From Marketing-First to Sales-First: Scaling B2B Sales at HelloPrint

When HelloPrint decided to launch Merch by HelloPrint, a division focused on sustainable merchandise, they faced significant challenges starting completely from scratch.

‍

• No Sales DNA: HelloPrint was a marketing-first organization with no established sales processes or outbound experience.
  ‍
• Undefined Buyer Persona: Unlike traditional print services, merchandise didn't have a specific buyer - it could be HR managers, brand managers, marketing directors, or event coordinators.
  ‍
• No Pipeline Infrastructure: They lacked systems to identify, qualify, and reach the right B2B customers at scale.
  ‍
• Noise in the Market: Without clear targeting, they risked wasting resources on irrelevant outreach.
  ‍

The challenge was clear: They needed to build systems to help identify their ICP and reach out to the right buyer persona while transforming the organization's approach to sales.

Working with Leadbananas, HelloPrint built a sophisticated sales infrastructure that could identify and engage the right customers through signals.
‍

1. Signal Identification:
   Built systems to track key buying signals:
   • Companies attending trade shows (needing merchandise for events)
   • Companies growing in FTE (HR directors needing onboarding materials)
   • Companies talking about sustainability (aligned with B Corp certification)
2. ICP Refinement:
   Used Clay to filter down to the right roles, companies, and industries, cutting through the noise to find genuine prospects.
   ‍
3. Automated Outreach:
   Implemented Lemlist for personalized, scalable outreach campaigns based on identified signals.
   ‍
4. Scalable Systems:
   Built the infrastructure as a long-term, reusable asset that could continuously identify new prospects as companies hit relevant signals.
   ‍
   

"We really had to build systems to help us identify our ICP and reach out to the right buyer persona. Combine those two things and we had a bit of slow start but I think eventually we got it up and running as a fantastic system and engine."

‍Sebastiaan, Head of Merch by HelloPrint

By implementing signal-based sales systems, HelloPrint achieved remarkable results for their new merchandise division.

• 700+ Qualified Replies: Generated overwhelming response rates that made inbox management a challenge.
  ‍
• Enterprise Clients: Landed major brands including Bugatti, Bloomreach, and Picnic early in the launch.
  ‍
• Organizational Transformation: Shifted the entire company from marketing-first to sales-first approach.
  ‍
• Reusable Infrastructure: Created systems now being used across the organization for upselling existing customers and generating new leads.
  ‍
• Sustainable Growth Engine: Built a continuously running engine that identifies new prospects as they meet signal criteria.
  
  

"Everyone can kind of build systems and reach out, do mass reach out... but if you do it right, based on the right signals, then actually you stand out from the crowds. I firmly believe in building engines like this for outreach as the basis of your go-to market."

Sebastiaan, Head of Merch by HelloPrint

‍

‍