In order to make the most of lead generation, it’s important to know what the concept means. Lead generation is the process of converting a consumer into someone who may have an interest in your product or service. It is also an important source of revenue for a business and the proper application is important to turn a lead into a lifelong customer. Lead generation is not only a once-off process but should be ingrained into the daily activities of the business. There are a number of ways to generate leads, such as marketing campaigns, inbound and outbound strategies, and sourcing leads from lead generation companies.
Start Working on Your Sales Flywheel
While the sales funnel might have worked for decades, there is a fundamental flaw in this approach as it means discarding all those leads that didn’t quite make it out of the bottom of the funnel. There is also the idea that once the sale is concluded, that’s the end of the deal. The flywheel, on the other hand, creates a holistic sales cycle that starts with lead generation and ends with it. The process involves the following:
- Marketing strategies attract customers as leads
- Leads are contacted and converted to sales
- Sales process concludes and after-sales service starts
- Customer is contacted to ensure they’re happy and a further lead stems from the relationship
Deciding On Your Lead Generation Strategy through Marketing
Inbound marketing is a modern approach to marketing where the company allows its services and products to be of use to consumers first, and through its usefulness, it attracts customers. An example of this would be a home maintenance firm that runs an online blog that addresses certain issues homeowners may face and the easiest ways to tackle these. For homeowners, they have a reliable source of information that doesn’t necessarily push sales in order to provide a solution. This way, the consumer builds trust and leads are generated this way. Outbound marketing includes age-old tactics such as flyers at intersections, expos, and cold-calling.
Roping In the Help of Others
There are a number of ways you can generate leads from others. Employees and business contacts should be easy to convince to send leads your way, especially if they believe in the business as much as you do. By incentivising the lead, you make sharing their contacts and connections a little sweeter. Lead generation companies are also great lead sources, especially if you’re going with a reputable firm that provides a bespoke client list suitable to your business. The quality of the leads will depend on your budget, as tested leads might cost a little more. It’s important to keep detailed information about the outcome of the leads to determine whether lead sourcing this way is more or less cost-effective than embarking on a marketing campaign.
Lead generation is a constant source of revenue for a business and anyone familiar with a sales environment will know that building a pipeline is important. Without leads, it’s impossible to build pipeline or land sales.