5 Steps to Prevent B2B Lead Generation Failure …And 5 Danger Signs to Watch Out for

Whether they are ice dancing in perfect harmony or leaping into the sky and back down on the most intimidating ski slopes, the achievements of the Sochi Olympians are awe-inspiring to say the least. While every sporting event has its share of risk, hardship and tragedy, winter sports of this global stature kick all these factors up several notches. The weather and terrain are no easy opponents, mainly because they are so unpredictable—despite the Olympic organizers’ efforts and investment to make conditions as controlled as possible.

Think about how teams at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics prepare for the games. For several months before the games begin and every day as they get on to the ice and snow for different competitive events. These Olympians and their coaches certainly do have their winning strategies well thought out. More importantly, they also know the danger signs—what to look out for and what they must do to prevent any negative factors from affecting their performance. The sheer determination, single-minded focus and sweeping amounts of adrenalin of these sports performers is not just commendable, it is worth emulating, in whatever small measure possible. For individuals and organizations, there are life lessons to learn from events such as the Winter Olympics.

I recommend 5 fundamental steps you can take to ensure your lead generation activities are fuelled by Olympian winning strategies so you can go for the gold. I have also highlighted the 5 danger signs marketers should watch for to know when their B2B lead generation campaign may be sliding downward in the medal tally.

1. Don’t assume that you know the landscape: You never really do. Even after all the trial runs, so many of the skiers at Sochi have had difficulty on the slopes during the competitions. It doesn’t matter how well you think your teams have understood market conditions, competition and customer mindset. When your lead generation campaign gets off the ground, you better be watching and monitoring very closely. Sometimes you can make a swift, deft manoeuvre, other times you can only hope to minimize damage, but at all times, you have to be alert and ready to take proactive action.
2. Competition starts with you: The best coaching an Olympian receives is geared toward outperforming his or her own best performance till date. With every new lead generation campaign, a worthy goal is to ensure it is better and more profitable than any previous campaign on record.
3. Tailor your strategy to the campaign medium: Putting on a pair of skates and getting on the ice is the first step for many of the events at the Winter Olympics. But what happens after that is different for each event. The figure skaters are focused on balance, form, flexibility, intricacy and finish; the ice dancing couples focus on all of these plus harmony, expression, presentation and creativity of the theme; ice hockey brings the dimensions of speed, agility, teamwork and sheer power into play; the skiers and snowboarders take dare-devilry to unimaginable heights with their extraordinary skill and control. While ice and snow are the common grounds, the factors required to achieve a winning play are different for each of these events. You may have a common set of key messages you want to communicate across certain common platforms, but the delivery has to be uniquely crafted and tailored to ensure success. For instance, your Facebook updates may encourage good engagement levels from your target audience but you cannot use the same messages in your email campaign. Email marketing needs to be more quantifiable in terms of conversion.
4. Look at the big picture; organizational performance versus campaign performance. Of course, every point, every team player, every medal counts, but these Olympic stars never lose focus of their country’s overall ranking and medal tally. They came as a team and will go back as one—victorious and each one having given their best performance. Likewise, each small and big campaign counts towards your overall lead generation success. The mistake many organizations make is to revel in the results of one campaign and then binge on the next one which may not even come close to performing as well. At the end of the day, when you start adding up the cost per lead and the impact on your bottom line, the picture may not look as good as it promised to be earlier in the year.
5. Wear the team colours proudly and hold the flag high. Just like the Olympic teams do. Put an end to the sniping and bickering that is typical of many organizations’ sales and marketing departments. If you want to beat the competition and get your fans cheering for you, you need to share one voice, one vision, one mission. And it must all lead to building positive customer experiences and customer delight.

Is your B2B lead generation showing signs of failure? Do you want a bigger bang for your marketing dollars? At ALEA, we have developed a transformational, revolutionary lead generation process. Ask for more information and request your MyLeads2Go demo today.