Which lead generation techniques are most likely to yield the highest quality results? One thing is for sure. Buying a simple list of outdated leads and doing nothing to clean it up will end in a lot of wasted time. Sometimes, a company has no other option but to buy a list. In those cases, there are ways to make those lists more effective and pull out the best leads.
Every company should at least strive to use the following five best practices for lead generation techniques.
1: The best lead generation techniques always start with good marketing content.
First things first: the best way to get is to give! If you want your company to generate its own organic leads, you need to put something out there into the world. That means writing and publishing useful content. That content can come in the form of blog posts, downloadable papers, videos, podcasts, beautiful product photos, and much more.
Which kinds of content you’ll use depends on your team’s imagination and creativity. As well, the needs and interests of your target market matter a great deal. What matters most of all, though, is the underlying quality of the product itself.
2: Enhance the power of your content with landing pages.
Often, it’s not enough to simply put the content out there and wait for viable prospects to show up. For one thing, you need to pay special attention to search engine optimization. SEO makes it easier to find your content using Google and other search tools. After that, while you do have to offer it for the world to consume, it doesn’t have to be for nothing!
You should be set up to request information from them in exchange for information from you. You can do this by setting up landing pages on your website. Landing pages give visitors access to relevant content in exchange for contact information. Lead information gathered this way is much more relevant than anything you’ll find on a purchased list.
3: Multiply your reach via social media.
If you have your lead generation system set up on your website, that’s only half the battle. With the website alone, you can wait for prospects to find you when they search for specific information about their problems. It’s harder, though, to proactively promote your solutions without relying on traditional advertising. At least, it used to be that way, before the advent of social networks.
Now, not only can prospects search for your solutions, but you can search for their problems and reach out to them directly. You can even use social media to skip the initial cold calls and jump right into developing a fruitful business relationship!
4: Marketing generates the best leads; sales finds the ones who are ready to become prospects
There’s one key thing to keep in mind with all these lead generation techniques. They work best when marketing and sales departments each do their jobs in ways that help each other. Some organizations find themselves relying on their sales staff to generate new leads. This is not the best use of a sales team’s time.
Sales professionals should focus on building relationships with the leads that they have. They can provide feedback to the marketing team about how well each lead performs. Marketing can then use those comments in an iterative process to generate more and better leads.
5: Outsource lead generation techniques like data cleanup
Even if you’ve been able to use all these lead generation techniques, it may not be enough. You may still find yourself needing to buy lists to provide enough leads for your sales teams to act on. When that happens, make sure you have a process in place to use the highest-quality data possible. That’s something that Smart Funnel was born to help with.
Our performance marketing solutions include verifying the accuracy and relevance of lead data. We can also help you set up even more sources of powerful organic leads. Our affiliate publishing partnerships are a great example. Make sure to contact us today to improve your lead generation system!
