Introduction to Lead Generation

24 Aug Introduction to Lead Generation

No business can survive without customers, and businesses should be proactive in filling their sales funnel with viable business leads. The type and quality of your business lead can make a major difference in how you grow your sales, and companies should understand the lead’s role and expectations in your sales process so you can be prepared to leverage every opportunity.

The purpose of business is to provide the products and services and in return, gain some positive feedback and results in the form of good sales. For this purpose, they perform several beneficial activities. One of those is identifying how your leads can be generated, which helps to find the right direction and invest your efforts accordingly.

Lead vs. Lead Generation

The person interested in organizational products will be called the Lead of that organization. They love to buy your product and convert from a visitor to a customer. But if they don’t show any response, then they’re not a lead. Companies generate leads from a variety of sources, then follow up with each one to see if the business lead is a good fit for what they sell.

Getting leads is the first step of the sales cycle and will help you know who to stay in touch with and who to continue marketing to until they’re ready to buy. Without business leads filling your sales funnel, sales reps are at a loss as to who to contact and try to sell to.

Lead generation is the process of gathering information about your lead. The main objective of this process is to link with the people who will be interested in buying your products and developing a relationship with your business. Ideally, lead generation occurs organically. When a complete stranger reaches out on their own volition and shows interest in your product, the relationship grows naturally and gives you a better chance to build authentic connections.

However, old-school lead gen techniques like cold calling and cold emailing can also prove effective when done correctly.

Steps to Generating a Lead:

Following are the steps of the lead generation process

• Identify your lead by knowing their wants
• Share engaging content to attract lead
• Collect lead details
• Stay connected by sending emails 
• Give a lead score based on their involvement
• Convert them into customers

Do you need Lead Generation?

Every organization needs lead generation. Why you might ask? To grab the right audience’s attention. Many companies invest a lot of money in it because they realize how useless it is to invest your time and money in people who are not even interested in making a purchase Plus, your sales will increase ten-fold if you focus on the people who like what you offer. . So, by doing the smart work with the help of lead generation by focusing on your potential customer, you’re saving a ton of money and time!

Types of Lead Generation

There are two main types of Lead Generation: 

• Inbound 
• Outbound

Inbound:

Inbound is the type of lead generation in which the visitor has the authority. They will be the ones who decide to share details, fill out the forms, or buy the actual product! Through inbound lead generation, users can start communication first to engage with the company through the Website or social media channels.

Outbound:

In the outbound approach sales team directly approaches the lead by cold calling, pay per click, cold email marketing, etc.  Through outbound lead generation, companies take the first step, they communicate to the target audience and make them engage with it.

Types of Lead:

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

MQL is a lead stage in which users reach the marketing level. The customer is just a visitor and gets attracted to your product by marketing means. They’re engaged with your content but are not ready to buy the ProductProduct or reach the sales level.

Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)

In this stage, the visitor becomes a customer and increases our sales.SQL type of lead is the person who sees your ProductProduct. His interest piques. He will contact you to buy the ProductProduct.

Product Qualified Lead (PQL)

PQL consists of the customers who are using the company’s Product. But they are using products free version. Advance features are paid. So, if they want more properties and features they have to buy first.

How to Perform Lead generation? 

There are different ways to perform the lead generation process, to gather your lead.

CTA

The call to action is a very important strategy that encourages users to more discovery. It helps them gain knowledge about the ProductProduct they want through step-by-step instructions. It is an easier way to lead them to a track they can follow to achieve their desired results.

Social Media

Digital media is the way to go these days.  It is the best way to convey the message to your target audience. You can also share your content on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to gather attention, engage more people, and have a better reach. Make sure to provide quality content with attractive design so that you find more leads through like shares and comments.

Blog

The blogs effectively keep the visitor on your site and hold on to their attention. Your blog content should be written in a well-organized form so it satisfies the users. Present the knowledge in the best possible way, so users always reach out to your site first and eventually convert into a consumer.

Create a user-friendly interface 

A User’s first interaction will be with your Website’s layout. It must be attractive, easy to understand, and eye-catching. So, users want to stay and explore more things. Otherwise, users quit quickly, meaning it does not matter how effectively you have written your content.

Make product videos

A product video is another way to develop the user’s interest in your Product. Make the product video, describing its functionality and features. You can further guide them by providing the solutions to frequently asked questions. In this way, you will add additional value to your product. Try to upload this video on the home page or social media channels for the user’s convenience. 

Cold calls/ cold email

Cold emails and cold calls basically mean reaching out through emails to the user or dropping a message by calling. It informs them of new updates, tips, and tricks relating to the user’s interest. If the person is on your lead list. It’s your responsibility to hold him. Building a good connection with them, and using cold emails and cold calls helps your business grow. 

Paid Ads

To increase the lead of your Product, you need to be visible to them by all means. It does not matter whether they search for you are not, but they must find you. For this purpose, paid ads are used. You will be paying per click. There are a bunch of different ways to advertise, like google search and Facebook.

Tools for Lead Generation

Apptivo

This app is used in the lead generation process to collect leads manually or through forms, emails, and API.

Driftrock

This app is used to find, authenticate and manage the leads from websites and social media channels, especially landing pages and forms.

Google Ads

Google ads is a paid advertising tool used to run your ads on different websites.

Intercom

Intercom’s purpose is to develop a Link between user and organization. Users can directly communicate and share feedback and get solutions.

Turnstile

Organizations use Tuturnstiles to gather the user name and IDs who view the video to motivate them further.

Lead Generation Trends & Benchmarks

So … you’re getting web traffic and generating leads. But how are you doing compared to other companies in your industry? Read on to discover what other marketers are doing with lead generation in 2021, along with important stats to consider.

Lead generation is the top marketing priority.

HubSpot State of Marketing Report 2021 found that marketers report that their top marketing priorities for the next 12 months is generating more leads. Converting these leads to customers is another top priority, according to SmartInsights.

Marketers are making use of digital automation tools for lead generation.

Digital lead generation spend is expected to reach 3.2 billion by the end of 2021. Forbes predicts that automation will play a large part in this increase, as automation will become a large part of lead generation strategies, specifically when it comes to streamlining the lead qualification and predictive scoring

Best Practices to Implement

• Keep your goal and vision clear on what you will give to your lead and what they need and want from you.
• Keep detailed knowledge of your target audience and tackle them accordingly.
• Also, implement the option of live chat for direct communication.
• Content must be worthy of engaging the audience.
• Use the CRM software to increase leads.
• Present the reviews of your customers.
• Place forms on almost every page for the convenience of the users.

Regardless of where a lead stands in the sales cycle, all leads should receive some form of follow-up after entering your sales funnel. Good follow-up practices are essential to sales, as the sales reps that prioritize multiple follow-ups tend to see the most sales. Studies show that the majority of salespeople stop reaching out after the first follow-up message, but it usually takes five or more attempts before a sale is made.

The basics we’ve gone over in this blog post are just the beginning. Keep creating great offers, CTAs, landing pages, and forms — and promote them in multi-channel environments. Be in close touch with your sales team to make sure you’re handing off high-quality leads on a regular basis. Last but not least, never stop testing. The more you tweak and test every step of your inbound lead generation process, the more you’ll improve lead quality and increase revenue.

Using follow-up best practices in your sales organization can ensure that all leads are treated fairly and consistently so that no opportunities fall through the cracks.

Growth Media automates the entire lead management process so you can spend less time on tasks and focus solely on selling. Schedule a meeting with Growth Media today and see how we can help you turn your business leads into paying customers!