Shamus Brown, who offers Professional Sales Tips at Industrial Ego sales states that getting more sales leads is one of the most crucial yet difficult tasks. According to him, there are 8 methods of Sales Lead Gen and for a successful B2B brand it is important to know of each one.
Shamus further adds that in order to generate sales leads, one needs three things:
- A written profile of the target prospect,
- A list of suspects containing potential prospects,
- A method of reaching the sales prospects.
Here are eight proven methods of Mr Shamus Brown where he claims they are of highest importance for reaching your sales prospects.
Complementary Partner Referrals
This sales lead generation method generates the highest quality sales leads. How? This depends on the market one is dealing in. There have been a lot of articles written about networking through chamber and association meetings. If we are selling business to business, we want to strike up relationships with sales reps from companies who call on the same businesses as we do. An example is if we sell an information technology consulting service, then partner with a few computer systems hardware vendors. These reps call on the same customers as we do and thus complement each other by sharing leads and information about customers and prospects.
Cold Calling
As much as nearly everyone dislikes this one, it is very effective for sales lead generation when executed properly. If one consistently prospects for leads by phone, they will consistently generate sales leads.
Live Seminars
Live seminars are a great sales lead generation technique because you are usually delivering your a pitch to a prospect very early in their buying process. The key to a successful seminar is offering a solution to a problem that your target market really wants to solve. You can give the pitch yourself, or get one of your company executives to do it (sometimes business “celebrity” can help pull more sales prospects in).
Live seminars can be done inexpensively. The costs for in-person seminars are comprised of room rental, refreshments, audio-visual equipment, and promotion. Teleseminars are the least expensive, with the only costs being conference phone line rental and promotion. Webinars are actually more expensive due to the hefty fees the online meeting services charge to use their services.
Trade Shows
Trade shows are a good way generate sales leads if you can find events highly targeted to your prospect audience. Often such events yield low-quality sales leads because they are attended by the recommenders and influencers and rather than the true decision-makers.
I rate this method lower on the list, yet it is a valuable one if your company has the budget and there are industry events well-targeted to your audience.
Mass Mailings
Sales letters are one of the more underused sales lead generation methods. There is an entire industry of people dedicated to selling this way called direct marketing. But most field sales reps and business professionals don’t know how to use this technique well.
Success with this method comes as a result of mailing a well-written letter to a good quality list of names (quality = targeted at your audience).
Two good primers on this are “The Ultimate Sales Letter” by Dan Kennedy and “Selling to VITO” by Anthony Parinello.
Advertising
This method can be highly effective when done right. You must find publications that are able to deliver your target audience. You must run ads that stimulate people to take action. To generate sales leads, you must avoid big-company style image ads.
I am no expert on advertising, but I do know that if you can’t do this one right don’t do it at all because you can blow through your marketing budget fast.
Internet Advertising
This one is very appropriate for small businesses and some independent professionals. With a well-designed website, you can generate sales leads through “ads” that the search engines create from your webpages. If you know what keywords your prospects are likely to search for you with, then you can generate very targeted and qualified leads.
This method is not for everyone though, as your prospects must be searching for something related to your products, services or the problems that you solve.
Email Publications
What you are reading right now is an example of an email publication that keeps my name and business in front of 9000 people every month. I collect all of my names through my website, but that isn’t the only way to do this.
A sales rep or business owner could create an email newsletter and mail it to sign-ups from an offer presented at a seminar, at a trade show, in a mass mailing, in an advertisement, or on a cold call.
If your a sales rep, why not create your own email newsletter? You could send out industry news and tips to suspects in your market. Eventually a few of them will become customers because you are on their mind more often than your competition.
When people don’t subscribe to your brand, it seems as though you don’t make enough conversations, But when these consumers click ‘unfollow’ or ‘Unlike’ on brand oages, it’s a call for concern and requires revaluating your campaign content or execution. We have noticed a fan/subscriber ‘Unliking’ or ‘Unfollowing’ a brand usually because of one of the following reasons:
- Being bombarded with too many messages
- ‘Spammed’ instead of being ‘Marketed’
- Turning irrelevant and against his likes
- Engaging content is against his strongest beliefs
- Poking fun at sensitive issues that might not be related to a fan but is related to someone who is a follower/friend of him and being a plain embarrassment to him just because he clicked the ‘Like’ button
- Cheesy/Boring/Flaunting/Repetitive content
- Looked fancy in the Facebook Ad but later activity was ‘shitty’
- Products/Services of the brand start being unattractive and might have even enraged the fan/follower
Besides there are plenty other reasons from a business perspective that might have repelled the customer/fan which could have made him ‘dislike’ the brand and hence ‘Unlike’ it!
