Guide to lead generation
ŠJohn Rees 2009
Guide to lead generation
The lead generation problem Business-to-business selling is a process of communication between a seller and buyer. But for many organisations the big problem is finding new potential buyers [prospects] to have a discussion with. They only start looking for prospects when their current supply starts to run dry and the lead generation activity then consists of a series of action that are poorly thought out and executed.
Lead generation is not a quick-ďŹ x
The fact is that lead generation is not a quick-fix activity that delivers instant results. It needs a well thought out plan and ongoing action to build a dialogue with prospects through direct and indirect channels. Direct approaches include email, telephone, direct mail, networking, speaking engagements, seminars, exhibitions, conferences, executive briefings. Indirect is where your messages are seen through your website, directories and databases, membership organisations, forums, press releases, editorials, advertising, sponsorship, referrals from clients, partners and other influencers. Effective lead generation should also be multi-modal, using a combination of tactics, because unfortunately, there isn’t a single approach that works for every business, every time. What does work though, is a clearly defined strategy, a robust process and a schedule of actions executed on an ongoing basis.
Key steps Effective lead generation requires a disciplined approach and the best way to achieve this is to develop a quarterly plan and monitor activity at weekly intervals. Before you do this however, there are base-line activities you should complete as shown below. Develop your key marketing messages through a Message Stack; Optimise your Website for visitors and search engines; Build your target list; Create an Action plan and execute; Measure effectiveness and make changes where appropriate.
ŠJohn Rees 2009
Guide to lead generation
Develop your Message Stack A message stack is the body of content that defines what you want to say to your target audience. It is the body of content that describes what your business does in a clear, concise and compelling way that can be used in any sales conversation. It describes the problems you solve and your value proposition and it enables potential buyers to decide if you have something that interests them. From the Message Stack content you can use selected snippets for mail campaigns, seminars, presentations, anything to communicate with your audience in a consistent and professional way. More information on how I develop messages is shown in my ‘Message Stack’ document [http://www.jerconsulting.co.uk/pdf/message-stack.pdf]
Optimise your Website The internet is the primary resource used by potential buyers so it is critical your site that informs, engages and motivates visitors to request information. Website design is a huge topic and is outside the scope of this document. For our purposes though, let’s concentrate on three basic design principles; Inform Great content [from your Message Stack] is mandatory and your site must quickly and clearly describe your value proposition and tie in with the interests of your audience. What does it say about your company? Does it convey the right image? Does it have the right information? Is information quick and easy to access? What value is shown? Is the next step clearly defined? Engage The goal is to engage attention so that visitors spend time on your site, so ask yourself; What is happening on each page to hold visitor attention? What actions do you want visitors to take? Motivate Turning visitors into prospects is crucial to building an effective sales pipeline. To do this, make it is really easy for visitors to opt-in through a short form or sign up process. Also make sure that every website enquiry gets a ‘thank you’ email by return and a personal follow up within 24 hours.
©John Rees 2009
Guide to lead generation
Measuring website success Tools such as Google Analytics will give you a huge amount of information on visitors, profiles, browsers used, keywords searched on and all this is important stuff but the key things to focus on are; The number of new enquiries; Inbound phone calls or emails from the site; White papers or other collateral requests; Newsletter registrations and opt-in email addresses; Keywords producing the best and worst enquiries. Pay attention to this and make changes that will improve the key metrics.
Build your list You will probably have a partial list that includes clients, partners, professional and social network contacts and some prospects. Make sure you consolidate this and store it in a database or preferably a Customer Relationship Management system so it can be easily developed. Unsolicited [cold] calling has a low probability of success but people who have expressed an interest or given you permission to contact them are a far better prospect. Ideally you want to work from an opt-in list but if you don’t have one, here’s what you can do; Develop one yourself by research and making calls to confirm contact details; Ask clients and partners for referrals; Buy one from the many companies who offer list services; Identify tenders you can bid on by registering with tender sites; Outsource the whole process to a reputable telephone marketing agency who will deliver qualified leads and appointments. Buying a list can be expensive but so can doing it yourself. You could reduce the cost by hiring a temporary member of staff or an intern to build a list as part of a broader marketing project. Using an agency can be impersonal if you pick the wrong one, so weigh the cost of using them with the value they deliver. Pay attention to how they work, look at their track record, sit in on some calls and brief them well on what you do and how you want them to represent you.
Successful lead generation requires commitment to action ŠJohn Rees 2009
Guide to lead generation
Action plan Once the basics are in place, define a quarterly plan broken down into weekly lead generation activities. The exact mix will depend on your priorities but before you get started, set a baseline for how you define a ‘sales-ready lead’ and how you measure lead generation effectiveness.
