Generating qualified leads is a central part of your sales and marketing function. Without a good quality lead generation programme, your business could be wasting time and money chasing the wrong people at the wrong time. Effective lead generation involves knowing your target audience and having focused and reliable methods of reaching them. This is why it’s worth investing in a B2B lead generation services option to help make this critical process more effective and efficient.
What is lead generation?
It’s certainly a term that we hear a lot in business circles. And it’s important. But you don’t want just any leads – thousands of leads means that someone has to wade through them and see which ones are valid and which ones are not. What businesses really need is good quality, qualified leads – those are leads which the business knows are from the right decision makers in the right industries who may have a genuine interest in the product or service.
So, before you start to think about choosing software to help with sales lead generation services, take the time to understand who your best leads are and how you can find them. Then you’ll be in a position to make the best decisions for your business.
Types of lead generation tools
There are several ways you can automate your lead generation approach:
Use a Customer Relationship Management system – CRM systems are used by many organisations not just for lead generation but to manage customer relationships from start to finish, including appointment setting, telemarketing campaigns and support services. A CRM may seem expensive, but it is a long-term investment in your business and helps you to manage lead generation campaigns.
Website lead capture – you can optimise your website to capture leads. This is often done by asking people to give you their email address in return for access to useful content. This could be an e-book, an online guide, a free trial, a white paper or relevant questionnaire. You might also ask them to sign up for a newsletter or engage in live chat. All these methods help you to capture information from people who you know are interested in your product or service.
Email campaigns – a well-constructed and targeted email campaign can drive new leads to your business. As with any campaign, you should make sure that you are working within GDPR rules, and that you offer an option to unsubscribe from the campaign. However, with useful information, short, impactful emails and the opportunity to access one-time offers or deals, email campaigns can result in good quality qualified leads.
Telemarketing – done professionally, telemarketing still brings results. Using a resource such as a virtual telemarketing assistant allows you to make direct contact with potential customers, with the time and knowledge to have good quality conversations that reflect positively on your organisations. This can work in tandem with B2B lead generation and appointment setting services so that your campaign gets meetings in the diary with good quality leads.
What to consider for lead generation software
For most businesses, cost is a significant factor when considering which type of lead generation tool to choose. It’s not the only consideration, however – business owners should also be thinking about:
Scaleability – will this software or lead generation tool grow with your business? Can it cope with different types of lead generation campaign? How will it support your business growth?
Does it need to integrate with existing systems? You may already have an email campaign system in place and be thinking about buying CRM software. Or you might want to add functionality to your website to increase the number of ways you can generate leads from visitors. You need to be sure that new systems can integrate with your existing software, if that’s important to your lead generation strategy.
Product support – you will either be managing your lead generation internally, or using an external resource. In either case, you want to be sure that you are going to get good quality support from the vendor you choose. As lead generation is key to growing your business, the last thing you need is for your chosen system to let you down, so understanding the support package is an important part of your decision.
Reporting – what data will you be able to access to measure the success of your lead generation campaigns? How will you know what is working and what’s not? Like all sales and marketing activities, the more you can measure, the more successful you can be. So look for options with good reporting structures that help you to make the best decisions.
Build a great process
Lead generation is most successful when it is focused and targeted. That means knowing your audience, understanding what they want and how they like to be contacted. It means having the information they need to help them take the next step. And it means building a genuine relationship with them as they move towards a decision to buy.
If you need support with choosing – and using – the best B2B lead generation services for your business, why not call us on 0800 994 9016 or use our contact form in the menu above to find out more?