Background:
One of the major IT clients, Microsoft India, wanted to develop database of software developers and IT architects in India. The client wanted to engage these experts through targeted marketing campaigns for promoting its new tool built on latest technologies. There was approximately 1.5million software professional in India working with IT and Non-IT companies then. This database of 250,000 professionals had to be built in the period of 6 months; the task of collection such a huge database in the permitted time posed a tough challenge in absence of any secondary source of information. Despite the high magnitude of the task it was achievable because the right approach was adopted with the right set of people.
The Solution:
Machwan Communications and Research was given the job of building the list. They identified engineering colleges that churn out majority of engineers across the country. A team of experts was sent to these colleges to identify and appoint students who were in their last semester of their degree course. That is how a team of around 300 freelancers was built in the first phase of the campaign. The responsibility of these freelancers was to provide them with details of their alumni from their respective placement cells. The team had to put the basic details of their alumni in an excel file and forward the details to Machwan in a specified time. Cyber cafes were booked for reporting of database from all parts of the country. Upon receiving the basic contact details the team of callers started contacting all the developers to profile the additional information required. In the first phase of the campaign the team gathered approx. database of 200,000 professionals.
In the second phase of the campaign, once the critical mass of database from the field was acquired, the telecalling team reached a good number of professionals through snow balling. In the second phase of the campaign Machwan reached around 400,000 professionals out which we successfully profiled database of 250,000 professionals. This exercise continued for four months till the time they achieved their target of 250,000 records.
The Result:
“The effort and dedication put by MCR in building database of such a high magnitude without any secondary source is truly an achievement. The task which looked impossible to achieve in the available time at one point was accomplished with so much ease. Moreover, the accuracy of database is beyond our expectation. This database made launch of our new tool successful beyond expectation.”- Microsoft India
Direct Marketing enables communication with targeted groups of consumers and it helps you build profitable customer relationships. It can help you achieve specific objectives such as:
- Generate new business leads and sales
- Increase sales from existing customers
- Re-establish relationships with dormant customers
- Increase customer loyalty
Direct marketing is an especially useful tool for small businesses because it allows you to:
- Focus your resources where they are likely to generate the best results
- Speak directly to current and potential customers
- Track and measure how successful your marketing campaigns are
- Test your marketing campaigns to see which ones work best
The most common form of direct marketing is direct mail– sending letters to targeted consumer groups through the post. Direct mail is used by all types of businesses, to acquire and retain customers and encourage sales. If you understand your customers and target your mailing effectively, direct mail can be a highly personal, highly successful form of marketing.
Another popular form of direct marketing is telemarketing– contacting targeted consumers directly by telephone. Telemarketing does have some significant advantages over direct mail such as:
- You can gauge the customers interest immediately
- You can overcome objections more easily
- You can explain complex messages more effectively
Telemarketing is particularly useful in business-to-business (B2B) marketing as people are more accepting of marketing calls interrupting them at work. Email Marketing is one of the newest forms of direct marketing and it is continuing to grow in popularity. According to figures from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), email marketing has now overtaken direct mail in terms of volume. Advantages of email marketing are that it is often much quicker and cheaper to produce an email marketing campaign than a direct mail campaign.
Whatever method of direct marketing you use, you must bear in mind that the success of your campaign depends on good planning, targeting and accurate, up to date data, because of the large amount of direct marketing sent, you have to work hard to make sure your investment doesn’t end up in the bin.
We know you don’t want yet another platform to put your brand on with Twitter and Facebook being enough to keep up with, but Google doesn’t seem to think so. So should you spread yourself even thinner than you already are? Take a look at this Google+ brand page breakdown from by Information Architect,
Micah France, and Social Media Manager,
Andy DeBrunner, of the B2B Insights Blog and determine for yourself whether you should create a page for your B2B company:
“Search & “Direct Connect” (Andy)
Probably the biggest factor in the “definitely create a G+ page no matter what” column would be its effect on search. Google has created a function that they call “direct connect” which enables people to search for brands that are on G+ directly from a traditional Google search. Confused? Check out the video below. But I believe direct connect is only the tip of the iceberg. The real power for Google here is to control organic search results and point them in the direction of brands that have G+ pages.
While I cannot confirm their plans to incorporate G+ brand pages into their traditional search algorithm, I have seen it firsthand with my own name. Almost immediately after creating my G+ profile, it was on the first page of Google search results and it’s now the second result. This seems pretty apparent to me that they are showing a clear preference to my G+ profile as a search result and they could easily do the same for brand pages.
If Google decides to highlight G+ profiles in search results, similar to what it did with place pages for local businesses, it will likely force any reluctant brands to join simply for the search benefits alone. Though this is a little far-fetched, if that happens a 6 month old Google+ page with a lot of relevant content from a small company could theoretically outrank a 20 year old website from a household name in the Google results page.