‘Sales-Ready’ leads Some are better than others because they are more ‘salesready’. This means they conform to your definition of a lead you are prepared to work on. This will vary by the type of product or service you sell; the complexity and average length of the sales cycle and what your current activity levels are. As a general guide, typical qualities should include:
They have a defined need for and interest in what you do; There is an active buying process or an intent to initiate one; Their budget or expectation of expenditure is appropriate; A decision will be made within a defined timescale.
Measuring lead generation effectiveness You must measure the cost and effectiveness of generating leads and the conversion ratio into sales. Regular feedback, monitoring and refinement of your tactics is needed to ensure you are using the right approach and getting the best value for money. This should be incorporated into sales reporting and the source of each lead identified. This capability is commonly available in a CRM system and it should be used as a tool to help implement a structured sales process and provide management information to assess the effectiveness of marketing and sales performance on a continual basis.
Existing clients and referrals Referrals are the best prospects you can get and when they come from existing clients they are even better. But you must invest time in a developing client relationships because not only will they buy from you again, they will also recommend you to their peer network. By participating in case studies and publicity, they are testifying to your capabilities a very powerful endorsement. Do you provide clients with an excellent service? Assess yourself, or better still get someone else to do it for you and ask basic questions such as;
©John Rees 2009
Guide to lead generation
Are you serving your clients as well as you can? How often do you get referrals? Are all your clients references you can use in a sales situation? Do you conduct annual client surveys so that clients can rate your performance and ability to deliver on your promises? This is an activity that any sales-led business should carry out. The information can enable you to improve performance, deliver better value for money and grow your business through repeat sales and referrals.
Email Marketing This is one of the most cost effective lead generation tactics if used correctly. It is far cheaper than traditional bulk postage mail and in many cases can have a much bigger impact on immediate sales and long-term relationships than traditional advertising. But email filters and the volume of traffic often means it is regarded as spam and does not reach the intended recipient. The best way to overcome this is emailing people who have given you permission [opted-in] to contact them by registering for information through your website or by other means. Building an opt-in list does take time however so in many cases, we have to be pragmatic and work with a list that could be regarded as ‘cold’. The question of whether email is spam comes down to ‘Relevance’. If you are sending an email to someone you do not know, about a subject that is not relevant to them, their role or responsibilities, that is spam. If you send an email introducing a topic, product or service that is relevant to that contact and giving them the opportunity to ‘opt-out’ of further contact with you, it is probably not spam.
Email tips Most organisations send a lot of email because this demonstrates ‘activity’; unfortunately most of it is wasted because some basic principles have not been followed such as; Defining your target contact; Being clear about the message you are conveying; Making it clear what action you want the reader to take; Creating compelling content that will interest the reader; Being clear about why this is relevant to the readers role, responsibility and interest; Having an unsubscribe prominently displayed; Including a link to the right landing page on your website;
©John Rees 2009
Guide to lead generation
Building the email list You have to focus on building your opt-in list by developing content that people will find interesting. You also need to encourage them to sign-up for more information by using techniques such as; Publish an online Newsletter ideally every month; Write an eBook, Report or White Paper and give it away; Participate in forums that are appropriate to what you do and use a signature link and a detailed profile for interested readers to follow; Write articles and submit to relevant sites; Make it easy for visitors to opt-in from every page of your website; Avoid long forms because they will deter people from signing up; Always add a link to your email privacy policy because visitors want to be assured their email address will not be abused . If you can’t or don’t want to go though this process, or you are not having the success you want then you can of course buy a list. But be careful and always buy from a quality list owner and also make sure the list is an opt in email list where possible.
DIY or use a service? This is a decision about value for money and use of resources. If you have the skills in house then DIY may be the right thing to do. There are many quality companies now who offer email marketing services that are so sophisticated and cost effective that this is becoming the de facto choice for more organisations. Tools such as email templates, auto-responders, analytics and newsletter generation and seamless integration with your website are common features of most services. The biggest reason for using a service is spam avoidance and a higher level of deliverability than is possible through your own corporate email system. The most popular services are iContact, ConstantContact, Benchmark and Vertical Response and all offer an excellent service that is worth looking at.
