Xential

Xential creates perfect documents, quickly and without surprise.

Think about document creation and you cannot go without xential, the market leader in document creation! With xential’s solution, organizations can create clear messages that connect their identity with their people. They do so by radiating the corporate identity in every way of message delivery going out from an organization. Thanks to xential, you will recognize a letter from the government or tax authorities right away.

Challenge

Xential’s goal was to explore the opportunities in other industries than the ones they were already operating in, since their product could be very useful for multiple markets. Their first main goal was to investigate their potential in education. As old habits die hard, xential had started off with cold calling before starting with the LinkedIn social selling approach of The Linq Group. However, with just cold calling, it was very hard to get the right person on the phone. Since people do not longer like to be called and secretaries already hold off on acquisition, xential achieved little results and started to look for a different approach.

It was a tongue-in-cheek message; you know the underlying sales intention but appreciate the way the conversation starts.

“The Linq Group doesn’t just shoot blanks. They look specifically at the type of audience and what strategy suits best, they argue this with success stories from other clients.”

Hans Lankamp, Manager Sales & Partners

Solution

Thus, when Hans Lankamp, xential’s manager sales & partners in the Netherlands, got in contact with The Linq Group’s business manager via the Linq Group’s Social selling method. It was a perfect fit right away.

Once the Linq Group rocket was launched, the results went through the roof. Interesting conversations were held and meetings were planned. What started out as an idea to gain knowledge and long-term relationships in a yet unknown market, rapidly transformed into a success with an average of seven appointments a week. They gained insights from about 30 meetings with various educational institutes, such as Higher Vocational Education and universities.

Even though xential was familiar with social selling, The Linq Group’s way of working was still new for them. They quickly learned the Linq Group social selling method and followed up all the conversations with an open and non-committal approach. The virtual cups of coffee (meetings) were a good opportunity to build a network, expand the xential brand and develop the top sales funnel in the education industry. Thanks to The Linq Group’s approach, they were able to build long-term relationships, gain knowledge, and keep their leads hooked. 

Results

Xential sees a future in this way of selling and is striving to implement this in their way of working in 2022. As Hans Lankamp explained: “With this kind of success, you should not want to be cold calling anymore. We want to connect and advise, followed by selling. That doesn’t happen with a hit & run mentality.” 

The greatest success xential has achieved is gaining insights into the industry. Their presumptions were confirmed: in prospecting, the advisor’s chair works much better than a hit & run mentality. Moreover, long-term relationships have been built with the right, qualified leads. In conclusion, xential has gained significant amounts of knowledge from the meetings they have had and besides, has been able to build a strategy for entering a new industry.