Engagement (Micah)
Another reason to consider moving into Google+ is engagement. Engagement on Google+ is higher than what is typically seen on Twitter and Facebook. This means that followers on Google+ are more likely to comment and share information than on Twitter and Facebook. Sometimes a Google+ post with a link to an article will have more comments attached to it than the actual article page. This high interaction rate is a great opportunity to engage, but it means that Google+ must be considered a two-way channel of communication rather than just a new platform to broadcast your message. This is true of all social media, but even more so on Google+. Do not create a Google+ page if you don’t have someone who can monitor and respond to user interaction. Google will know what kind of Google+ page you are running, and like some digital Santa Claus they may reward you if you are nice and give you a lump of coal if you are not.
Low Adoption Rate (Andy)
Despite being the fastest growing social network in history, Google+ has not exactly replaced Facebook and Twitter in terms of where people like to spend their time. At least not for most people anyway. But one key difference in the culture on G+ is the tendency for particular groups to form naturally around a handful of leaders in an industry. The result is not too much unlike a message board, where the same groups of people follow and comment on the same topics. The value here is if your particular topic gains a following, you can develop a solid reputation and increase awareness relatively quickly.”
B2B businesses need to take Google+ seriously. If participating on Google+ isn’t a good fit for your business today, you should at least start to plan for Google+ in your future. Google is committed to Google+ and is likely to incorporate it more into search, so a Google+ profile for your business is probably inevitable.
Not too long ago, we discussed Social Lead Generation on the blog and our other social platforms. This week, we dig further into it and present to you 5 ways one can generate leads using Twitter. Trish Burtuzzi, in one of his posts on The Bridge Group’s blog shares these tricks.
1. Follow your prospects:
It is not always easy to find your prospects on Twitter as they may not be using their full names. Use the search function in twitter and/or google their name plus the word twitter. If you can’t find them then simply ask if they tweet the next time you chat.
2. Follow your partners:
Partners that work with the same target audience often share needs, questions, and/or look for help with existing projects via Twitter. The more these partners see and interact with you, the more likely they’ll remember you when their customers and prospects have a need you can fill.
3. Curate customer-centric content:
One of the quickest way to attract prospects to you via Twitter is to read everything they wish they had time to read, and filter the best content into your Twitter feed. It is okay to curate the best content from a variety of sources so that your prospects begin to trust that you’re, effectively, doing their reading for them.
4. Listen for buying signals
LinkedIn is one listening channel but Twitter is amazing for this as well. You should look at your prospect’s profile and see what they discuss the most about. This gives you three opportunities:– One) To see what they talk about in the discussion areas, Two) to participate in those conversations as a subject matter peer instead of a sales person and Three) to see who else is participating in those conversations. You might find a new prospect along the way!
5. Watch & use hashtags:
Hashtags, especially those tied to associations or events, are a great way to follow conversations and find prospects that already self-associate with a group, a cause, an interest or a need. Those real-time conversations that help your message reach new prospects directly is all that hastags are all about. It’s important though to add value using hashtags and not directly sell. Engage in the conversation naturally and you’ll see new prospects drawn in soon.
Tracking your Email Marketing efforts: Where to start?
When all the steps of your email marketing guide have been followed – goals have been set, the email message has been created and distributed, and time comes to track the message. Bounces and opens are mandatory – if people aren’t receiving or opening your message, then there isn’t much to track.
According to Monica Sims, “Clicks are a great place to focus when considering the following things”:
- Do the articles interest your customers enough for them to read more?
- Where are people clicking on the message? Are they clicking on promos at the top or the bottom?
- Finally, once customers arrive on your website, are they spending time there reading or browsing some more?
Once you get answers to the above questions you can follow these steps for a complete cycle of tracking for your email marketing efforts-
- This information can be gleaned from the click report in conjunction with your website traffic. With this data, it is easy to make adjustments to the messages, which will, in turn, increase performance
- You must make sure that you are providing links for your customers to learn more. If an entire article is in the email, customers have no reason to visit your site and explore everything you have to offer
- You must also ensure everything that is clickable has a unique URL (even if it leads to the same place as another URL) – if you do that, each link can be tracked separately. This will let you know if your customers are clicking on a headline, a link in the copy or an image that is associated with the article. This information gives you the insight into what should be clickable in your next newsletter.
- Take a look at which articles or promos have the most clicks. Are they promos at the top or the bottom of the message? Are they the promos that you thought would perform the best? Answering this question you can make adjustments and/or test your hypothesis with a split test on a subset of your list. If the promos at the bottom of the message are getting the most clicks, it’s time to move them further up in the email and vice versa.
- Try to figure out how much time people spend on your site after clicking from an email and you will quickly realize whether you are providing them with the information that is supported by what you do. For example, if you sell gardening products and the articles in your monthly newsletter talk about gardening techniques and how to use your products, then people will be interested and spend more time on your site.
