Posts Tagged ‘InsideUp Lead Generation Blogs – leads’

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Five Tips for Successful Appointment Setting

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

Experienced B2B marketer Norman Campbell, in his B2B Lead Generation Blog, stated, “The secret to effective appointment setting is all about mastering a small number of basic, but nevertheless critical, techniques.”

Here are five important keys to successful lead follow-up and appointment setting.

  1. Keep your pipeline filled. And call each lead on a last-in, first-out basis. This will ensure you are contacting the freshest leads within the first five minutes, when they are actively thinking about and researching a purchase.
  2. Treat each pre-qualified lead as you would a cold call. This will help you to avoid being overly familiar or presumptuous, which can have an off-putting effect. If the prospect asks where you got their information, a simple reply is best. You might say, “We work with InsideUp to connect with businesses that are looking for information about our services.” By addressing the question and then moving on to discuss their needs and your solutions, you will keep the focus on how you can help them rather than on how you received their information.
  3. Be persistent. This is a key attribute of a good sales person. According to Campbell, “Quite often it will take a dozen or more calls to a single prospect to get a result. The experienced telemarketer knows this, and they will not discard a lead until they are convinced they have exhausted its potential.”
  4. Vary your calling times.  If your initial call fails to reach the person you need to talk to, try calling a bit before or after regular business hours. When the gatekeepers are less likely to be in the office, your call may be picked up by a company decision maker.
  5. Perfect your phone “presence.”  Your telephone manner is an important key to successful telemarketing. “You should sound as fresh and lively on your 100th call as you do on your first call,” advises Graham.  “Keep your tone sharp and lively.  Be pleasant and engaging, but without being in any way ingratiating or condescending. And, critically, learn to be a good listener. The hallmark of a bad telemarketer is that they seldom stop to draw breath. Rather than engaging with a prospect, they speak ‘at’ them, not ‘with’ them.”

Successful appointment setting involves continual fine-tuning of your telephone sales skills, but giving attention to such details will help you get the most from your leads.

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Four Reasons to Buy Sales Leads

Saturday, June 4th, 2011


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Strong Social Media Growth Presents Challenges…Benefits to B2B Marketers

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

The big news for B2B companies for 2011 is the undeniable trend toward social media marketing. In fact, Forrester Research predicts that B2B companies will increase budgets for interactive marketing spend to $54 million by 2014, double the amount spent in 2009. And for good reason: according to SiriusDecisions, by 2015 as much as 75 percent of B2B demand will come from the Internet.

Clearly there is great potential for B2B social marketing as prospects regularly go online to research business services and vendors. Social media can — and should — be used to engage prospects and interact with them throughout the buying cycle. Many companies are already immersing themselves in the social media marketing scene, with excellent results. A recent report by Mashable cited a study in which the vast majority — 86 percent — of B2B companies said they use social media for marketing.

Yet according to Marketing Sherpa’s recent social media benchmark survey, shown in the chart below, 48 percent of participants stated that social media was only “somewhat effective” at generating leads.

This is likely due to the fact that many companies lack well-defined strategies for capturing online prospects through social media, as well as the resources to develop and implement such strategies. A study by White Horse Marketing reported that 60 percent of B2B firms have no staff dedicated to social media and a mere 10 percent use outside agencies or consultants.

Successful social media marketing does require a substantial commitment in terms of time and budget. B2B online marketing is always evolving — and becoming more fragmented. It is no longer a simple matter of mastering search marketing. Companies must now become adept at effectively leveraging video, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and a plethora of other tools. Finding out where your prospects are and what type of online media they are using involves constant, diligent research followed by continual fine-tuning of your social media strategy based on your research results.

Consider using the expertise and experience of an outside company that both understands B2B marketing and knows how to effectively use social media to generate quality leads as part of an overall lead generation platform. Using a third-party source for leads could help your organization save countless labor hours and other resources that might otherwise be swallowed up in the social media vortex.

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New Iphone App Makes Customer Acquisition Easier

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

If you’re a B2B marketer, by now you have no doubt heard the buzz about the increased use of mobile marketing by B2B companies. One way to take advantage of this new channel for customer acquisition is with B2B iPhone apps such as the Vendor Quotes app, recently released by InsideUp. This innovative app helps marketers take advantage of the ubiquitous nature of mobile media to connect instantly with prospects.

