Aziri

Discover how Aziri witnessed a significant improvement in lead generation and the amount of booked meetings in just one year of using The Linq Group’s lead generation services. The partnership not only helped exceed Aziri’s lead generation targets but also helped them navigate the challenges of the software industry’s long sales cycles.

About Aziri

Based in Zonhoven, Belgium, Aziri offers software development and IT consultancy to support its clients with digital transformation through low-code and no-code solutions. The company focuses on developing custom-made software for businesses that require specific solutions that do not exist within the current market.

“One of our KPIs was, of course, the number of first meetings because that’s the first step for us to get new clients. The Linq Group helped us with reaching that goal last year and this year as well. Without your service, we would fall way beneath our KPIs.”

Maxim Daels, Co-Owner and Sales Manager of Aziri

Aziri’s search for effective lead-generation strategies

“Through traditional approaches, our response rates were quite low. It was also challenging to get qualified leads and, generally, find people who want to have an interaction with us and agree to have a first meeting.”

Before starting to work with us, Aziri was on a quest to find effective lead-generation strategies to fuel their growth. Their journey with The Linq Group began in April 2022 through a pilot sponsored by their partner, Betty Blocks. The initial pilot lasted three months, and Aziri was so enthusiastic about the results that they decided to continue the partnership with a new contract.

Maxim Daels, the Co-Owner and Sales Manager of Aziri, explains, “When we started working together, a lot of Betty Blocks partners were struggling to find new leads, which included us as well. So, through Betty Blocks, we started with a trial period of three months with The Linq Group. After that trial period ended, we were really happy with your service, so we continued with a new contract on our own.”

Traditional lead generation techniques did not deliver the results Aziri was looking for

Kurt van Eeckhout, the Co-Founder of Aziri, explained the motivation behind the decision to collaborate with The Linq Group. He says, “The world changed, and getting in touch with new prospects became more and more complex. We needed to find an alternative to reach out to people and make sure that the solution we offer is known to a broader audience. Social media and LinkedIn seemed like good alternatives, and that’s why we wanted to do that with you guys. It was very helpful to find a partner in The Linq Group who was capable of managing that part of our lead generation process.”

Maxim adds, “We hosted webinars and tried to do physical events in Belgium. We attended fairs and networking events. We also tried mass email campaigns that were really disappointing, to be honest. Besides that, we also tried newsletters and Google Ads, but nothing delivered the results we wanted.”

Their LinkedIn outreach also fell short of creating quality leads they were looking for. Maxim acknowledges, “Even though, we were already active on the platform before, we couldn’t get any traction, and our approach was definitely not as organized and effective as The Linq Group’s.”

Defining strategies to approach a challenging industry

As Aziri focuses on building custom-made software for its clients, the company’s solutions can fit a wide variety of business challenges. Due to this ‘no size fits all’ approach, their product positioning is more difficult to define.

“If you’re like us, a company that can develop basically anything a customer wants, it’s more complex to have a clear statement or approach to how you will contact prospects. Working with you guys, we made it happen to qualify specific audiences and create an effective pitch and communication strategy.”

To approach this client base, Aziri needed a partner with the right expertise that could support them on this quest. “The Linq Group also helped shape the campaigns. It was really a joint exercise. Together, we looked at what the best outreach strategy could be for us and who our target audience should be.”

Kurt adds, “We tried many angles and just looked at the response rate after making the first attempts. Based on these reactions, we then continued or did not continue certain approaches. I think that is a very good way of trying to figure out which strategy has the most potential.”

The Linq Group also helped Aziri zero in on their specific target audience through LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator to make sure the meetings that were booked were also with the right people. “We looked at how we can refine all the parameters in Sales Navigator; the person, their function, and the sector. So we feel like we’ve had great support from your side in building the campaigns.”

After six months, Aziri saw an increase in meetings with qualified leads

Within the first six months of working with The Linq Group, Aziri saw satisfying results, which were hitting and surpassing the KPIs coordinated at the start. Maxim highlights, “All The Linq Group KPIs were very on point in terms of the number of meetings, the number of messages, and the response rates that we saw.”

The collaboration led to valuable introductions with warm, pre-qualified leads. Maxim explains, “You delivered warm leads, so the quality of the meetings was really good. Your approach was definitely more effective than when we would pick up a phone and just cold-call people or continue with any of the other techniques we used before. So that was already a huge step for us.”

A lead generation approach that proved valuable for Aziri’s long sales cycles and long-term goals

“It’s an important thing for us to note that within our sales process, we are playing the long game with The Linq Group.”

Kurt emphasized that within the software industry, immediate conversions are rare, and building valuable long-term relationships is key. He explains, “For us as a software development company, we don’t see immediate conversions from first contacts to a pipeline deal to a successfully closed deal. It takes quite some time. I don’t think that you should expect that when you start today, you will sell your solution within the next few months. It takes somewhere between six months to a year to create something that is sustainable.”

Maxim explains, “Software is often built on an investment model, and it’s not just a product you invest in once. There are a lot of people involved in the decision-making process, and it has to fit their specific needs as well as their budget.”

Due to the number of decision-makers involved in Aziri’s sales process and the lengthy sales cycles, The Linq Group’s long-term strategy proved to be successful. With in-depth knowledge and a supporting database of the most effective outreach strategies for Aziri’s target industry, The Linq Group was able to build campaigns that hit the mark and delivered meetings with the right DMUs.

“Once we found the sweet spot, the campaigns delivered the right meetings with qualified leads.”

Maxim remains optimistic about the results, stating, “During the first few months, we shared a lot of information with prospects to get them acquainted with our services. Now, we’re starting to see the fruits of those first months. We just closed two deals, and we are hopeful that this will continue in the coming months.”

The good communication between the teams became an additional strong point in working toward Aziri’s goals

“We feel like we’ve had great support from your side in building effective campaigns.”

Seamless communication with The Linq Group proved essential for Aziri’s success. Maxim commends their Success Manager, saying, “Our Success Manager, Yorin, is a super friendly guy. He is very helpful, and it is great working with him and having our weekly calls discussing the results and reviewing our strategy.”

Kurt adds, “I think the communication was excellent. I enjoy working with Yorin a lot. You can see that he has a lot of experience. He knows how to ask the right questions to come up with a good pitch and a good way of approaching people through LinkedIn. We have regular meetings to evaluate where we are, do follow-ups, and change and adapt where needed. So, the communication is very, very professional.”

How the lead generation campaigns helped Aziri hit all its KPIs and improve the productivity of their sales team

The lead generation service also proved beneficial for the effectiveness and productivity of Aziri’s sales team. Maxim emphasizes, “It was a load off their mind not having to focus solely on getting a first contact and booking a first meeting. It really helps them to focus more on other activities and use other tools to generate leads or focus on account management, for example.”

Most importantly, The Linq Group helped Aziri to meet their KPIs, “One of our KPIs was, of course, the number of first meetings because that’s the first step for us to get new clients. The Linq Group helped us with reaching that goal last year and this year as well. Without your service, we would fall way beneath our KPIs.”

A journey of growth and success

“To sum up our partnership in one sentence – The Linq Group was the ideal LinkedIn expert to have on board with us during the year.”

In just one year of using The Linq Group’s lead generation services, Aziri witnessed a significant improvement in lead generation and the amount of booked meetings. The partnership not only exceeded their previous lead generation targets but also helped them navigate the challenges of the software industry’s long sales cycles. With The Linq Group’s support, Aziri successfully reached its growth goals and looks forward to continued collaboration in the future.