Get Dux-Soup savvy, with founder, Will van der Sanden!
The Influential Entrepreneur, Ashley Monk, interviewed our very own Will van der Sanden in her very first Episode of her new podcast, Onya, about (among other things) his love of software development, how Dux-Soup got started and where that name really came from!
Ashley’s interview with Will can be listened to in full on Audible, Apple Podcast, Spotify and Stitcher
If your headphones aren’t to hand, then read on to get Dux-Soup savvy, as we summarise the discussion and Will’s responses to Ashley’s questions - revealing how to get started with Dux-Soup, the best approach to drip campaigns and the secret behind Dux-Soup’s most effective marketing campaigns.
What is Dux-Soup?
For those who are new to Dux-Soup - it’s essentially a piece of software that will help you manage your lead generation activity on LinkedIn, by allowing you to automate a lot of the front-end sales activities that take up so much time at the start of the sales cycle.
So, how did Dux-Soup get started?
Dux-Soup was launched in 2015. The idea came about when Will’s wife came home and discussed a work requirement. She needed to find a way of managing lead generation that didn’t involve multiple data-inputters, and vast amounts of spreadsheets! As a software developer, Will was keen to find a less-manual solution and felt certain there was a way to automate the activity – so that’s what he did!
THAT name – where did it come from?
Will also gives his wife the credit for the brand name! It’s a play on words. Back in the day ‘easy as duck soup’ was a saying synonymous with a task being ‘easy to do’. Given that the software which had been developed was trying to automate the process of inputting data into excel (.xls), the x, replaced the ‘ck’ in Duck – and there you have it! Dux-Soup was born!
What separates Dux-Soup from competitors in the market?
If you’re using LinkedIn for lead gen, you’ll need to be quite process-driven, otherwise you’ll be putting a lot of time into trying to connect with people, when in reality Dux-Soup could be doing all of those more repetitive tasks for you.
The great thing about Dux-Soup is that the levels of automation available to you, enable you to focus your efforts on the end of the sales funnel. This means you can pick up the phone to those you will benefit most from engaging with, instead of focusing your efforts on the manual tasks at the front end. The benefit to automating all of this front-end activity is that you can get involved when it really counts.
Why should I use a 3rd party tool instead of just using LinkedIn natively?
As the founder of Dux-Soup, Will is naturally biased – but with good cause! Why would you make hard work for yourself when there’s a way of making life simple?
The downside to LinkedIn, is that if you’re using the free version there are so many restrictions, you simply can’t use the tool for lead generation. It restricts your ability to view a lot of the profile information you need for lead gen, so unless you have a paid account, you’re not going to get very far. By having the ‘timely stuff’ automated, it means you have time to connect with your prospects and pick up the phone, to start to really build on, and nurturing that relationship.
Dux-Soup sounds wonderful – I want to use it, but how do I go about getting started?
It’s a simple process, and one that’s applicable to new and existing users. These are the key steps to ensure you get the best out of LinkedIn automation and Dux-Soup:
1) Produce a clear LinkedIn Profile - make sure it’s clear for your target audience, so they understand what value and services you are providing
2) Find your audience and create connection list – use the search function, groups or Alumni feature in LinkedIn to create your list/s of connections
3) Start auto-visiting – once you have your list of connections, you can start the automation process to visit the LinkedIn Profiles of those contacts
4) This activity triggers the LinkedIn notification system - this helps to generate interest and increases visits to your Profile, and connection requests being sent to you
5) Send connection requests – as you gain traction through the ‘auto-visiting’ function, you need to start sending connection requests, sharing content and sending direct messages to your 1st degree connections. Approach your prospects directly about your new service and this will continue to increase your prospects and generate leads
6) Use auto-messaging - once you start using this feature, you’ll find that those you’re reaching out to, will start to visit your pages directly to connect
7) Start creating automated, targeted drip campaigns (in Turbo) – the next step is to start up-scaling your use of features. Identify different contact lists and initiate multiple drip campaigns to reach your different audiences.
What makes a successful drip campaign, and how can I use it successfully in my marketing campaigns?
