Since most penalty kicks (75%) in soccer are converted, all the pressure is on the kicker to score. And for the best goalkeepers, it’s a moment to gain real competitive advantage for their team. Because even with the odds stacked terribly against them, when they read the signals the kicker gives off, the most experienced goal keepers are in fact 35% more successful at anticipating where the ball will go. That puts them well ahead of their less skilled brethren.
As B2B marketers and sellers, we’re faced with related (albeit more prosaic) challenges around prediction. If we’re depending only on the leads we can see in our systems, we’re at a huge disadvantage compared to ABM pros. Comparing what we can see using TechTarget’s own real purchase intent insight to an average of what our clients show as leads in their systems, without “Intent,” companies may be missing upwards of 85% of the actual demand in their market. If you really want to win more, it’s all about using the best information available to increase your chances.
What does it take to “own” your competition?
Inexperienced keepers “play the averages.” They attempt to anticipate a given kicker’s placement based on statistics. Makes sense. Yet it only rarely works because shootouts are actually rare during the season. It seems like there’s not enough data to make a much of a difference. So the best keepers use all the stats, and then they go beyond that: They “read the kicker,” observing the live behavioral signals from his eyes, his stance, run-up, foot position, hips, and more. In the hands of a top goalie over a 5-shot penalty round, this secret sauce can really pay off.
The same goes for any predictive model: what comes out is only as good as the data that goes in. And like the poor goalies who depend only on the past season’s statistics, predictive models you’re able to build from CRM and MAP data are often essentially crippled by the small transaction rates so characteristic of B2B. The league tables show that practically all the real winners benefit hugely from the incredible information available out there about the here and now. That’s what you get with TechTarget’s real purchase intent.
Real observed intent delivers better results
For a keeper trying to save a penalty, watching the kicker for clues has been proven to be a winning approach. The most experienced keepers improve their chances by 35% reacting more accurately to real behavioral signals.
As a B2B marketer, if you have access to more relevant signals, you can know which accounts to concentrate on, who to contact within those accounts, and exactly what to say. Over and over, our customers have proven the impact this has on what goes into their pipelines, the ensuing conversion rates, and the revenue that comes out at the end.
To learn more about how you can fuel your pipeline faster with observed intent, view this short video.
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