Assessing Lead Generation Techniques

We recently provided consulting to a small business who struggles getting opportunities into their sales pipeline. Our consultation was focused around assessing lead generation techniques. For the purpose of confidentiality, we’ll keep the company name anonymous. We removed personal references to our suggestions and left in general suggestions broadly applicable and advantageous to many businesses. We hope at least one of these ideas is relevant to your business. For a list of more lead generation techniques check out 101 of them in the following article: 101 Business to Business Lead Generation Ideas and Tips.

After assessing lead generation techniques for this particular B2B company we came up with the following recommendations:

1. Produce a business plan around your top verticals (based on historical revenue share and growth). Keep it simple with 3. Step 1, define the verticals. Step 2, map out the ecosystem (product collateral). Step 3, map out the top 50 (major) players in each category of the ecosystem. Step 4, execute the following tactics:

• Hold monthly webinars.

• Have quarterly executive speaking events.

• Issue monthly press releases (which also help SEO).

• Create a library of video (and transcripts) testimonials from wins in each space.

• Hire a major account manager or carve out responsibility for aforementioned strategic accounts. Similar to a Major Account Manager-type role.

• Partner with industry consultants for lead referral. Enhance channel strategy – particularly in ASIA.

2. Increase sales development resources. At a minimum:

• Add EMEA Sales Development Representative for localized support.

• Add additional US Sales Development Representative (3rd party team or 3rd team member).

3. Create a Service Level Agreement between sales, marketing and executive teams.

4. Send executives and/or business development contacts to tradeshows vs sales people. Idea is they are unbiased and have global awareness of your business.

5. Expand marketing’s social footprint:

• Develop a squidoo lens.

• Create a YouTube channel.

• Produce an industry leading eBook.

• Create a contest.

6. Create free tools that help people. These could be templates, spreadsheets, anything. The idea is to share these publicly on your website and in the social domain to increase lead generation. Focus on helping, not closing, prospects.

7. Create an incentive program with some of your partners. For example, $1,000 to each sales rep that passes over a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL). Must define what a SQL is.

8. Enhance SEO strategy:

• Move your blog to your own domain for enhanced SEO. It’s on blogger.com which does nothing for SEO.

• Hire a SEO specialist to optimize your external web pages to increase organic SEO leads.

9. Establish better sales pipeline stages in Salesforce.com to facilitate the creation of Sales Qualified Leads.

10. Develop a lead nurturing process. It appears your business has a legacy of “one-and-done” touches on your database. You must “recycle” your leads and constantly build relationships with them in an automated way. Database segmentation and drip nurturing processes will help. We suggest procuring revenue generation software such as that from Lead Liaison.

11. Hold more folks, not just sales, responsible for getting opportunities in the pipeline. This means developing the right metrics and MBOs.

12. Have sales and marketing team members start every day with two cold calls. Track it.

13. Create innovative marketing content with more landing pages and social media strategies around each piece. Ideal to categorize these based on our 3 key verticals.

• Analyst reports

• Gartner magic quadrant notes

• Blog postings

• Press releases to share

• Podcast

• Invitation to join LinkedIn group discussion

• Run a survey

• Video testimonial

• eBook on security

• New research

• Interviews with industry executives

Start assessing lead generation techniques for your business by documenting the problems and challenges. Get team leads together for a brainstorm session which identifies relevant issues. Once you know your companies problems you can work on a solution.

For a free consultation and assessment of your lead generation techniques contact Lead Liaison.

We welcome your feedback, comments and suggestions. How are you assessing lead generation techniques? What have your assessments shown which you’d like to share with others?

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