Lets first get one thing clear, lead generation is not equal to appointment setting.
Lead Generation is most of the time mistaken to be the end of a process, where as its just the beginning of a relation that needs to be nurtured. With the prospects becoming smarter each day, it is important for a company to not consider them as a business transaction. Hence they should look beyond Lead Generation and focus on establishing a relation with the customer.
The conversion system has to be value driven and progressive rather than being expensive. Business should intend to generate valuable prospects rather than just accomplishing the sales target of the month. It is noticed that majority of the sales team of any company treat ‘Meeting setting‘ as a priority, its high time we got out of that mind set and start thinking beyond lead generation.
Here are some pointers on how it should be done
1. Lead Nurturing
Lead nurturing is a crucial part of any marketing strategy, its essential to build a good relation with your customer through a plethora of channels.
A prospective buyer has to be converted to a customer, this can only be done by constantly engaging with the customer throughout the sales-cycle.
If done correctly lead nurturing will create a brand preference in your prospect’s mind even before the actual buying process.
2. CRM and Follow UP
We have heard and read most Sales Gurus theoretically explaining how to strategically improve customer relation. Thus details of the prospect should be updated religiously in the CRM, all relevant information should be kept in one place. To build a good rapport with the clients captured in the nurturing system its vital to follow up with them and keep them informed about the new avenues that your business is focusing on.
3. Invest in People
Treating sales as an after-thought is not an option any more. An efficient sales team will make all the difference. They should be trained on how to engage with the client , have a strong business understanding and be updated with the dynamic market as well.
They should be competent to be trusted advisers for your clients.
4. Multi- Channel Approach
Make the client feel special, every response should be personalized irrespective of whether it is manual or automated. Give a reference point to the client, make it easy for the client to contact regarding any information. But then again all the response should be tracked and updated in the CRM. Use more than one platform to engage with them be it a website page, e-mail address, dedicated phone number, Twitter address or Linkedin.
Add more value to the business engagement by sending an e-book, newsletter, white paper, this way the client will also understand what is in common between the two businesses.
There are many different types of approaches to deploy a lead generation strategy, but for this marketers first need to understand the client business. At the same time should also analyze the existing pipeline and decide whether to nurture people that are currently passive, or should nurture people in the database that are far along in the sales cycle.