Using the telephone Unfortunately, telephone marketing suffers from an image problem. It is often associated with nuisance calls from companies intruding on your time and trying to sell you something you don’t want. Having said that, when used professionally, it is fast, efficient and far more personal and direct than a letter or email. It is a key tool for list building, lead generation, invitations to events, following up on email or direct mail, requests for information and fact finding and qualification. However the phone should be used to gather information and verify data rather than try to close a sale. Here are some basic ideas to make your calls more effective;
©John Rees 2009
Guide to lead generation
Knowledge Do basic research before the call so you understand the prospects business and how you could help them. Call guide Rather than making an unstructured ramble of a call, draft a call plan and a script that you can use as a guide. The call guide should include the following; What is the purpose of your call? What’s in it for the person you are calling? If your reason is purely for your own ends then the probability of success will be low; Define your opening, key messages and the outcome you are trying to achieve; Anticipate questions and plan your response but keep the right tone. Delivery Success is all about setting the right tone so make it professional with a human touch. Also make it conversational but not too familiar and avoid confrontation at all costs. Always ask questions in a non-threatening way and allow the prospect to talk, even if it’s to say ‘go away’. Never pressure people and always respect their time by politely introducing yourself, briefly state the purpose of your call and ask if now is a convenient time for them. Always close on an action, even if it is to take them off your list.
Direct mail This is good if used correctly because as more companies use email, a personal letter can stand out and grab attention. However, mass-mailing to generic addressees such as ‘The Managing Director’ are worthless. You must make every piece personal and addressed to a specific individual. Once you have sent the item follow up by phone to confirm it was received and ascertain interest. Always have content that is relevant, interest and attention grabbing with a clear call to action. Help them understand what they need to do next, wait for your call, send you an email, visit your web site or respond with a reply-paid mail service. Send pieces in a batch that can be easily followed up and always sign by hand; do not use digitised signatures or have someone sign on your behalf. If time permits, consider hand-writing the envelope and attaching a postage stamp as this can have a higher success rate than obviously automatically produced mailshots.
Public Relations PR is the function of communicating your image and brand to a target audience in a deliberate, planned and sustained attempt to create and maintain understanding. It is used to build reputation and credibility and not to directly generate leads in the short-term, although this can sometimes happen. ©John Rees 2009
Guide to lead generation
Advertising This was historically focussed on creating awareness of your brand and its values through the medium of print, radio, television and cinema. It was regarded as a longer-term activity and the results were difficult to measure. However, as advertising has moved more on-line with Google AdWords and other pay-per-click options, this has now become a more relevant tactic in the lead generation plan. Almost instant feedback now means you can decide how well your advert is working and make adjustments as appropriate. Although this is outside the scope of this document, the basic principles for any advert on-line or in other media is the same - make sure your messages are clear, concise and compelling enough to motivate people to learn more.
Thought leadership This is where you, or someone in your organisation is highly regarded as a person worth listening to. Thought leadership is effective at building confidence and this can directly translate into business opportunities. But it must be earned as a result of insight and vision delivered through articles, speeches and other methods of communication such as; Research reports; Academic partnerships; Conference speaking engagements; Newsletters and Articles; Blogs and Podcasts; Books, Case studies and White papers. To be regarded as a thought leader, the content you deliver must be; Relevant to your target audience or sphere of influence. Timely, insightful and accurate. Clear in demonstrating value and not just an academic argument. If you are selling a product or service that is regarded a ‘leading-edge’, the opportunities created through thought leadership can be significant.
Events Exhibitions and Conferences These can be very effective as a lead generation tactic if the visitors match the profile of your prospective buyers. It also enables you to reach a large number of prospects in one place over a relatively short time period. A decision to attend should be taken based on the following criteria:
ŠJohn Rees 2009
Guide to lead generation
Relevance to what you are selling. Visitor profile and expected traffic. Importance of the event. The mix of exhibitors as this will indicate the event scope. Opportunity to ‘booth share’ with a partner or associate. Total cost and value for money. Any previous experience of the event.
Networking events These exist on-line and off-line and they have become more popular in recent years. Some have a ‘speed-dating’ format where you spend a few minutes with another person to see if you have mutual interests. They have a place in lead generation but to be useful, you must judge the value for your business and then commit to attend. There are skills and etiquette that will help you succeed and much has been written on the subject. If this is something you want to include in your plan it is sensible to learn the rules although this is outside the scope of this document.
About Me I am a Sales Communications Specialist with 30 years experience and I provide mentoring, training and consulting services to help organisations improve their marketing and sales effectiveness. My approach is based on creating Clear, Concise and Compelling messages that describe the unique value you deliver.
More information: John Rees Sales Communications Consulting Glan Dylan House, Ynyslas, Ceredigion. SY24 5JX, Wales, UK [t] +44 [0] 1970-871191 // [m] +44 [0] 7931-402814 // [e]: john@jerconsulting.co.uk www.jerconsulting.co.uk
©John Rees 2009
Guide to lead generation