Lead generation is all about connecting buyers with sellers. But, not all leads convert into sales. The goal of any lead generation campaign is to bring more people not only into the sales funnel, but all the way through it.
According to MarketingSherpa, about 4 in 10 leads move from inquiry to sales-ready, and about the same ratio advance from sales-ready to qualified prospect. However, in the next stage only 3 in 10 qualified prospects actually convert!
Improving your B2B lead generation strategy will help you turn more prospects into paying customers. Follow these tips for better results:
Know your buyers
You can’t speak the language of your customers if you don’t know who they are. Identify your target market through the use of buyer personas. What are their job titles and responsibilities, their interests and needs?
Locate them
Social media is the perfect vehicle for networking, and most likely your prospects are out there somewhere, as part of a professional organization or group in your niche. They’re talking about topics that interest them, exchanging ideas and solutions. Be sure that you’re part of these discussions.
Make social media part of your B2B lead generation strategy. Include lead-capture forms or other calls-to-action in some of your posts. Just don’t overdo it—only promote material that is relevant to the topic of the post.
Reach out
Successful lead generation requires more than just an opportunity to connect. Send invitations to your prospects with offers that lure them into the sales funnel. Use email newsletters to engage inactive email recipients with special offers. Target certain recipients with promotions open only to them.
Optimize your website
Keep your website up-to-date and search engine-optimized. Remove old information and broken links, and regularly add fresh content focused on your keywords. Get rid of underperforming pages, or retool them. Do this every six months or so to ensure that your site is both user-friendly and easy-to-find.
Remember—your site reflects your authority. Make it a useful resource and visitors will be more likely to buy from you.
Test and Analyze
There are many ways to ensure that your lead generation plan is on track. Use software to analyze costs, number of leads and which ones are qualified. Consider implementing a lead scoring system to help with this. Test out different subject lines for your emails to determine which are most effective.
Establish milestones for your campaign and measure results against them every month. Once you know what works for your buyers, you’ll know where to focus your efforts.
