How to set up B2B sales prospecting for manufacturing leads

With complex sales cycles, intricacies of niche market targeting, and limited digital channel engagement, guiding manufacturing prospects through the funnel demands a strategic and sustained effort.

At Belkins, we have tested various prospecting strategies for our manufacturing clients to identify what drives meaningful conversions for each ICP segment.

This article will break down our approach to B2B sales prospecting in the manufacturing sector. We’ll examine each key stage — lead research, qualification, and nurturing — and show how our integrated strategy drives higher lead conversions.

Researching and validating manufacturing sales leads

Target the right prospects

Before research starts, studying your ideal customer profile (ICP) and total addressable market (TAM) to target the right people is vital. This often involves various stakeholders who impact decision-making.

📚 Related article: Manufacturing company ICP examples breakdown

Create a lead list draft using Sales Navigator 

Once this groundwork is complete, you can initiate lead research and utilize platforms like Apollo and Sales Navigator to identify decision-makers within target organizations.

Here’s how the initial search process using Sales Navigator unfolds.

Let’s assume your company specializes in embedded computing solutions, such as system-on-modules, and targets the aviation and aerospace sectors. The goal is to identify prospects in engineering or technical roles who oversee project design and make decisions related to embedded computing technologies.

First, click “Lead filters” to open the extended navigation with filtering options.

We usually begin by applying filters for geography, industry, job title, and company headcount.

 As you can see, 379 people match the selected filters.

Next, you can manually add each lead to the list or apply additional filters to refine both company and lead criteria simultaneously.

A valuable feature of Sales Navigator is its personalized recommendations, which automatically suggest leads and companies based on your preferences and past interactions:

Your lead list contains all the leads you save. You can add notes about your leads, message them directly, or connect for further outreach. But we recommend verifying first by following the next steps.

While manufacturing prospects may not always be highly active on LinkedIn, tools like Apollo and Sales Navigator provide valuable contact information that you can then further research and verify either manually or with tools like PhantomBuster,

Refine lead list 

Our lead researchers use tools like PhantomBuster to extract additional data from LinkedIn and other platforms, ensuring we gather accurate, up-to-date company details. This helps us work with fresh information aligned with your ICP and create personalized outreach strategies. 

Our research team always manually validates lead lists. Key verification steps at this point include:

• Reviewing contacts' LinkedIn profiles to confirm they are still in their current roles, as people often change positions, and targeting outdated contacts can waste valuable time.
• Verifying contact details, such as email addresses, by sending test messages and monitoring for bounces.
• Verifying the relevance of lead positions at companies.

Leverage industry-specific events (online and in-person) 

Industry-specific events, including conferences, trade shows, and digital gatherings, provide unique lead opportunities. LinkedIn events are also a good search tool for finding a complete attendee list.

You can always identify events that create urgency for your specific product. For example, if you build modular homes and see a city council approving new housing projects, it’s a perfect time to offer your services. Or if a big event is coming up that will need vending machines, you can step in with a timely solution.

Use niche lead sources

Some niche industries require specific resources. For example, if you sell equipment for modular home construction, monitoring city council decisions on housing projects or government RFPs for infrastructure can reveal opportunities to engage the right companies at the right moment. One source we use for this is RFP Delivery.

If you target institutions like universities, they must publish their sustainability plans for the coming year. This allows you to review their budgets, see if you are a strong match, and create a personalized approach if you sell sustainability-related equipment.

For another client in electronics manufacturing, we used BuyBoard. As a registered vendor, you can identify target organizations that are also part of BuyBoard. These entities typically include nonprofits such as school districts, police departments, and municipalities, which often prefer to purchase exclusively from registered vendors.

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• How to generate free leads for a manufacturing company
• 23 best prospecting tools and software for B2B sales in 2023

Qualifying and segmenting manufacturing sales leads

At this prospecting stage, SDRs and lead researchers assess the likelihood of a lead converting into a sale using predefined criteria tailored for each manufacturing sector.

