Tag : lead generation

7 Rules For B2B Lead Generation Success

7 Rules For B2B Lead Generation Success
29Apr

I was recently speaking to a prospect on a phone consultation and I was trying to get to the bottom of what their problem was. When I’m on calls like this, honestly this is my favorite part. I’m trying to see what they might not be seeing which could be hindering their success.

This company was a Business to Business (B2B) service company who was desperate to make sales. So far, this tracks right?

So I wanted to dive deeper.

“How many leads are you generating and fielding in a month?”

Silence.

“How much does the average client net you once they come on?”

Uhh… more silence.

The person was beginning to get a little defensive at this point – and I wanted to make them feel more at ease. The truth is, that I have been on hundreds (or more) of calls with business owners, marketers, sales managers, and everyone in between, and this call was not unlike its predecessors.

The issue was that they were missing some of the basic rules of B2B marketing.

I’ve said this before recently, and I will say it again, I never look down on people not having the correct data to track and execute marketing strategies. I read the marketing and sales press, I see the number of gurus popping up every two seconds with a new funnel that is the magic answer to your nagging ROI problem. And you know what, I think that a lot of those magic solutions DO work. The systems are well-built and the strategies are sound.

So what’s the issue?

You need to follow these rules for B2B Lead Generation first, before you start making major moves with these “perfect sales systems.”

Rule #1: Know Thy Audience.
If you do not know who you are trying to target, you will never be able to target them. Write down a DETAILED demographic makeup of your target audience. Then look at your customer/client records. Your sales to the target audience that you defined better be reflected in at least 80% of those sales. If they are not? Back to the drawing board.

Rule #2: Know Thy Decision Maker.
If you have ever had to cold call or execute a multichannel (or multilevel) marketing campaign, it will come as no surprise to you that there are a lot of time wasters out there. People that tell you they love your service, your product is the best, or that you are really changing the way they think would love to work with you! But guess what? They don’t have the pull to make the decision. They don’t control the money. They just wasted a lot of time and (emotional) energy by taking you no closer to the end game. Knowing your decision-makers titles will help you narrow your opportunities and reduce the time of your sales cycle.

Rule #3: Know Thy Price Point.
It is important to understand how much your target decision-maker is willing to pay for your service AND what monetary benefit it will bring them. Not sure how to find it? Figure it out. Ask your peers, do secret shopping, just flat out ask them on the call. Price is everything to many, so if you are not aware of how to present your value proposition with conviction that lands, bye-bye lead.

Rule #4: Know Thy Services Inside and Out.
When you are doing a sale (technical or more straight-forward), understand your services/products AND target decision-maker enough to be able to develop a custom solution that will delight and excite. Creating excitement with a lead, as well as offering something that makes them feel special is beyond perfect.

Rule #5: One Shall Not Bark Up the Wrong Tree.
Target audiences are made to be edited. Just because you only did business with one audience for 10 years does not mean you should continue for the next 10 years. Businesses and corporate roles are changing – and you need to be malleable. Have you ever looked at who is visiting your website? Probably not. This is exactly why my team at The Go! Agency developed a tool call Web Wisdom AI – which identifies every visitor to your website and sends you a detailed report. Based on data like that, you could see that your top industries could be something you never considered.

Rule #6: It Is Not All About You.
Ask questions. Be sociable. Listen. Just because you got this call (or are on this call) doesn’t mean that it can’t end soon or go downhill fast. People do business with people they like. Truth.

Rule #7: Thou Shalt Want to Prospect.
Nothing will kill a B2B salesperson or process more than one who is sitting at their desk, waiting by the computer or phone for a “hot lead” to be delivered. In fast-growing companies, intelligent prospecting has been proven to be a major growth stimulant, taking business through a tough time while competitors that rest on their laurels become stagnant. Get off your butt and get to action. LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a great tool here!

I’ve seen so many clients break these rules, and hurt their sales numbers in the process, which is why I wanted to share my rules with you. That being said, if you want to learn about which companies are visiting your website or if you want help executing outreach to your target audience on Linkedin, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or my team of sales and marketing professionals at The Go! Agency. We’re happy to help!

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The Best Lead Generation Strategies For Social Media

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15Oct

Finding leads and referrals have always been both a goal and obstacle for business owners. For some, it’s the only way they can generate revenue for their company. Social media has become not only a new solution for marketing purposes, but it serves as a way to discover potential clients, customers, residents, or whoever keeps your business alive.

There are several ways to achieve successful lead generation through social media. The following steps will help your business’s clientele skyrocket!

– Advertising. People utilize companies that are well known and have proven themselves. By adding a bit of social media advertising to your marketing budget, you be able to increase your profile’s visibility exponentially.

– Reaching out. Businesses approaching potential customers is not unheard of, but you need to do it with some subtlety. Programs like Crowdfire can help you follow a mass of people on Twitter, which is the starting point of new connections. Inviting those who liked your posts but not your page to do so is a super simple way to increase numbers. By sharing others’ content on Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, you exhibit an appreciation for their posts.

– Groups. LinkedIn and Facebook both have an impressive number of groups that allow you to connect with fellow professionals as well as those looking for your service. Be sure to get yourself out there and connect!

– Offers. The internet is the perfect place to promote freebies. Offer a free e-course, e-book, or trial. Give potential clients a free sample of the goodness of you have to offer.

Your ideal customers are already online waiting to be impressed by your marketing techniques. Get to it! These four strategies will help your marketing efforts and potentially increase leads and referrals.

Our clients notice an increase in referrals and leads through our customized marketing plans, content, and sharing! Contact us today to gain and advantage on social media.

