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B2B Lead Generation Checklist: 22 Success Tips
What I like best about being a B2B lead generation consultant is I get to work with some of the best people at the best companies in the business.
The rewarding part is I get to see first-hand what works best (and what doesn’t) when it comes to generating, nurturing and identifying the qualified, sales-ready leads that salespeople, reps, resellers and distributors need.
Speaking of what works best, here are 22 tips for getting better results from your B2B lead generation programs:
- Aim where your prospects are
- Be there when they are thinking about the problem (right media, right frequency)
- Make it easy to find (in the search engine results, on your website, in their email inbox, etc.)
- Focus on generating response
- Get right to the point
- Be relevant (to their job, industry, application, problem, pain, etc.)
- Communicate with words and pictures (or word pictures)
- Choose your words carefully (use powerful words and avoid clichés)
- Talk second-person (lead with you and your instead of we and our)
- Invoke a positive emotional response (pride, happiness, etc.)
- Talk about pain-relief or solving problems
- Show them the before and after
- Make it easy to skim (subheads, bullets, bold fonts, links, captions, etc.)
- Back up your claim (prove it)
- Use testimonials (real people at real companies)
- Offer ways to learn more
- Make multiple offers (calls-to-action)
- Make offers that appeal at different stages of their buying cycle
- Merchandise your offers (borders, color, bold, buttons, links, etc.)
- Ask for the order (tell them what to do next)
- Give a compelling reason to respond right now
- Make it easy to respond (by phone, e-mail, website, coupon, reply card, etc.)
What are some of the secrets to your B2B lead generation success?
Hopefully you’ll share some of them with us.
Mac, using this list drives results. One notices that you have a lot of practical experience. Follow the list – and the results will be there!
Posted by: Niklas Lohmann | Aug 13, 2009 at 3:24 am
Hi Mac,
Thanks for the article.
Secrets of Success in B2B Lead Generation.
1. Clarity is an essential attribute in every component part of lead generation. What are the reasons for the approach, are the reasons genuine, can the offer or opportunity in the relationship be clearly, genuinely and quickly expressed/ understood. Is it clear to both vendor and buyer that this offer has the potential to help build the win/ win outcome required for short/ long term success. Is there congruence between buyer and seller interpretations of the contact/ relationship/ offer – research is required to truly align with the customer – Do not interpret -ask- find out. Clarity is a bye product of consistently finding out, checking, improving, developing
My advice, Your contact and communication model should seem as tangible as a 3D model to start with. With a well constructed base you will have the opportunity to grow in ways I will not explain.
Go find out!
Best wishes,
Robert Wright
Posted by: Robert Wright | Aug 13, 2009 at 11:29 am
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Posted by: Twitted by insideview | Aug 13, 2009 at 12:14 pm
High all, good list and helpfull to work with it point by point. SEO is for my business the most important way to get new customers.
Regards Harald
Posted by: Harald Weber | Aug 14, 2009 at 6:03 am
Harald,
Thanks for commenting. There is no doubt that SEO has become a key ingredient in the marketing mix for many B2B lead generation program. I’ll be doing a post on lead generation tactics soon.
-Mac
Posted by: Mac McIntosh | Aug 14, 2009 at 10:04 am
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Posted by: B2B Lead Generation Checklist: 22 Success Tips - Dhiren Shah’s Blog | Aug 24, 2009 at 1:08 am
There are two physical elements we need to look for, continually evaluate, and monitor for results in the email copy of our campaign: offer and call to action.
Thanks for the tips.
Posted by: Sheena | Oct 14, 2009 at 2:44 am