B2G procurement can be lucrative, but they don’t let just anybody work with the government. Suppliers must prove themselves worthy of public funds, which doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to set up long-term relationships with contracting authorities; time and trust.
We’re going to discuss some of the benefits and challenges of developing relationships in the B2G sector. We’ll also look at how to nurture leads with key decision-makers and stakeholders in government departments, so you can secure your future in public sector procurement.
Building Relationships With Public Sector Buyers
If you want to succeed in public procurement, you must understand the procurement processes. You must also know which roles are key to procurement decision making. They aren’t always directly responsible for purchasing services, products, or works.
Who is responsible for policy implementation, for instance? They have valuable knowledge about end users and even about regulatory compliance. The people in budgeting are also important links in the procurement chain. They know if there is any room for negotiation or if budgets are too strapped to provide wiggle room.
The next question is, where can you meet key personnel?
Network Industry Events
Industry events are the perfect neutral ground for networking and meeting potential leads. This is not a job for wallflowers. You need someone who can effortlessly engage with perfect strangers. Someone who is charming without being kitsch and has a genuine interest in understanding pain points and procurement challenges.
More reserved suppliers can leverage existing contacts to get the most out of industry events. Look at your contacts list to find colleagues or partners who could stand to benefit from an event and attend the event together.
This does two things:
- Creates safety in numbers. You feel more confident meeting future customers when you’re with someone you know.
- Creates the opportunity for personalised introductions, which immediately establishes a degree of professional credibility.
How to network effectively
Whether you’re on your own or with a friend, there are certain Dos and Don’ts that can make or break your networking efforts.
DO:
- Dress professionally. The best way to make a good first impression is to look the part. You might not like ties, but your shoes can be polished and your suit perfectly pressed.
- Be prepared. For example, if you find it difficult to spontaneously start up conversations, have some conversation starters prepared.
- Speak clearly. If you’re nervous, practice talking in front of a mirror, so you can see if you have a habit of hiding your mouth behind your hands or looking down when you talk. Get used to looking up and maintaining eye contact and don’t mumble.
- Use active listening skills to convey genuine interest and empathy and fully understand pain points or challenges.
DON’T:
- Wear shorts and flip-flops – anything overly casual.
- Give yourself a nickname when you meet other attendees. This isn’t a uni reunion.
- Use slang or swear profusely.
- Spend just enough time listening to someone, so you can break in with a snappy reply.
- Be unprepared, which can be anything from forgetting your business cards to forgetting to comb your hair.
- Hang back and wait for people to come to you.
- Shamelessly spill your sales spiel.
B2G Lead Nurturing Process
You’ve networked and met people who definitely qualify as potential leads, now what?
Now it’s time for nurturing public sector leads, not just to build long-term relationships, but also to guide them through the sales funnel.
Let’s assume you’ve attended several industry events and succeeded in your effective lead nurturing strategy efforts, connecting with many, many influencers. It’ll help your cause to organise them into categories or segments. You can segment leads into whatever categories make sense to you, but typical segments include:
Job role: The head of procurement in local education has purchasing power, but the marketing manager at a regional office might be able to influence decisions. Each requires a unique lead nurturing and customer retention strategy.
Department or sector: The head of health has very different needs from the head of construction, so again, each requires a different lead nurturing program and approach. Local council leaders have different challenges to central government leaders – yep, a different lead nurturing approach for each.
Engagement level: Despite your charm, some leads are more interested (or qualified) than others. Those who are deeply interested can be gently guided down the sales funnel until they are primed to look favourably at your products, services, or works. All within the principles of fair competition with no undue favour or bias, of course.
Those who are politely interested effective lead, might be better swayed by relationship building first, then lead qualification.
Personalised lead nurturing strategies
Personalisation is important whenever you’re trying to build relationships or nurture leads. But it’s more so in the public sector, where there might be the perception that procurement is serious business because governing the country is serious business.
But, the people who work in government departments appreciate a little thought and consideration just like everyone else.
