Real estate and B2B sales prospecting: how to target and approach potential commercial tenants

Our client HIAG is one of Switzerland's leading owners, managers and developers of former industrial sites. One of their construction projects is Fahrwerk Winterthur, a 10,500 m2 building spanning 4 floors with vehicle access ramps connecting the levels. Our team was tasked with identifying and prospecting potential commercial tenants.

First, we identified 7,000 businesses throughout Switzerland. After analysing them individually, our team selected 600 qualified businesses for which we felt that a commercial space in this building might be of interest. Next, for each of these 600 companies, we identified the relevant decision-makers, including CEOs, general managers, branch managers, site managers and facility managers.

Finally, we contacted them through a multi-channel prospecting campaign combining email and phone outreach. This campaign was multilingual, in German and English.

87% open rate26% click-through rate73% response rateOf the 622 prospects we contacted, 11 are interested in these retail premises, and 3 of them have made an appointment. The other success indicators are as follows:

HIAG

Commercial property

Case study

Campaign details

Key results

Observed KPIs

87% open rate

26% click-through rate

73% response rate

Of the 622 prospects we contacted, 11 are interested in these retail premises, and 3 of them have made an appointment. The other success indicators are as follows:

prospects (2%) out of a total of 622 expressed an interest

87%

open rate and 73% response rate

Ideal Customer Profiles

Company qualification criteria:

Prospect qualification criteria:

Companies based in several locations in Switzerland but not yet in Winterthur. Example: a company based in Geneva, Zurich, Basel and Bern, but not yet in Winterthur
Companies located in several places in Switzerland that could already be located in Winterthur, but may want to move to our bigger/better space
Founder, CEO, Managing Director, Branch/Site/Facility Director, etc

Key takeaways

11 interested prospects and 3 meetings secured out of 622 companies contacted in Switzerland
87% open rate and 73% response rate for the multi-channel campaign over 9 days
Target audience: CEOs, directors and site managers of multi-site companies with no presence in Winterthur
Channels used: email and cold calling in German and English, with highly personalised messages sent to 622 decision-makers

About our client

Fahrwerk Winterthur is a property development project led by HIAG. The 10,500 m2, 4-storey building is ideal for a variety of commercial and industrial uses.

Customer challenges

Our client's main challenge was to achieve ultra-precise targeting of its prospects. In other words, our client had to ensure that it identified and met qualified tenants whose professional activity was aligned with the characteristics of the commercial space available in the "Fahrwerk Winterthur" building
Our client's second challenge was to draft and prepare a B2B outreach sequence with ultra-personalised messages to engage with prospects in the best possible way
Finally, our client needed to be able to have meetings and discussions with their prospects as quickly as possible, with the aim of not leaving these premises vacant. These prospects had to be generated and approached in record time

Solutions

devlo identified 622 decision-makers in 622 different companies in Switzerland. To achieve this, we developed detailed documentation defining the attributes of the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Our lead generation team was able to identify qualified companies by following these instructions, which explain precisely who to choose in terms of industries, activities, job titles, seniority levels and locations.
During the analysis of these companies, our team gathered a lot of information that could be mentioned in our sequence. Hyper-personalising our sequences enabled us to obtain this high response rate.
After collecting all the relevant information on each prospect, we imported it into the CRM and created a prospecting sequence divided into two different approaches, via e-mails and cold calls. Finally, we launched the campaign, took care of the follow-up, cold calls, qualification phone calls and the booking of appointments in our customers' calendars.

Our results

Of the 622 prospects we contacted, 11 are interested in these retail premises, and 3 of them have made an appointment. The other success indicators are as follows:

87% open rate
26% click-through rate
73% response rate

Key findings

Adapting the channel and delivery of the message Some prospects prefer a telephone conversation to an e-mail exchange Some prospects prefer a telephone conversation to an e-mail exchange. It is also important to present a clear and brief offer in the first e-mail to make it easier to understand.
Knowing the product and whether it meets your needs
Prospects ask whether the proposed space is suitable for their business. That's why it's important to identify in advance which companies are really compatible with the project.
Align the scheduling of meetings with the client's availability
The customer had a limited amount of time in his diary to meet prospects. Good communication is essential to quickly confirm slots when a prospect wants to schedule a meeting.

Contact

How to get more meetings: let’s talk

Share your goals and receive a concrete outbound plan prioritized for your market.

Results

87% open rate
26% click-through rate
73% response rate
Of the 622 prospects we contacted, 11 are interested in these retail premises, and 3 of them have made an appointment. The other success indicators are as follows:

First name

Last name

Professional email

Company name

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