Check these key qualification criteria for manufacturing

Key criteria for manufacturing sector qualification include:

• Various stakeholders: In larger companies, purchasing decisions typically involve multiple stakeholders — CEOs, operations managers, and procurement heads. You should qualify leads by ensuring they engage with the organization's right mix of decision-makers and influencers.
• Product line: If you sell raw materials or components to other manufacturers, manually verify that the company needs these materials by reviewing their product line on their website. Skipping this step can result in wasted outreach efforts.
• Regulations alignment: When targeting highly regulated industries such as healthcare, military, or aerospace, ensure your product complies with the necessary industry regulations. Failing to do so can disqualify leads early in the process.
• Growth trajectory: You should also assess the growth trajectory of manufacturing companies targeting private businesses. Organizations expanding, investing in new facilities, or developing new products are more likely to purchase manufacturing solutions. SDRs qualify leads by researching key growth indicators such as funding rounds, mergers, or new facility openings.
• Location limits: In-person product demonstrations are crucial for most companies in the manufacturing sector. Physical engagement is key in booking a face-to-face meeting after a call, conducting an on-site audit, or sending a sample to a potential buyer. Some manufacturing companies even invite prospects to on-site demo days to showcase their offerings firsthand.

Define high-priority prospects

When it comes to lead segmentation, select high-priority prospects based on one or more of the following criteria:

• The company immediately needs specific manufacturing solutions, actively seeks a new supplier, or wants to upgrade or scale its production capabilities.
• Stakeholders from the company post on LinkedIn or participate in relevant discussions about an issue that your product can immediately solve.
• The company actively attends industry-related offline or online events, signaling strong involvement in the sector.
• You know the company's existing technology is outdated, and your product offers undeniable ROI.

Segment leads by roles

In the manufacturing sector, we pay particular attention to segmenting leads by roles to define the approach to personalized campaigns. Key segments include:

• C-level executives: For leads where the buying decision is made at the executive level (e.g., CEOs, COOs), focus your outreach on long-term strategic benefits, such as ROI and efficiency improvements. These decision-makers prioritize how manufacturing solutions will drive overall business efficiency and growth.
• Operations and procurement managers: These roles are often central to purchasing decisions related to equipment and supply chains. The campaigns for operations and procurement heads can emphasize how your company's products can improve production efficiency, streamline processes, and reduce operational costs.
• Technical and engineering managers: Technical teams frequently have a significant influence on the purchasing process. You can highlight the technical capabilities, reliability, and efficiency of your manufacturing solutions for these leads, addressing their specific concerns about functionality and compatibility.

Segmenting your leads enables you to capture hot opportunities and deliver more targeted and relevant content, such as compliance regulation updates for the aerospace industry or cost-saving innovations tailored to electronics manufacturers.

📚 Related article: How to qualify B2B leads for better sales closing rates

Manufacturing lead nurturing

Lead nurturing done right helps build stronger relationships with manufacturing prospects, positioning your company as a valuable partner and guiding them toward a purchasing decision. Three key elements are essential in the manufacturing sector: omnichannel relationship-building, in-person engagement, and outreach tailored to each ICP segment.

Omnichannel relationship-building

With cold prospects typically requiring 20–50 touches, it's crucial to leverage all available channels to boost conversion rates. At Belkins, we champion omnichannel relationship-building, which focuses on creating a unified strategy where each channel complements the others. Unlike multichannel outreach, an omnichannel approach provides a cohesive, step-by-step plan for guiding prospects through the funnel, with all channels working in sync to create a seamless experience.

There are numerous ways to create a complementary strategy for manufacturing prospects, and factors like digital presence and market niche significantly shape the approach.

Below is just one example of how to engage prospects with a strong digital presence.

Step 1: Engage with the prospect's LinkedIn posts by liking, thoughtfully commenting, and sharing relevant content. You can also endorse a few of their skills to show support and increase visibility.

Step 2: Join LinkedIn groups the prospect is part of and actively participate in discussions.

Step 3: Send a personalized email referencing the prospect’s recent LinkedIn activity.

