Lead generation: Will it work for you?
What does a lead generation company do?
In the digital age we live in today we only have to enter a few keywords into a search engine to bring up a whole wealth of businesses advertising that yes, they hold the solution to our needs.
We may find these sites by using a search engine or we may see an online ad on a social media platform.
We click for more information and land on a site where we more than likely enter our information into it such as an email address.
This contact form is then forwarded to someone who will then verify this information. The leads are then sent onto the relevant company ready for their sales force to close.
Lead generation needs a multiple pronged attack. It does require you to nurture lots of lead sources and with many channels they each need their own individual strategy.
Having a successful small business now a days is even harder with the digital era. Many will experience a shortcoming in obtaining a continuous flow of new leads. So it isn’t any wonder why many are now turning to lead generation companies to help them.
How do the lead generation companies actually work?
A lead generation company aggregates consumer and business information that it can then sell on to a business wishing to purchase new leads.
It uses different categories to organise the data so it is relevant to the target market, and some may even organise leads depending on levels of ‘warmth’.
A lead gen company will normally offer a number of services such as;
Database marketing
In house marketing teams
Databases of businesses and professional information
They tend to gather leads by building a website and optimising and maintaining that site to attract visitors and obtain their information normally via a contact form.
Lead generation companies have the means to target and personalise campaigns for your business. They have the reach you probably wouldn’t have had on your own.
A lead generation company will come up with precise targeting campaigns. It will also have inbound programs that will help and produce more opportunities.
They will go on to nurture the leads and use other marketing techniques to obtain the information they need to identify the right leads who fit your businesses buyers persona.
The databases they have will expediate this information. Which means they can quickly and easily identify the leads who have buying intent.
There is a number of sources they gather information, such as public records, trade references, print, digital and trade publications.
How do lead generation companies get leads?
One way a lead generation company gets leads is by content syndication.
This is where they will push your content to other channels to increase your brand awareness and drive traffic to your site.
This could be via blogs that are relevant to your business or by using RSS feeds.
Email is also used to push content through a large network audience. Each email is then hyper targeted as many will argue this is one of the most effective ways of generating new leads.
Despite it having a somewhat bad reputation; cold calling and emailing may also be used but in B2B marketing they will also use firmographic data to better target leads.
The goal of the companies is to generally set up appointments for potential clients to have conversations with your sales team.
They will use a variety of tactics to gather new leads such as;
Social media marketing
Online advertising
Optimization of landing pages
Boosting traffic to your site and help gather your own leads.
Lead generation companies will have lead nurturing programs. These are inbound programs set up to nurture leads from the top of the sales funnel down towards the bottom ‘buying’ stages.
What should you look for in a lead generation company?
We all know that the best person that knows your business is you; but it can be hard to generate new leads in the digital age that we live in.
You may be considering outsourcing some of your sales process such as lead generation to reputable lead gen companies; but what do you need to look for?
You need to have a strong lead generation strategy in place and use someone that can quickly understand your business aims and target audience to create this.
A good lead generation company will have the right tools in place to help you achieve the maximum impact.
They are known for adding value to businesses through generating sales leads.
Lead generation is the term used when a lead is generated from digital marketing purposes and then sold to a company, agency or individual.
It plays an important role in your digital marketing strategy as it establishes demand for your products/services.
You may wonder why you would spend more money on hiring a lead generation company when you can just buy data.
The problem with this is that you may not get quality data. It could be that you have these details already. They may already be a customer and it could be heavily worked through too.
You need to look for a lead generation company that focuses on quality and not just quantity of leads.
As long as the lead generation company understand and shares the common goal, aims and needs of your business then partnering with a lead generation company could transform the way your business obtains new leads.
The advantages of working with a lead generation company
Working with a lead generation company will give you much more control over your campaign or future campaigns.
A lead generation company will have contacts lists which would be very hard for independent businesses to obtain in such a short time frame. This means they can quickly gain access to more potential clients.
They are able to advertise on a number of different media platforms. This allows you to spread your message across a wide variety of people.
They will also provide you with the benefits of data collecting, statistics tracking, and many other things that you would not be able to do yourself.
Lead Gen companies will also help you get the most out of your marketing campaign; All while saving you time and money.
They could even help refine your sales processes and improve them as it may not always work out if you do it yourself.
Outsource so you can keep focused
Working with a lead generation company means you can take your time to refine what you want each campaign to achieve. It will also give you the freedom to concentrate on running your business.
If one of your staff is going on holiday it gives you the opportunity to keep important leads warm. Which makes it easier for them when they return from their break as appointments have already been set up.
The key to success in business is having new clients/customers finding you at the right time. They could be at any stage of the sales process or possibly even just first hear about your products.
How this happens depends on many different factors such as; how current clients find out about you is the high quality content that is on your website.
Conclusion: should you work with a lead generation company?
The best way to find out about working with a lead generation company is to experience it for yourself. Speak with someone who can understand your needs as an entrepreneur and help you achieve your goals through digital marketing.
Doing this means you will be able to see first hand what they have to offer. You will also see how they are going to improve the way your business generates leads in the future.
Work with someone you can trust!
XL Marketing have been a source of high quality, high return leads for over a decade. Our highly skilled staff have great experience and knowledge converting targeted contacts into viable leads. Ian Smith, Managing Director said: "Lead generation lies at the heart of the pipeline that keeps a sales force busy. However, it is so much more than providing a source of contacts, a lead generation company should also be providing quality feedback on campaigns."