So, follow up initial contact by sending personalised lead nurturing emails within 48 hours of the event. You can refer to event highlights or a particularly interesting conversation. This shows successful lead that you have a genuine interest in them and that you actively listened to what they had to say.
Incorporate content into your lead nurturing strategy
Who doesn’t like interesting stuff?
Content always has been and always will be one of the best ways to attract and nurture leads. The key word is ‘interesting’.
Your content should provide value, whether that’s stats in case studies, research in a whitepaper, actionable insights in an infographic, or a short video clip demonstrating how to use a product. Remember: Always tailor your relevant content to your target audience.
Content distribution is just as important as the valuable content. Email has proven to be a consistently effective communication channel, but mix it up with social media posts on professional sites, like LinkedIn. LinkedIn is particularly useful for professional content marketing, and all the potential connections make it an essential tool in lead nurturing campaigns.
Throw in some webinars. Live webinars – subsequently on-demand webinars – are great for interesting topics and real-time engagement with target customers.
Exclusive access to content makes leads feel special and scores you many brownie points. Things like VIP or early bird access to webinars or invitations to exclusive gated content (webinars, whitepapers, case studies) are great for collecting more information from leads while providing extra value.
Whatever you do, always comply with procurement regulations and related legal and operational legislation, for example, GDPR for data security. Compliance and transparency are emphasised in the Procurement Act 2023, but they also establish your credentials as a responsible, ethical supplier whom contracting authorities can trust.
Maintaining Leads
Nurturing leads is an ongoing task. At no point can you take your foot off the pedal and just coast on past success. No, you have to work on it. Understanding the buyer’s journey is crucial to enhance customer engagement and conversion rates. Tailoring your marketing approaches based on the various stages of the buyer’s journey can significantly improve your already effective lead nurturing strategies.
Here are some tips to maintain meaningful relationships.
Keep your word. If you say you will do something, you’d better do it. The best way to lose trust and scupper relationships with potential customers is to consistently fail to deliver on your promises. If it looks like you won’t be able to deliver as expected, let the buyers know in advance and assure them that you are on top of the matter and will resolve it ASAP.
Provide unimpeachable customer service. Don’t give buyers anything to complain about. Deliver quality products and services on schedule. Assign one person, one point of contact, to maintain all communication with a buyer for the duration of the contract. All questions, requests, comments, and feedback go through them, ensuring consistency in communication.
Exceed expectations. Doing what’s required is great. Get the job done, do it well and everyone is happy. But, go the extra mile and provide a little more value, including social value, and people aren’t just happy. They’re impressed – and that is a very good thing.
Show appreciation. This is not about fawning gratitude that buyers deigned to throw some business your way. It’s appreciation for the trust they’ve shown in choosing you and for any contributions they might have made to the successful completion of a project.
In the spirit of collaboration, you can celebrate milestones together – a gentle reminder that you have done some amazing work.
How Can SMEs (and other businesses) Build Government Relationships?
Below we’ll look at three practical steps SMEs and other business enterprises can take to create relationships and nurture leads.
- Embrace early engagement with government buyers. In fact, not just early engagement but every opportunity for engagement. Go to government-hosted industry events, like workshops and supplier briefings. The chance to make new leads, get the inside scoop on tenders, and get a better understanding of government needs is too good to pass up.
- Generate leads beyond the procurement team. We briefly mentioned this above. There are more stakeholders involved in public procurement than you might think. It’s a good idea to build relationships with these people, including technicians and end-users.
- Collaborate with relevant partners. Introduce yourself to sub-contractors and second or third-tier suppliers. Your network extends to include theirs, which is great, but you can also join forces and bid on contracts that require your combined business offerings.
Suppliers can also work with B2G marketing agencies to develop early engagement strategies and get guidance on making compelling and interactive webinars. Cadence Marketing specialises in B2G marketing strategies. We provide a range of services that will help you network efficiently, including market research to identify worthwhile leads and find industry events that you can use to launch your marketing automation government relationship-building strategy.
Contact us now for a free consultation or for any other queries you may have about marketing and lead nurturing strategies in the public sector.