A sale is never made in the first interaction, so it’s important to build up a relationship, and that can often be a timely exercise. The clever thing with Dux-Soup’s LinkedIn drip campaigns is that you can write your own messages and automate the delivery of them, so they auto-send after a specified period of time. Once you’ve selected your audience/s you can enrol them into specific campaigns, according to the type of product or service that will be of interest.
In a typical campaign you might send an initial message and wait one week before sending the next. Maybe 2 weeks after the second message you send a third etc. All this does, is mean you can focus your time on the end of the sales funnel, where your connections are most likely to become buyers!
Creating these campaigns gives people time to get acquainted with you and/or your business, and once this has been achieved, they can be moved into a different campaign, more relevant to their stage in the sales cycle.
The system also recognises if a connection replies during a campaign sequence, and puts a stop to any subsequent messages in the sequence, so you can qualify the lead before continuing with the drips, or picking up the phone to speak with your customer directly. You can also remove a prospect from the drip campaign sequence at any time, so it’s totally flexible.
What should entrepreneurs consider when they are writing these drip campaigns?
Getting your LinkedIn messaging right is the key to successful prospecting. It’s difficult to give a one size ‘fits all’ guide, as it really depends on the service you’re selling and the value of that service. You have different audiences for different products, and they all need communicating with in slightly different ways.
The best advice on offer here, is to build the relationship slowly. Start with ‘social selling’ - building a relationship and sharing information about how your customers are benefiting from your product. Your aim is to build trust, so it’s clear that you’re an expert in your field, before you start trying to sell anything. “You can never wait too long – but you can be too quick when it comes to a sales pitch and then you’re going to lose them”. It’s important to nurture and build that relationship.
How is Dux changing the future of Lead Generation?
What we are trying to do is create the facility for individuals and marketing teams to automate as much as possible, across the entire lead generation process.
At the moment Dux-Soup focuses on LinkedIn, but we want to automate what can be automated and do it in as many different environments as possible. There are so many aspects at the start of the funnel which can be automated and used to ‘warm up’ and identify your prospects.
At that stage all the sales teams need to focus on, is setting the parameters of the process and the messaging within it. Instead of spending all their time behind a screen, the business development teams can be out there, building relationships face to face!
What has been one of the most effective Marketing tactics for Dux-Soup so far?
As a young business you don’t have money for big Marketing Campaigns, so you need to look at ways of creating a buzz about your business, and the best way to do that is to make sure the customers you do have are really happy with what they are getting. Make sure the price is right, the support is right and that the product or service ‘does what it says on the tin’.
The customer needs to feel that they are getting a good experience for what they are paying. The value it brings to them has to be real. If they have a good experience and there’s a tangible benefit – they will tell their friends and colleagues. They’ll mention you to their network and on their social media posts. Word of mouth has always been a strength in your marketing armoury, but now more than ever, if your customers refer you - their word can spread very quickly.
At Dux, we focused on the product and the experience – that’s what worked for us.
What is the greatest piece of marketing advice you’ve received?
At this point in the interview, Will laughs and answers “See the need, fill the need”!!
For those of you who are parents, you may recognise this line from a film called ‘Robots’, and it’s a line which really resonated with Will.
As an entrepreneur – it’s easy to think you’re going to break new ground, but you shouldn’t aim that high. What you really want to do is take your skills and build something people want ... and with Dux-Soup, that’s what I did”!
Want to try Dux-Soup for free?
If you’ve been inspired and want to explore what Dux-Soup has to offer, then try Dux for free!
The great news is you can try our premium Turbo edition on a Free 7-day trial and make sure you subscribe to our blog to get access to our latest Growth Hacking tips and tricks, keeping you in the know.
If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@dux-soup.com and we’ll get back to you.
To listen to the full podcast including all of Ashley’s comments, take your pick from the list: Audible, Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher
About Ashley Monk
Ashley Monk is a business and marketing growth strategist from Indianapolis. An energetic and life-loving entrepreneur, Ashley discovered her talent for lead generation and started a digital agency to fulfil her dreams of flexible working with a six-figure salary.