Step 4: Send a connection request with a personalized message referencing the email, and continue engaging with the prospect’s LinkedIn activity. Provide valuable comments or resources in LinkedIn groups.

Step 5: Send a follow-up email referencing the LinkedIn connection and outlining your product's personalized benefits. Include a call to action to schedule a brief call.

Step 6: Follow up with a phone call to prospects who have shown interest via email or LinkedIn. Discuss their current challenges with providers and how you can address them. Propose an in-person meeting or a personalized product demo.

In-person engagement

For many manufacturing prospects, face-to-face meetings and product demonstrations are essential for building trust and closing deals. We arrange in-person audits, offer product samples in campaigns, or invite prospects to demo days, ensuring decision-makers engage with your offerings in the most impactful way possible.

If you sell machinery, consider offering an on-site demo or a virtual walkthrough to show how your equipment integrates into their production process. This personal touch allows prospects to visualize the benefits within their own environment.

Another effective approach is to establish relationships with prospects before trade shows and conferences for more powerful in-person engagements. For example, we scheduled 135 face-to-face meetings with high-value prospects over 7 months for a medical technology company. The goal was to prearrange these meetings before the conference day. 

We did this by prioritizing the attendee list to focus on promising leads, conducting in-depth research on attendees to inform our outreach, and preparing highly personalized sequences for each event. This comprehensive strategy led to strong lead-to-appointment conversion rates, ranging from 4.2% to 13.8% across various conferences.

Personalized value proposition to each ICP segment

When personalizing value propositions for each ICP segment in manufacturing, choosing the right tone of voice and focusing on pain points are critical. 

For technical roles, focus on detailed product features, such as mold sizes (12"x12" to 10') and casting capacities (70 lbs to 8,000 lbs), highlighting efficiency and performance improvements. 

For C-level executives, shift the messaging to emphasize pricing advantages, revenue growth, and strategic partnership opportunities, keeping the tone more concise and business focused. This ensures technical prospects receive the granular details they value while senior executives understand the overall business impact and bottom-line benefits.

Other effective personalization tactics include referencing recent company changes, such as facility expansions or new sustainability initiatives, to position your product as a timely and relevant solution.

Regular follow-ups that introduce new benefits or case studies can significantly increase engagement. Typically, we send 3–4 follow-ups, each adding value with case studies, product demos, or success stories that address key challenges, such as reducing production downtime or improving cost efficiency.

Here are 3 targeting approaches we use for different manufacturing prospects:

Partnership approach

The partnership approach outlined in the email template below is ideal for prospects actively seeking innovative solutions as they enter new markets or open new facilities. These prospects are focused on forming strategic, long-term collaborations, making this approach well suited to addressing their need for reliable, growth-oriented partnerships.

Referral approach

This method is effective because it initiates a dialogue, demonstrates that you've done your research, and encourages prospects to connect you with the right decision-maker. It’s handy when you’re uncertain about the exact contact and aiming to leverage internal connections within the target company.

Face-to-face meeting approach

This lead nurturing approach is highly effective for building trust and relationships, especially with manufacturing companies with long sales cycles and high-value deals. It’s ideal for complex, high-stakes products or services requiring detailed discussions, particularly in aerospace, defense, and medical devices. Face-to-face meetings at trade shows or site visits are crucial for providing in-depth technical demonstrations and fostering stronger connections.

📚 Related article: 4 value proposition examples for manufacturing companies

How to create an outreach campaign for manufacturing (+ email templates)

When outsourcing B2B sales prospecting is the best choice

If managing B2B sales prospecting feels overwhelming, produces poor results, or drains internal resources, outsourcing to Belkins is a strategic solution. By partnering with our experienced team, your manufacturing company can refocus on core business operations while we manage your prospecting efforts.

With experience working with over 50 manufacturing companies, we understand the complexities of sectors like industrial machinery and hardware manufacturing. That’s why our experts collaborate closely with your team to align with your go-to-market strategy, brand voice, and ICP and can even help refine them for optimal results.

Contact Belkins today to assess your prospecting efforts and unlock new sales opportunities.