Calls: “Everyone across the revenue team — marketers and sellers alike — needs to be dedicated to multi-threading accounts, or connecting with multiple personas across the buying team, right from the start.”
The simplest way to guarantee your team multi-threads is to build it into your SLAs and comp.
At 6sense, an account is only qualified once it has three engaged contacts. Even if a lead comes inbound from a form-fill or demo request, we follow up with that person and two additional people at the company. That way we know when an account is handed to a rep, they’re off to a flying start.
Make Use of The Entire Revenue Team
Multi-threading isn’t just about engaging more people on the buyer side. There should be multiple people involved on the seller side, too.
An effective way to do this is to introduce peers in like-for-like positions. No matter how great your reps, buyers like hearing from people in their positions. (If you don’t have direct peers then consider recruiting stakeholders at a similar level.) A direct introduction and conversation is most effective, but ghost notes and peer-to-peer nurtures are viable alternatives.
Along with introducing relevant peers, lean on the rest of your revenue team:
- BDRs are your multi-threading wingmen (and wingwomen). Involve them throughout a sales process to help uncover and engage multiple stakeholders. If you’re having a hard time reaching certain members of the team, get a BDR to follow up.
- Marketing can deliver targeted ads and content to warm up other members of the buying groups. Organizing an event or webinar that addresses the specific pain points and challenges of multiple stakeholders within the target account can be an effective way to engage multiple members of the buying team at once.
- Use AI as an extra teammate. Peripheral members of a buying group can be nurtured using AI assistants like conversational email, which follow up with complementary resources and answer basic questions to evaluate interest until they’re ready to take action.
Consider the Bigger Picture
The best multi-threading taps into the overall strategy and goals of your target accounts. By understanding how each department’s goals fit into the wider company initiatives, you can tailor your approach and messaging to better address the needs of multiple members of the buying team.
Publicly traded companies’ strategies are usually more readily available through earnings transcripts and press releases. But do some digging on any companies’ websites, social, or newsrooms and you can usually figure out their overall focus.
As we mentioned earlier, positioning your solution as a fix for wider company initiatives can unlock budget from multiple teams and large deals.
Multichannel, Multi-touch
McKinsey recently reported that B2B buyers now use more channels when researching potential vendors — up to 10 channels in 2021, compared to five in 2016.
But whether it’s LinkedIn, Drift videos, voicemails, WhatsApp, or email, we all have our preferred channels. You have to find the right channels for the right stakeholders.
Even if you find the right channel, don’t expect one or two touches to move your buyer swiftly down the path to purchase. Our CMO also recently shared that it now takes 32 activities to progress an account from Stage 1 to Stage 2 — double the previously reported number.
This sounds like a lot of work, but don’t forget it’s a team effort. You can also make personalized tweaks to the core messaging around an account’s pain points and your value prop for individual contacts to be used across multiple channels and cadences.
Add Value
In a world where your buyer is surrounded by distractions and competing messages, you have to be useful to stand out. Whichever channel you’re using, always consider how you’re adding value. If you can put your prospect first throughout the process, they’re more likely to help out when you do have an ask.
Think of it in a 3:1 ratio — offer value three times before making an ask.
This holds true when you’re approaching the wider buying group. Connecting on LinkedIn and sending a sales pitch won’t cut it. Instead build authority by consistently sharing valuable content. This is a simple way to build recognition with multiple stakeholders and increases the likelihood they’ll engage with you further down the line.
Playing the long game can pay off later during discussions with the wider buying group. By then, you’ll sit top of mind as a credible resource.
