Spring forward – It’s Time To Clean Up Your Act!
It’s only an hour’s difference, but waking up this past Sunday morning with the clock saying one thing and your body clock saying something else was a bit unnerving, right? It certainly was for me.
As we spring forward into longer, warmer days, let’s bring some tasks from our personal lives into what we do in the B2B lead generation space. I’m talking about spring cleaning – like it or not, we all do this in some measure every year. The main goal being to clear the clutter, get more organized, and be more efficient so we have more time on hand to enjoy spring and summer. In the B2B context, if you clean up your lead generation act, you can enjoy the benefits of better quality leads, greater conversion and increased ROI.
Where do you begin? How about starting at the top which is your leads database and then working your way to the bottom of the funnel which is the conversion engine?
Here are 5 handy tips to help your B2B lead generation initiatives be more productive this spring:
- Start with your lists: I cannot even begin to explain the benefits of cleansing your system. I have just completed my 21-day fitness and weight loss program that I wrote about at an earlier post on the demand generation process. What goes in your system is so important to the results you want to see. The OTG3 cleanse juices rich in vital fruits and vegetables have helped restore my pH balance and I feel great. I am ready and excited about my forthcoming trip to Peru – ready to climb mountains, bike the grueling trails and absorb the richness of Peruvian history and culture.
- There is a direct co-relation between the quality of your list (enhanced by a prospect’s detailed information) and anticipated/projected results. Start now to put in place structured account mapping and intelligence processes. Look at ways to organizational history and aim to improve your conversion rates. The cleanse will help you trim the ‘fat’, get rid of ‘toxins’ and energize and invigorate your lead generation efforts.
- Examine your lead generation strategy: When we do spring cleaning at home or in the office, we use a collection of boxes and storage containers. We throw out what we know is not useful, we put away what we don’t need all the time and we place our “must-haves” within easy reach. You can do the same with you lead generation process. Be aware that not all leads are created equal. Examine your B2B and lead generation strategy so that you can plan a comprehensive mi of tactics. For instance, a direct mail campaign may be best for one group of prospects, social outreach through a channel like LinkedIn may work better with a different type of audience, and so on. Don;t try to do everything all the time, all at once.
- Focus on priming hot leads to become sales-ready: You know the story – Marketing says they have passed on a qualified leads to sales and conversion should happen now. It’s not that simple, is it? Lead progression requires further qualification of a lead to get to the point where/when the lead can be turned into a sales-ready actionable item. And how are you supposed to do this? With the right nurture programs in place you can help move leads into the qualifying spectrum. 60% of leads have to be carefully nurtured into clients. (as explained in the 15-60-25 rule below.)
- Whether you walk, hike or bike in a challenging terrain, preparation is the key to success: My recently completed fitness and weight loss program will be put to the test when I leave shortly for my adventures in Peru. In much the same way, B2B lead nurturing requires careful and dedicated preparation too. You can use a combination of OTM (outbound telemarketing), email, social and asset-based strategies to nurture the the prospect. If you keep in mind the fact that 70% of B2B buyers will buy a product and/or service after being engaged by an OTM call program, you’ll rememder that timing is always critical to successful lead nurturing. You have to know when and how to move or progress a lead along the path to conversion.
- 15-60-25 Rule. This is not new – but I want to remind you of this rule. only 15% of the leads you engaged with are “right-time-right-place” They are inclined to feel strongly that that they need your product and may choose to buy. 60% are in the nurturing phase – and you can’t win them all. 25% of the prospects are simply not interested. The trick is to be able to qualify your leads and focus on converting that top 15% first then working your way to through the other 60%.
What are some of the top B2B lead generation spring cleaning tasks your organization needs to take on this year? Share your thoughts on my blog. You can also email or call me, Louis Foong, at (905) 709-3827.
