February 25, 2021 A-SAFE Uses Detailed Customer Insights to Gain Traction

A-SAFE, a global provider of polymer safety guardrails, breaks into the North American market using LinkedIn to prospect sales.

CHALLENGE

A-SAFE is a global provider of polymer safety guardrails for manufacturers and industrial warehousing companies. The company is based in the UK and has a significant presence in Europe. It is seeking to build and strengthen its market share in the U.S.

The company is aiming to secure market share by educating potential leads about the unique benefits of its product over conventional guardrails and bollards. “Polymer guardrails are quite a new technology. We need a solution that allows us to gather leads and reach the correct audience, so we can enlighten them about our product.” says Terry Walker, Director of Sales in  North America, A-SAFE.

SOLUTION

A-SAFE followed their target audience to LinkedIn to help generate awareness of their products and solutions. “We encourage people to follow our company page. We also spread the word as much as possible about what makes A-SAFE solutions different and the benefits they bring to our customers. We love using LinkedIn because it provides a targeted audience and allows us to reach the right people,” says Terry.

Internal as well as external A-SAFE sales reps utilize LinkedIn Sales Navigator solutions to identify leads, cultivate lists, promote targeted messaging, and keep up with companies. “We encourage them to use the tool regularly, and around half the team uses it every single day,” says Terry.

RESULTS

A-SAFE has broken into a new North American market, largely using LinkedIn to cultivate prospects. The company’s sales reps have used LinkedIn to identify thousands of individual prospects across different geographic areas. “It’s a platform I use for 85% of my time,” says one A-SAFE rep with 100+ active prospects.

Through successful prospecting, A-SAFE has secured sales contracts with several Fortune 100 companies, with tickets ranging from $50K to $250K.

PUTTING CUSTOMERS FIRST

A-SAFE emphasizes putting the people who will be using and benefiting from their products (i.e. engineers, safety managers and facility managers) first in their selling process, by listening, understanding their needs, and making genuine connections with them. “Sales Navigator provides you with much more detail about each lead. We really didn’t have a platform like it before,” Terry says. “I’ll follow somebody and perhaps comment on one of their posts. Then, in time, I’ll try to connect with them once they have noticed that I’m reading their posts and engaging with their content,” Terry says.

This approach has opened doors for A-SAFE with some of the biggest companies in the US. “One of our top prospects was a leading brand in the eCommerce sector.” My aim was to connect with as many employees as I could at any level. I wanted them to see our products. See my posts. Share them. When I send out a post, I get 200+ views from them alone. Over the last two years, we have developed that company into one of our largest customers,” Terry explains.

CREATING CONNECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

Breaking into a new market takes time. A-SAFE uses LinkedIn not only to prospect sales today, but to create connections for tomorrow. “People move jobs every two years. The employee you connect with today may in time become a senior decision maker,” says Terry, who encourages  his sales reps to do the same.

This approach may not yield instant results, but the strategic selling model at A-SAFE teaches that it’s never too early for education, and meaningful interactions don’t go unnoticed as people’s careers prosper. “This is why I like connecting with people at all stages of their careers,” says Terry. “I may connect with them when they’re starting out in their careers, but depending on the company, they often move very fast up the chain.”

Subscribe to Industry Today