Month: September 2014

View LinkedIn At Its Best

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quality vs quantityLast week I posted a blog about quantity versus quality when it comes to generating leads. (See Recent Posts: Lead Gen’s Big Debate) If you haven’t had a chance to see all of the comments that have been posted regarding this hot topic, you really should. There are some thought-provoking responses on the topic, and more are still coming in.

This is exactly why I love LinkedIn. I love it because it provides a platform for industry experts to instantly share their insights and experience on a variety of timely and provocative topics. And, it’s the perfect sounding board for others of like or differing mindsets to weigh in on the matter, building a healthy and beneficial dialogue that otherwise would not happen across such a broad platform. By taking the time to have your voice heard on any given blog topic, you are bringing real value to the industry.

Care to weigh in with your insights on quantity versus quality for lead gen? It’s not too late to share a comment with me and all my readers.

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Lead Gen’s Big Debate: Quality Versus Quantity

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There are generally two different camps when it comes to this topic: those who want as many leads as can possibly be funneled to them and those who are less concerned about the number of leads and more concerned with the quality of each lead. So, who’s correct?

That depends on who’s answering the question and what their objectives are…and maybe even the time of year it is. Allow me to elaborate. Sales typically wants more, more, more when it comes to leads, right? But, when marketing increases the volume, sales complains about the quality and conversions go south. What to do? Coming full circle, sales now says they want better leads even if it means less quantity. Here’s the takeaway: There is usually a discernable cycle to your business volume, make note of it and adjust your lead gen program accordingly, feeding a higher quantity of leads to sales during the lean months and giving them fewer, more qualified leads during the busy season.

In a nutshell, I believe what’s important is the number of opportunities you have in your sales pipeline. You should be focusing your marketing lead generation efforts on lead qualification before an opportunity is handed off and put in your CRM.

What are your thoughts – quantity or quality? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Put The Deep Freeze On Cold Calling

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Cold Call

I’ve waited a long time to be able to write a headline like that. It feels pretty good. So, if you’re sales people are still cold calling, it’s time they enter the 21st century. Believe me, they’ll thank you. All sales people hate cold calling, and everyone hates being the recipient of a cold call – in short the era of the cold call has come and gone. And, I say, “Good riddance!”

The reason there is no longer a need for cold calling is because we have so much information at our disposal. There’s no reason why you can’t find out beneficial information about your prospects and put that to good use. It’s time to nurture your leads.

How To Nurture Your Leads

A good lead-nurturing program has to have ongoing, relevant communication with targeted prospects. Through lead nurturing you can build a trust relationship that fast tracks your leads to money.

Involve your sales people in your lead-nurturing program. They are the ones interacting with your customers and prospects on a daily basis. Use their knowledge! Have an ongoing dialogue with your sales people. Ask what the most frequent questions they get are, what are the biggest objections they hear, what are prospects telling them they need – you get the idea. Once you have their input, you can develop content that speaks to these issues, creating white papers, articles, targeted e-mail campaigns, etc.

Cold calling has always gotten a bad wrap, and rightfully so because most calls are not beneficial to the person on the other end of the line. Cold calls are intrusive and more often than not miss the mark. Lead nurturing on the other hand allows you to select targeted prospects and deliver customized, useful information to them. Marketing automation can also assist by letting you know your prospects’ habits on your website, e-mail campaigns, and webinars. This is invaluable information that enables you to communicate with your prospects based on their actions and responses, so you can guide their journey along the buying process, feeding them easily digestible information along the way. Combine this with lead scoring, and you’ll know when it’s time to pick up the phone and have a “warm call” with your prospect because you’ll know where they are in the buying process and what their potential concerns are because you’ve nurtured your leads.

Six Ways To Build A Landing Page That Converts

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A landing page is an effective springboard for sales. By directing a prospect to a specific landing page instead of your website, you are guiding your prospect’s journey with your company. You know how they reached your landing page and the reasons behind their clicks. Landing pages give you invaluable information about your traffic and conversions that you can use to increase conversions.

Another reason landing pages are so popular is because they are a great vehicle to test offers, design, content, etc., that you would not normally do on your website home page. So, here’s how I recommend you approach creating more effective landing pages:

  1. Keep It Simple

The last thing you want to happen when a prospect visits your landing page is for them to miss the point of why they are there in the first place. Keep your message clearly visible without lots of scrolling and clicking.

  1. Stay Focused

Don’t dilute your message by offering links to lots of other offers. This will only distract your prospect from the message you’re trying to convey. By keeping the message focused, you are better positioned to gage the effectiveness of your call to action without the distractions (and confusion) of other offers.

  1. Deliver Value

Your prospect has clicked on a link to get to your landing page, now it’s your job to deliver on the promise you made with clear and compelling content.

  1. Ease Into The Relationship

The temptation with a landing page is to try to capture too much information right off the bat. That’s a mistake. Initially, you want to capture just the basic information – anything more is a real turnoff. As you build trust, you can ask for more information.

  1. Test

Landing pages provide greater flexibility for testing than other more traditional forms of marketing just don’t provide. Take advantage of this and test which offers and design work the best for you.

  1. Be Selective

You created a landing page for a good reason – to reach a specific market. So, don’t try to make the landing page appeal to everyone. Instead, focus your content, design, and offer to speak directly to your targeted prospects. This is the way to increase conversions.

 

Looking For A Sales Game Changer?

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I’ve been blogging for about two years now. I get regular feedback from many marketing, sales, and executives just like you, thanking me for the information I share on my weekly blog. I’m not surprised. I’ve been in this business for almost 10 years, and I know there is a lot of confusion when it comes to digital marketing. That’s why I share helpful information on my blog like…

  • What 3 moves do you make that have the most impact?
  • Which of the new trends really work?
  • What do successful brands do to get remarkable results?
  • How should you spend your marketing budget?
  • What are the 7 ways to increase your e-mail results?
  • 8 simple changes to increase website leads by 80%.
  • How content marketing increases search engine ranking.
  • 4 questions to ask your SEO company that could change how you approach organic lead generation.
  • How marketing automation will increase your sales by 25%.
  • 4 questions you must ask before giving your website a facelift
  • And much more!!

I want my blog to be a helpful go-to source for all of your marketing needs. Sign up today so you never miss a new blog.

Now, About That Sales Game Changer…

Take a quick visit over to my newly redesigned website to see all about my newest program to help drive leads. The NEW Producers’ Ad Network is the most powerful bundling of services we’ve offered yet.

  • Your Brand
  • Your Offer
  • Your Prospects

If you like what you see (and I think you will), give me a call or send me an e-mail so we can discuss specific details of how this new program can work for you. The Producers Network is a leader in lead generation systems. So, it only makes sense that we work with leaders, driving business to an impressive client base. We have a long history of innovation and support to keep our clients ahead of the curve on marketing automation and lead generation. We’d love to work with you.

 

P.S. When you subscribe to the 1 Minute Lead Generator, you’ll receive weekly information that will help you be a better producer. I’ll share with you the latest trends, insider information, and marketing tips. What works. What doesn’t. And why. Look forward to hearing from you soon.