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Relationship Marketing: Is It Working For You?

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14Mar

(This article is featured in the latest issue of Doctor’s Life Magazine.  They have kindly allowed us to reprint this with permission.  To learn more about Doctor’s Life Magazine and read the rest of this month’s terrific issue – click HERE)

We’ve all heard sayings similar to: “people, not products, drive sales” or “people do business with people they like.” Customer service and good client relationships have always been important when it comes to acquiring and maintaining clients, but now more than ever it’s so important to cultivate and nurture these people and businesses by using relationship marketing. Why?

Most consumers want to talk about their experiences, but now their opinions aren’t just shared across the fence, they’re shared online—worldwide, instantly, and not just to their friends, but to anyone that wants to know more about you. Are you just letting it happen, are you getting involved, monitoring what’s being said about you, your company, products, and services and translating it into higher revenue? Relationship marketing is vital in making sure that the positives are emphasized, and any negatives are corrected. It’s all about ensuring customer satisfaction and retention.

Let’s take a step back and look at exactly what relationship marketing is. In a nutshell, it’s considered marketing that puts an emphasis on long-term customer relationships by utilizing forms of communication other than advertising and sales promotions, and thereby developing a far more satisfying overall purchasing experience for both the buyer and seller.

Relationships of any kind exist for what each person gets out of it. It doesn’t sound very romantic, but think about it, if your significant other didn’t give you the security, affection, love, trust, financial stability, or whatever else you personally need—that relationship wouldn’t work. The same holds true for business relationships, they too are based on the “what’s in it for me” mentality. Are you providing what your client needs? How do you know?

Besides person-to-person interactions or speaking over the phone, social media is an extremely effective tool in furthering the client-business relationship. Let’s take a look at how Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Yelp, FourSquare or any other platform can help you develop better relationships with your current and future clients, other professionals, and leaders in your industry.

As we mentioned, people share their experiences, opinions, and even suggestions—good or bad. Now, they’re doing it online, with 757 million daily active users on Facebook, 400 million daily Tweets, and over 259 million LinkedIn members, 45 million users on Foursquare, and 117 million monthly visits to Yelp. People are talking!

The benefit for you is that since these platforms are public, you have the ability to join in on the conversation. Better yet, if you are proactive, you can develop relationships with these people that are lasting and beneficial to your bottom line. Remember, when you’re in a relationship with someone, they are much more likely to be loyal to you and tell their friends about you. A loyal customer is your best sales person!

Logically, some of the keys to a good personal relationship are; taking an interest, listening, meeting basic needs, having positive interactions, and good problem solving skills. Are you doing this with your business relationships?

Let’s look at each of these in terms of social media. Are you posting on social media with the goal of helping people to solve problems rather than gain sales? A great quote is, “People don’t want quarter-inch drills—they want quarter-inch holes” by Ted Levitt. This means that people do not necessarily pay for a “product” or “service,” they pay for the solution to a problem. In fact, what we do in business is rent those products and services to our clients to get jobs done in their lives.

Have you developed good “listening skills” online? One of my favorite true stories involves a famous steak house. A man had a same-day round trip flight from New Jersey to Tampa for a business meeting. While waiting to take off in Tampa that evening, as a joke he tweeted: “Hey @Mortons – can you meet me at Newark airport with a porterhouse when I land in two hours? K, thanks. :)” And guess what? They did. You may have heard of this very true story—it generated a lot of press, and a LOT of business for the steakhouse, not to mention some very loyal customers! (Read more here: bit.ly/MortonsCRM). What can you do to be sure you’re “listening?”

Obviously, part of listening includes handling in-person complaints, suggestions, and compliments. But as we mentioned, people may be more comfortable simply posting these things online. How can you catch them?

Here are a couple of ideas!

• Go to Google and search for, and set up, alerts. Enter all of the keywords and key phrases that describe you and your business, things like your name, company name, specialty, location, ZIP code, and even specific search queries that people may enter to find a business like yours. (You may even want to set up alerts for your competition to see what they’re up to!)
• To find conversations on Twitter that you might want to be involved with, go to twitter.com/search-advanced. Enter the criteria you are looking for, for example if you sold cars, you might search for the key phrase: “I need a new car” and your ZIP code. You’d be surprised at how many entries there are there. Responding to that tweet could have excellent results! Take a look, and see how you might modify it for your business! Another great tool is TweetDeck, a very inexpensive tool to help you manage your social media.
• On LinkedIn there are a plethora of groups that you can join that are dedicated to your specific niche. Find the groups that are right for you by typing in your keywords and start some discussions, or get involved with some current discussions! It will elevate your status as an expert in your field. It’s a great networking platform that can be dialed in to your target audience and location.
• Look in on Foursquare and Yelp to see that your information is there, and updated—then check in from time to time to see what people are saying.

Be active in posting on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, putting up information that is informational and helpful to the reader. Post tips and articles that are related to your area of practice, and pepper in promotional posts only now and then. You want to make sure you have an active social “voice,” but don’t forget the importance of social “listening.” Remember that social media is PR, not sales. Emphasis on the word “social.” When someone “likes,” shares, or comments on any of your posts on social media, be sure to respond to them. Just like in a real-life networking setting, if someone “liked” or commented on your tie or shoes and you didn’t respond, they would walk away. The same holds true on social media.

Remember, just like any relationship, there’s work involved. The social media channels are free to use, but as we’ve said before, “time is money.” It’s crucial to develop a marketing plan for your social media activities and stick to it.

One last quote from Zig Ziglar: “Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, and no trust.” When you develop a good relationship with someone and earn their trust, you can show them much easier that they do need, can afford, and want what you’re offering!

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