Sources of leads for a typical company are so many. They could come in from the website, social media, internet searches, referrals, walk-ins, and so on.
But, it is essential to note that not everyone will translate into a customer. It requires connecting, nurturing, and finally convincing the potential to translate into business.
Yet, therein lies the challenge for many marketers. How do you manage all these prospects from the different avenues to convert?
58% of marketers admit that generating leads is one of their biggest challenges. This could be attributable to the lack of proper techniques for the job.
The modern customer exists in a competitive space. Marketers can no longer depend on legacy systems, which lack the sophistication to lure such customers.
Our article explores some workable leads generation tips to grow your sales funnel.
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Have the Right Team in Place
Lead generation typically falls on the marketing and sales team. But, there is a new kid on the business block you may not be aware of.
Astute businesses are setting aside the function of lead generation to the sales development team. This is the intermediary between the sales and marketing departments.
It allows the other two departments to concentrate on their core roles. For marketing, it is awareness creation, while the sales team closes deals.
Sales development representatives (SDR) have three core roles. That is acquiring, nurturing, and qualifying leads. They will connect with potential customers and start to nurture relationships.
The SDRs gently nudge the potential customer along the sales funnel. Think about it much like the shop attendant who caters to your every need while in the store.
In the process, the SDRs are also qualifying the leads. They will know which one is hot, thus worth pursuing, while removing cold ones. This helps ensure the CRM is always up-to-date with worthwhile prospects.
The SDRs then pass on the qualified leads to the sales department for final action, which is conversion.
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Outsource Lead Generation Services
Lead generation is not a simple process. It is time-intensive and expensive. It gets worse if the teams do not have the relevant expertise. You could have thousands of contacts and zero translation.
One good option is to let professionals handle the work. With outsourced lead generation services, the experts handle all the aspects of lead generation and qualification, much like an in-house team would.
The advantage is the company saves money by not having to recruit new talent. You only use the services on a need to basis.
The outsourced marketing company brings expertise, better targeting, multi-channel approaches, and so much more. The contracts also specify expectations or KPIs, so they have to deliver results.
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Set Up the Leads Generation Funnel
The next step is to set up your lead generation funnel.
Take note of the following when setting up one.
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- Define the buyer persona. What does your ideal client look like? Cover basics like income, interests, marital status, and purchasing behavior.
- Map out the customer journey and pinpoint the touchpoints at which you need to connect with them. The journey must have a goal to guide the process. What do you want the audience or potential customers to do? It could be to subscribe to your newsletter/loyalty programs or buy. It helps to visualize the journey, taking into consideration motivations, friction, or key events that could impact the journey.
- Decide on the right tools to help with the lead generation. These include a CRM to develop a database and track leads. Others are marketing automation tools for higher efficiency.
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Improve Brand Awareness
The lead generation process depends on brand awareness. The digital space offers many marketing opportunities that a company can utilize.
There are free and paid opportunities the teams can use. These include:
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- Websites are fantastic for content marketing. The strategies include blog posts, videos, podcasts, research papers, and eBooks. Ensure the best SEO practices for content marketing to improve rankings on the search engines. These include using the right keywords and creating relevant content.
- Social media platforms provide access to a broad audience base. There is also no restriction on the platforms the brand can use.
- Online ads, boosting of posts, and PPC advertising allow for better targeting
- Email marketing is very effective with proper segmentation.
Do note, the type of business will determine where you need to place the most emphasis. Take the example of B2B lead generation. Email marketing, events, and SEO may be more effective than traditional advertising.
Outbound techniques like outreach can also work. It involves directly reaching out to prospects and pushing your products or services. Emailing a company or people in authority positions is a fantastic B2B lead generation technique.
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Focus On Conversion Rate Optimization
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) takes the lead generation process a step further. You will start to see better quality leads enter the sales funnel with the tips above.
Analytics and performance measurement is critical. The data provide insights on what is working well or not and where you need to make changes.
Keep up with customer segmentation to ensure optimal targeting. Customers are ever-evolving and adjusting their requirements.
A/B testing of crucial website pages can let you know which one to optimize. A heat map tool lets you know how your online visitors interact with specific pages. It will allow you to improve the page for a better user experience.
Final Thoughts
Lead generation can become easier with the right tips. We have highlighted a number that will result in more people entering your sales funnel. We believe that it is vital to have the right team in place.
A sales development team or outsourced lead generation services can be of immense help. These people have the experience to manage the difficult task of lead generations.
The SDRs also do the vital work of qualifying leads, before turning them over to the sales department. Finally, keep up with measuring the performance of your lead generation strategies. Only then can you make appropriate changes for optimal results.
Courtesy: https://www.velocityconsultancy.com/tips-to-grow-your-sales-funnel/