But remember, these are just few of the steps involved in getting the right message in front of your audience at the right time. Testing subject lines, time of day and many other variables are essential to the success of your email marketing campaigns.
On this Monday, as we all struggle back to work leaving our Sunday behind to embrace the world of Marketing and Sales, we at NexSales took the opportunity of compiling a list of quotes from the Consumers to give your week a kickstart. We’ve been told often the importance of hearing what the consumers say. This list may not be specific to any particular business, but if you’re a marketer, you better hear this side of the story.
Here is the list of quotes from the ones who buy your products:
1. “We are not eyeballs or end-users or consumers. We are human beings and our reach extends your grasp sometimes, deal with it.”- Clue Train Manifesto
2. “Your brand is not yours to control. You launched a product in the market, now we’ll take it from here”.- Lance Shields, Social Branding
3. “If Brands could learn to see the importance our feelings and needs then they would care enough to listen. Where is their customer service when we need it”- Anonymous
4. “You want to build something substantial? Start a conversation with us; not through Press Releases or Ads. We’re on twitter and facebook too.”- Texas Public Relations Association
5. “I’m more likely to respond to food advertising when I’m hungry, learn to schedule your snack advertisements late in the afternoon and your product might just sell”- ConsumerPsychologist.Com
6. “There’s too much chaos. I’m sold to a brand that manages to get my attention inspite of the chaos”- A Consumer on Twitter
7. “”What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form.”- David Ogilvy
8. ”You can have the best product or service in the world, but if people don’t buy – it’s worthless. So in reality it doesn’t matter how wonderful your new product or service is. The real question is – will they buy it?”- Noel Peebles
9. “Apple does great products, but at the end of the day we think consumers want choice, consumers want openness which is why everything else sells too”- Rob Glaser
10. “Consumers have not been told effectively enough that they have huge power and that purchasing and shopping involve a moral choice, but we know”- Anita Roddick
These quotes paint a picture of what consumers of today expect from us as brand owners. The key is to know the difference between different approach patterns to luring consumers.
There are a couple of important factors to consider when investing in Social Media for lead generation:
- Your social media team size.
- The amount of time you’re willing to invest in Social Media.
These two factors should allow you to carefully choose the Social Media channels you can invest it. For instance, Twitter would require a relatively smaller investment in terms of time and effort than say Digg or Mixx.
Also, a one or two person Social media team would mean that you are better off concentrating your efforts only on a select few Social Media Channels (My opinion, people may choose to spread their efforts).
Once you decide on the Social Media channels:
- You need to ensure that your message is consistent across all of these channels.
- Expose these channels through your website, blog, etc. Let people know and encourage them to share your stuff.
- Engage, engage and engage.
Here is an infographic which tells you of these top 5 companies who got Social Media Marketing just right:
Created by Voltier Digital for ScottMonty.com
The first step to reaching Influencers (who can provide a tangible lift for your brand) is learning how to single them out amidst the Internet buzz. This may seem like finding needles in haystacks initially, but a true trendsetter has the ability to make an announcement and generate a spike of activity in the digital world, similar to the wake created when a large ship passes by. These spikes can be measured in the form of how many people are in that person’s sphere of influence. Once you recognize the spikes, you can spot the Influencer creating them.
Locating these ripples in the digital abyss doesn’t require a web-psychic or a ton of intern legwork either. There are great tools that already exist that rate and categorize Influencers on the Internet. Klout®, for eg, is an excellent start but depending on it alone would not be a very wise thing to do.
Knowing Where The Cool Kids Hangout
Determining who is popular has always been a necessary and difficult task when branding, the only thing that’s changed is mediums! We know what you’re thinking.
And yes, it is kind of like high school. Except instead of counting the number of friends a person is surrounded by at the lunch table, you’ll identify how many friends, fans, or subscribers they have on Facebook®. How often are others commenting on their blog? Do they have a lot of Twitter® followers? All of these are great indicators of a person’s reach (or how many people they can digitally touch).
3 Keys to Identifying True Influencers Online:
- Make sure you look for a person who generates a tangible buzz after they disseminate something online. A genuine response within their sphere of influence means they are true Influences.
- Use the awesome and cheap analytical tools out there to measure a person’s true influential worth whenever possible. If several databases say the person have a high score, then they’re definitely worth your time.
- Always target a potential person who is fluent across various mediums (Facebook®, Twitter®, etc.) and who has a great following. True Influencers may prefer one to another, but they understand that the best way to be heard is to speak through as many channels as possible.
Once you find these Influencers, it is important to have a plan and the resources in place to build and nurture their relationship with your brand. They are after all, the potential spokesperson for your message. Our future posts will provide insights on how to maximize your outreach efforts, and what to say when you do make contact. Happy Branding!
