Listed below are items that will help ensure a successful Lead Generation campaign. The heavy lifting in Lead Generation comes in setting the program up by being as specific as possible in the attributes of the desired customer, messaging, and follow-up procedures. It is essentially building a business plan within your business plan. Like any good business plan, there are foundational components that must be in place prior to action being taken.
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Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.
– Robert H. Schuler
1. Prioritize and define your objectives
This is essentially the process of reverse engineering what a successful campaign looks like from the final result through the components necessary to build it. We like to start the process with “You will know this campaign has been a success if…..”. As this process unfolds it helps build clarity in terms of expectations. It is given the desired result is more sales, but if in going through the process it is determined that you want to reach the VP’s of Fortune 500 companies this will dramatically impact the number of leads that can be generated. Conversely, if it is a branding exercise to get the company name and corporate materials in front of the right person that would be an entirely different number.
Nothing will kill a campaign quicker than undefined goals.
2. Determine your message
Keep your message simple and clear. This is not the time for a dissertation on your company – that can come later when probed by the customer if they request more information. One simple message, one simple call to action. You have to place the benefit to the listener upfront, and if you have correctly identified the right place on the food chain within that company – how your solution will make them look good.
In composing the script Lead Generators will work diligently with you to develop a compelling script. That is not the end, however, it can be a fluid process throughout the campaign. Ultimately once we make the transition from theory to reality refinements will have to be made as we learn more about the response we are receiving from the market.
3. Who is your ideal customer?
The more specific you are in this definition the better our chances. Lead Generators utilizes a number of resources to generate the most qualified list possible. So the more you can tell us the better we can filter it down.
- Type of company and industry?
- Sales volume?
- Number of employees?
- Geographic region?
- Where in the organization is the decision normally made?
- Where in the organization is first contact normally made? In other words describe the path a sale takes once inside the potential customer.
- If possible convey (as honestly as possible) what type of objections or barriers you encounter during the sales process so we can help proactively overcome those objections.
The more you can tell us about your ideal customer the easier it is for us to help you.
4. Extending your brand
We are representing your brand in the marketplace, and we take that very, very seriously. It is best to take some time prior to the campaign to review your positioning, history, value statement, and language. Even if a contact is not interested in the offer at this particular time we want to insure we have left a positive and professional image of your company in the mind of the customer.
This will extend to all forms of contact or collateral that is going to be pushed out into the marketplace. If your website isn’t ready – hold off. If your brochure is not complete or has not been professionally designed – wait and spend the money to have the right branded assets.
If none of those things exist – or not in the right form, we can still help you. Lead Generators is part of the Revenue Acceleration Group of Companies. We work closely with Dominion Sales & Marketing, and Jumpstart to develop integrated campaigns that also include collateral development, and live “guerilla marketing” and have done so for an impressive list of clients.
You may want to visit clientfinders.com to see what other resources we have to make your campaign a success.
5. Build a business plan
This may seem very basic but it is an important step to define so everyone’s expectations are in alignment. We are working to achieve a specific goal not just make a certain number of calls.
- What is the value of a customer? For example, if your product is a subscription-based service with a 1 year commitment of $300 per month a customer is worth $3,600.
- What is your historic conversion rate on leads you have generated? For example, for every 10 leads we convert 2 to customers for a 20% conversion rate.
- We now have the necessary information to determine the number of leads necessary to give you a reasonable ROI from the campaign.
With this outlined, we can define a reasonable length of time for the campaign to be completed and achieve your desired objectives.
6. Have a lead management system
Our campaigns generate two types of leads. Those that fit the initial criteria identified to qualify as a “lead” and a secondary layer of potential customers who may not have all the attributes but could be good potential targets at a later date and worthy of maintaining for follow-up. In order to get maximum value from the campaign you should have a proper lead management system in place both short and long term.
Lead Generators has worked with a number of CRM’s such as SalesForce to insure an efficient transition of information from the campaign to your management system. If you currently do not have a CRM we can organize the in the most manageable format for you.
Tyler Dawson
President, LGI Sales & Marketing Group Inc.
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