Executive Summary

Finding ways to improve the success of the outbound sales process is a massively complicated task. There are many steps between prospecting and closing a deal, one of the first being successfully engaging your prospects. When you find a tactic that works, the challenge then becomes how an organization can scale it and achieve consistent results from their sales development representatives (SDRs) and campaigns over time. RevGen found success in putting a personal touch on automated digital advertising.

Adwerx performed an experiment with a group of SDRs from RevGen to test whether Customer Relationship Advertising™ targeted towards individual prospects could help improve the results of the outbound sales process. FaceForwardTM is Adwerx’s unique approach to advertising that puts a face on every ad.

The specific metrics identified to measure success were demos booked, show rate, and close rate. The data were compelling, and showed that Customer Relationship Advertising™ significantly increased performance at all stages of the sales process.

Experiment results:
+29% demos booked
+20% show rate
+25% close rate

About RevGen

Based in Raleigh, NC, RevGen provides outsourced, inside sales support for technology and software companies. They work with clients to drive additional sales-qualified-leads, and develop skilled sales individuals who represent their customers through unique and enjoyable interactions.

Challenges & Objectives

SDRs at RevGen were facing a common challenge. The prospects they were calling matched the ideal customer profile and had demonstrated interest, yet the dial to demo ratio was low. This is not an unusual occurrence in sales, when outreach is being done to cold or even warm prospects with whom the SDR has had no prior contact. But these lost opportunities are frustrating and costly.

Customer Relationship Advertising™

A unique feature of Adwerx is the proprietary FaceForwardTM methodology that ad templates are based on. This is an approach to advertising that puts a face on every ad, and is based on the principles of trust and empathy that drive consumer behavior. Studies show that 95% of consumer decision making takes place subconsciously, so it’s important to have insight into the emotional and psychological reactions to specific ad elements. People recognize ads with a face twice as fast and are 11 times more likely to interact with them.

Customer Relationship Advertising™ by Adwerx consists of targeted digital ads that run directly to individuals on Facebook and the premium web. They have traditionally been used as a way to stay top-of-mind with past clients and referral partners. Contacts are added to an ad campaign from a CSV file or through an integration with your email provider or CRM.

Experiment Procedure & Data

Adwerx worked with RevGen SDRs to conduct an experiment that tested whether or not FaceForwardTM advertising could improve efficiency and help meet sales objectives.

Hypothesis: Running FaceForwardTM advertising to prospects is better than not
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
% demos booked
% demos marked "Show"
% Closed Won

Prior to beginning the experiment, each SDR had a personalized FaceForwardTM ad created for them. A custom audience ad campaign targeting individual prospects using their email address was created. The sample was split, half receiving an ad and half receiving no ad, and the campaign ran for one month. Results were tracked on prospects who received an ad vs. those who received no ad.

Description: Sample FaceForwardTM ad used for the experiment prominently features SDR’s face and name.

Results

The results indicate that FaceForwardTM ads improve efficiency in the sales process. The ads produced at least a double-digit net lift at all stages of the sales process. The demo booked rate saw a net lift of 29%, and even with hand-off to the sales team, show rate saw a 20% increase and close rate saw 25%.

Net Lift With FaceForward^TM Ad
Total prospects

Demo booked rate 29%

Show rate 20%

Close rate 25%

Implications

→Ads with faces help build a sales relationship
↑Sales reps are able to build a better connection with prospects as they subconsciously interact with their ads online.
→Running these ads make SDRs more efficient
↑SDRs didn't have to do anything extra, it ran alongside what they were already doing and improved their efficiency and effectiveness.

John Rosar, CEO of REVGEN was astounded by the implication of the results. “The results were outstanding,” he said, “This took no time or effort from my sales reps, and led to a double-digit lift in show rate for our appointments - which of course led to more revenue. It’s simple to scale for the organization; it's a no-brainer to continue using this tactic.”

Implementation of Findings

CEO of Adwerx, Jed Carlson, was similarly intrigued by the findings. “We knew there were major improvements in the listing performance of real estate agents from prior case studies, but had never run any experiments outside of that industry,” Carlson continued, “This indicates what we hypothesized for many years; Adwerx technology is beneficial for sales teams in any industry. We’re excited to continue our research.”

A FaceForwardTM ad can be created in less than two minutes and can contribute significantly in revenue and efficiency. At the enterprise level, ad templates are pre-approved, brand compliant, and fully customizable. For sales organizations of any size, this means that the process is scalable, repeatable, yet still personalized and customized. For a medium sized business with an ASP of $20,000, a 25% increase in close rate could mean $5,000 more in gross revenue.

Adwerx technology can help any sales organization with a CRM deliver ads to individual prospects. Integrations with Gmail, MoxiWorks and Total Expert make it possible for sales reps to stay in front of prospects 24/7 with no effort.

About Adwerx

Adwerx is an adtech company that believes that the digitization of our economy requires unique ways to establish a human connection. Always at the forefront of personalized, custom digital advertising, Adwerx specializes in advertising automation for distributed sales teams across real estate, mortgage, wealth management and beyond. Their ad templates were created using marketing best practices and their unique FaceForwardTM advertising methodology. This is an approach to advertising that puts a face on every ad, and is based on the psychological principles of trust and empathy that drive consumer behavior. Learn more here, and register for free tickets to see us our booth at the Sales Innovation Expo 2022