Is Your Lead Generation Sales Funnel Working?
Why Lead Generation is an Absolute Must For Every Business
What is a Lead?
Simply put, leads literally keep a business, well, in business. Not convinced? Ask yourself these questions:
- If you fail to get leads, who are you going to sell your goods or services to?
- And if you do not have consumers or customers, how is your business going to make money?
To succeed in the world of generating leads, you must develop a great strategy to target customers that are meaningful to your business.
Generating Inbound Leads
There are various strategies for generating leads, including:
- Mailing (online and offline) – email marketing can cut down on cost while still maintaining personalized touches to keep your business top of mind.
- Referral systems go hand in had with your email marketing. Happy customers can be reminded that they have good information to share and help other businesses in their community.
- Search Results – search engine optimization is key in online lead generation. You want to make sure you are showing up in your future customers searches when they are looking for your services.
- And networking – even with the current concentration on online events, networking is a key source of leads and a way of moving cold leads into warm leads with a smile and some personal interaction.
For the tech-savvy, lead generation has taken on a whole new meaning.
Using Online Tools For Sales and Marketing
Websites, social media posts, blogs, and chat tools are now some of the best ways of attracting traffic.
B2B marketers say that of their leads come from referrals, 38% from email, and 33% come from Search Engine Optimization (SEO). (blog.hubspot.com)
Lead generation strategies refer to the art of catching a consumer’s interest. And then having your sales team moving them through a sales funnel to a buying customer. Your sales team could be you alone, which is the case for many small businesses. This is where a strong strategies using lead generation tools on your website can reach prospective customers even when you aren’t at work. Contact forms and offers of information can be an effective first marketing funnel to move visitors into leads.
This is not a new method of getting new business.
Business owners have been doing this as long as businesses existed. But it has taken on a new form with the advent of technological tools. Especially when you consider mobile devices. Mobile has opened up so many more ways to reach your prospect than sitting at a trade show desk waiting for leads or cold calling.
Time to play Where’s Waldo?!
To make the most of lead generation, you need to understand your potential customers are at that moment.
I don’t mean where they physically are, although that matters, but where they are in the sales process.
- Are they researching the info as they begin to consider buying?
- Are they comparing solutions options they have already researched?
- Are they ready to negotiation for the final purchase?
As well, where do they look for their information? If you know that, you can make sure you are in front of them where they are going to be.
According to Forrester, buyers might be anywhere from 75 to 90% of the way through their buying journey before they contact the vendor, after they’ve completed their own research. (marketo.com)
If you have a great offer, but are not in front of your best audience, you will not make money.
To get this information, you must understand the rules of search engine optimization (SEO).
Do you know how your customer searches for information online?
If you spend money on ads that are being placed in the wrong place, you are burning up money with no results. But, a well thought-out lead generation process can lead to great leads and increase you levels of profits.
Targeting users with content relevant to their position along the buying process yields 72% higher conversion rates. (marketo.com)
When you think of lead generation to your business, think of it like collecting valuable data. Getting traffic to your website is the first step, and once they are there you need to capture this basic information.
- Their first name,
- Their email address,
- And if possible, a phone number.
You’ll want to test if people will fill in the phone number. Once you have this information, you use it to reach out to the prospects with a custom-made pitch.
1. Win-win situation
Lead generation creates a win-win situation for the business and the consumer. Your potential customer comes to find useful information on products or services they need. You get the opportunity to showcase products or services to a potential buyer.
2. High conversion rates
This kind of inbound lead generation has a much higher conversion rate. Your visitor has has already indicated that they are interested in what you are offering. Once you have captured their contact information, the person is a more qualified lead. Especially when compared to the traditional, outbound leads.
Rather than shooting in the dark, businesses use the data they collected during the prospects’ visits to their website. These are profitable leads. According to Hinge Research Institute, 60% of online leads are 2 times more profitable compared to offline leads.
3. Cost-effective
Advertising is a key need for any business that intends to succeed. Since advertising can be an expensive venture, it is important any business to set out a clear strategy and continue to test to find the best campaign. A campaign that is cost-effective but produces great results.
Ultimately, there will be some trial and error, but if you follow a clear plan and stay true to the information that is important to your prospects, you can create a sales funnel with a steady flow of qualified leads.
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Founder & CEO of ThinkFlame, Shelly Patrick, trains individuals and companies to understand how their marketing affects their sales conversation and how to integrate marketing into their yearly plans for consistent growth.