There is little question that lead generation and eventual conversion forms the core of every company pitching a product or service, and that there are so many things to keep track of you can have trouble weeding out the most pertinent information to focus on. With that said, it’s more important to focus on what not to do in such a dynamic field, to make sure your prospective customers remain receptive to the eventual sale:
1. Going in for the “kill” too soon. Offering a sales pitch too early in the sales cycle is a big no-no; everyone knows what one of these sounds like, and no one likes to hear it. Start with a great cold calling script and don’t let your team deviate from it until after they’re comfortable and up to speed. Remember how many touches it takes to generate a qualified sales lead and be patient.
2. Falling victim to the email campaign buy list. Your email respondents are your most important asset and form the core of this lead generation tactic; take the time to cultivate interested parties and avoid the temptation to buy lists – no matter how well marketed they are.
3. Avoid the temptation to sniff up every alley that hints at a lead. The resources simply aren’t there, and your time is better spent pumping that time and energy into cultivating the promising ones. To tell the difference between the two kinds, use analytics.
4. Lead generation won’t work optimally without a pristine website landing page. Focus on providing a need rather than trying to make sale. Of course, make sure a perfected call-to-action is very much a part of the information.
5. Keep your finger on the pulse of your chosen market; never languish in providing updates to your social network, website, or other forum of customer engagement. The activity doesn’t have to be consistently explosive, but you’ve got to let them know you’re still breathing.
6. Borrowing terminology from Wall Street, don’t forget to diversify your portfolio. Use multiple lead-generation techniques, so that you don’t look dumb when the only one you’re working with tanks – however temporarily.
7. Continuing from the previous, don’t spread yourself too thin; remember, a jack of all trades is master of none. Every new lead generation technique isn’t for you, and the diverted resources can be costly just to try them on.
8. The formula for successful B2B lead generation is hardly an exact template, so don’t get drawn into mindless tweeting and constant updates – you’ll wear your audience out. Focus on crafting content that makes your core audience shiver – in a good way – and all the rest will follow suit.
9. There are plenty of studies out there showing that it costs you more to obtain new customers than it does to sell more to preexisting customers. Can there be a simpler strategy, given this information? Market to your loyal stable of customers by taking the time to figure out what they need and want, and then providing it – while also going after new people.
10. No matter what the numbers say in the short term, pay attention to the perception of your brand. Poor relationship management will eventually doom any strategy. Use metrics and even surveys to make sure the perception of your services isn’t on an impending downswing.
11. Don’t separate your marketing and sales team; they’re working toward essentially the same goal and would be better together.
12. This might not seem like too much of a problem at first glance, but over-analysis is usually a bad thing. Frankly, it means you aren’t actually doing anything! All the metrics and analyses in the world won’t grow two legs and walk; you’ve got to get out there and implement and test them.
There you have it. 12 business to business lead generation mistakes that make you look dumb. Hopefully you’ve learned enough to avoid most if not all of them! Read more about B2B lead generation on our blog or contact us for a no-obligation reverse sales lead pipeline analysis.
