Learn.net Utilizes The eProspector Solution To Improve Its Sales Funnel Management and Sales Results

"eProspector is considered to be a highly cost effective, powerful lead generation tool."

Learn.net, Inc is in the e-Learning technology, content and services business, and supplies a range of "KnowledgeExcel" solutions for various target markets. Learn.net has become a recognized leader in various market segments, and continues its growth with many new solutions, products branding, new markets focuses, and pro active management of the sales funnel.  Its stated goal is to continually pursue the "Type B" funnel in the attached graphic, with its four major improvements from the typical Type A sales funnel.  As noted by Learn.net's CEO (and CMO) Larry Duckworth, "Achieving the Type B funnel is important to us as a small company.  We recognize that a larger volume at the bottom of the funnel is heavily dependent on more good leads at the top of the funnel.  Then, it is up to our sales tools, sales force, marketing programs, customer service, etc. to move the suspect to a lead, then to a prospect, and onto a hot prospect, then to a customer, and, very importantly, repeat customers."

Learn.net started using the eProspector solution in early 2004, after a review of several options.  They determined that eProspector had an optimal combination of e-mail access to target customers in a very efficient and effective manner, and was very cost effective to do so versus other alternatives. 

As noted by Larry Duckworth, " Our first focus was on executives in the insurance industry, our selected target focus at that time.  We needed to access the decision makers with a powerful set of stories and benefits.  We recognized that an e-mail management system is limited to only generate initial awareness and interest, consistent with the internal philosophy of pacing our communications in a matter that allows very busy (and constantly marketed to) prospects to determine if it is in their interest to spend time pursuing the message further.  Early messages must be simple and focus on benefits only, and do so in a matter of seconds. By this discipline, the prospect can determine if he/she is willing to spend more time with the next "chunk" of information, so that we can provide more complex features information. The goal of each step is purely to get them to go to the next, more complex steps. They have  to be willing and eager to receive even more complex and features information as we zero in on our solutions truly providing unique value to them.  We've found that if we try to go too fast the prospect does not appreciate the value versus the time costs tradeoff, so the communications will end.  By disciplining ourselves to communicating on a paced, 'chunked' basis, we can better improve our ability to continue the dialogue towards a sale. This process also helps us evaluate the quality of prospects. The eProspector solution's internal logic is ideal for us affecting this messaging flow."

The "KnowledgeExcel" solution, reflected in this graphic, has many optional components for customers.  It allows them to choose what level of sophistication of knowledge management they desire.  Often they will start with the more simple elements and then move progressively over time to add assessments and certifications.   A key aspect is the ability for all Learn.net solutions to be presented from the customer's website look and feel. 

"As can be seen, so many capabilities exist that we could overwhelm them with too much too fast. Moving prospects in a paced way from Why, then to What, then to How, then to How Much is an important pacing for us. The eProspector solution has proven to be a very powerful one for us in this regard, combined with the excellent 'opt-in' databases supplied by the eProspector group.  We also have a lot of our own databases, collected from various industry sources including trade shows.  The eProspector solution is very agile in incorporating our own databases.  This has allowed us to have two levels of focus in the insurance industry, one for executives and one for training managers at a lower level, but who are very important to us as 'influencers' and 'recommenders.'

"We are now undertaking our third, fourth, and fifth focuses with eProspector, for three different, new market segments.  We purchased a third license to do so at a very economical price.  Additionally, we are purchasing, through the eProspector team, three new databases that allow us to get to target vice presidents, senior vice presidents, executive vice presidents, all of whom are potential decision makers in the three new market segments. We have developed three new value message sets and 'grab' headers also."

Learn.net reported that they had, in parallel, tried a well known web optimizing service, to see what its lead generation capabilities were.  A four month pilot program revealed that the "shotgun" approach of the web optimizing service was not nearly as efficient as using the more "rifle" approach of the eProspector solution.  "We have found that the eProspector solution, combined with the specific database capabilities, have been much more efficient and effective in generating leads that turn into business.  The 'shotgun' approach simply did not work well for us, which was not the fault of the solution provider.  Rather, zeroing in on well-defined target prospects has been much more effective.  A key issue is that the logic within eProspector allows us to present randomized benefits and feature messages, with fourteen different types of message templates that randomly create hundreds of our marketing messages by the eProspector solution.  This results in the e-mail messages not getting boring to prospects that receive email messages on a highly frequent basis. 

"eProspector provides four types of response vehicles as a result of the messages, including: 1.  Telephone calls to our company; 2.  E-mail responses; 3.  Fax responses messages; and 4.  We can access a 'click - through' report that captures key names, titles, phone numbers, and the email addresses for individuals who click on our e-mail but did not physically respond.  That latter capability has been very powerful for us to be able to make follow-up contacts, by e-mail and phone, and develop leads from semi-warm contacts. New business has resulted from all four response vehicles."

Learn.net feels that e-mail communications using eProspector and the opt-in databases is the single best way to communicate with prospects.  Also, Learn.net is integrating the contacts with its ACT system, for total system integration. 

Duckworth observed that "We're very pleased with the cost effectiveness and power of the eProspector solution, and consider it to be the core of our improved funnel management program.  The eProspector team as been very responsive, has provided excellent ideas when we were initially developing our core value messages, and have provided us many other 'best practices' ideas for optimal results.  We have found no other solution that comes close to the value provided by eProspector. eProspector is considered to be a highly cost effective, powerful lead generation tool for Learn.net."

For more information about Learn.net, visit our web site at www.learn.net