How MD2MD used SoPro campaigns to drive sales without building out internal business development teams
Website
www.md2md.co.ukCompany profile
Location:
UK
Product/Service:
Professional Training & Coaching
Deal cycle:
Various
Target profile
Location:
UK / Worldwide
Company size:
SEM to Enterprise
Role/Function:
Senior Roles
How MD2MD used Sopro to pivot their business model, expand into new markets, and thrive in challenging times
For a business that's all about connecting Managing Directors for peer networking, prospecting is the perfect fit. Sopro emails feel like a personal approach, in keeping with the philosophy of the company, and deliver high lead rates at low cost.
Headline Results
The client
MD2MD helps its members to improve business performance and become the best leaders they can be. It’s a peer support network of operational business leaders that support and challenge each other.
MD2MD does this primarily through peer challenge board meetings. These confidential meetings produce an environment that is hard to replicate: independent non-executives are there to advise, challenge and support.
MD2MD also facilitates speaker-led workshops on a variety of topics, two-day strategy events, and a mini-conference. It’s a multifaceted programme that helps business leaders to lead better.
“Sopro helped us grow from a mom and pop small business to a properly managed, scalable, medium-sized business.”
Bob Bradley, Managing Director, MD2MD
The challenge
MD2MD has been a Sopro client for years and has seen consistent results in that time.
Prospecting is the perfect fit for a business that’s all about connecting Managing Directors for peer networking opportunities. Sopro emails can reach MDs in a way that other channels often struggle to do. To the reader, the emails feel like a manual, personal approach; in keeping with the networking philosophy of the company.
When the pandemic hit, MD2MD were in trouble. They knew straight away that in-person meetings – the mainstay of their business model – would be on hold for the foreseeable future. Placing activity on hold, MD2MD reached out to their audience and discovered that the need for their service was greater than ever.
There was no rulebook for the pandemic, no training that could have prepared anyone for what to do next. Their ability to deliver the networking that was urgently needed, at least in their established format, was gone. So Managing Director Bob Bradley hatched a plan.
“Sopro helped us to develop a steady stream of leads – reach more people, more consistently, more reliably – and basically build a steady growth system.”
Bob Bradley, Managing Director, MD2MD
Our solution
MD2MD decided to pivot and move the operation online during any lockdowns. Despite lacking the sense of connection of in-person gatherings, the virtual meet-ups did offer other benefits:
- The pool of speakers – and members – went global.
- The scheduling of meetings was simplified.
- New members could be introduced and onboarded with greater ease.
MD2MD and their Sopro team worked together on establishing the new messaging and building the new audience to deliver it to.
And while other marketing channels would be used in time, it was prospecting alone that could get that message out at speed, and contact the right people at that vital time.
“We spotted the moment and timing in business is critical. As they say, the only sustainable competitive advantage is your agility, your ability to respond effectively to opportunities.”
Bob Bradley, Managing Director, MD2MD
And with the new global focus proving to be a hit with the target audience, it was Sopro’s prospecting that again proved to be the channel to grow the business, instantly allowing MD2MD to scale up.
“Having established that what we had was even more attractive to business leaders, we tripled our spend on prospecting. A year on, we have tripled our membership. We’ve recruited twice as many members in the last nine months as we did in the previous 15 years!”
Bob Bradley, Managing Director, MD2MD
Now that in-person events are back on the agenda, MD2MD has returned to hosting these valuable events alongside the online sessions. But now, their focus is global.
The results
To date, Sopro has delivered over 2,300 leads for MD2MD, at an average cost per lead of £27.55. The lead rate (not just replies, but actual qualified leads) has been as high as 16%, and in almost four years it has never dropped below 4%.
“We had to find a new audience in a new geography really quickly, and email prospecting was a fantastic way to do that. Sopro opened a brand new market up for us – we moved into Europe to start with and they’re now helping us move even further afield.”
Emma Phipps, Director and General Manager, MD2MD
“We have been delighted by impressively-high engagement”
‘We have been working with sopro for numerous years and have not found another service which delivers the same great return on investment. All of our campaigns have been successful and the team are always looking at different ways to ensure optimum engagement. ’
Emma Phipps, General Manager MD2MD
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