This solution has the potential to greatly increase lead conversion rates. According to an MIT study, the chances of qualifying a lead that is called within five minutes decrease 21 times after just 30 minutes have passed. The key to making that crucial immediate contact lies in eliminating or reducing any processes that can eat into those critical first minutes.

By following a few simple steps outlined in the instruction document for the Vendor Quotes app, marketers will be able to receive leads directly to their Salesforce account. The leads will be posted using a standard Salesforce field, such as name, company, title, industry, phone number, etc. Category-specific questions and answers will then be posted to the “Description” field.

This new app will be an indispensable time-saver for businesses. The immediacy of such a system makes it simple and cost-effective for businesses to receive ready-access to service providers. It allows companies to respond the moment a potential customer submits a request, which makes this a valuable tool for both small and large business owners.

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How Much to Pay for Leads Depends on Lead Quality, Source & Results

Monday, October 4th, 2010

A high number of leads, which are offered at a very low cost per lead, usually result in anemic sales results. Yes, you can buy “leads” in large quantities for as little as $1 each, but these simply represent companies that may — or more likely, may not — be interested in actually purchasing your services. The point is there is an enormous gap in quality between a list of “leads” and real-time leads that represent buyers who are actively seeking your services.

If you’ve been reluctant to purchase leads from a lead generation company (for whatever reason), you could be doing your business a big disservice by missing out on one of the richest sources of leads available. Some marketers hold back simply due to their uncertainty over how much to pay for leads.

What you may not know is that seasoned lead buyers gladly pay more for leads whenever those leads represent pre-qualified and verified prospects who exhibit an active willingness or readiness to buy. It simply makes logical sense.

But before purchasing leads from an online generation company, ensure that it offers filters that allow you to precisely specify the type of leads and associated demographics that are most likely to purchase the services you offer. This increases the relevancy of your leads, which means you get targeted leads based on your lead selection criteria.

The better, more professional lead-gen companies also follow another best practice: They use live human beings to contact every potential lead before offering them for purchase. This ensures that lead buyers receive correct and accurate contact information. This single factor alone greatly increases the speed, ease and profitability of working a lead.

Lead Quality Depends on Lead Source

The source of your leads also affects lead value and, therefore, the price you should be willing to pay. The best lead suppliers offer leads at various value-based pricing levels, allowing you to buy, for example, premium, real-time leads versus slightly older leads offered at bulk rates, or a combination of the two. Many slightly aged leads represent bona fide prospects who simply have a longer time-to-purchase cycle.

Leads generated by your company’s own online marketing efforts may cost less, but the closure rate for leads generated from internal campaigns was less than 20% for two-thirds of business services firms recently surveyed by InsideUp.

Leads from any source should never be evaluated on subjective measures, but tested – and return on investment is the best measurement. Be sure to keep your ROI expectations reasonable, however; don’t expect a $1000 lead spend to turn a $10,000 profit within six months.

When determining ROI for purchased leads, the thing to measure isn’t the initial cost per lead but what your new Customer’s Lifetime Value, or CLV, is over several years. The repeat purchases from each customer can add up to several thousands of dollars over the years of your business relationship. (Check our blog on CLV here.)

Results: Compare, Compare, Compare

One of the best ways to get an accurate picture of how purchased online leads perform versus other lead sources is to create a comparison table or model based on transaction data and campaign results. Include revenue, market share and profits, volume, conversion of leads and direct response metrics. See which ones perform better.

After weighing such factors as lead-to-sale ratio and average profit margin for each sale, many marketers have found that higher priced leads usually have appreciatively higher performance results.

Once you’ve gained a thorough understanding of the cost to value relationship of leads, you’ll find that complementing your own marketing efforts with quality leads from a lead generation company can be a very cost-effective means of reaching your sales goals.

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Use Targeted Sales Messages to Avoid Wasting Your Leads

Monday, October 4th, 2010

Sales messaging is the foundation for all your sales and marketing efforts according to sales and marketing effectiveness expert Michael Cannon. “Most companies do not have a definition for their sales messaging, let alone a methodology for how to develop and deploy it,” Cannon states. “The results are millions of dollars in lost revenue, higher sales costs and missed bonuses.” He recommends using the following top-10 principles for creating effective sales messaging that will increase orders and improve profit margins for your company:

  1. Have One Specific Offering. Sales messaging is about selling one complete product or service. A number of products and services bundled together can also be considered one offering. Products or services that are sold on a standalone basis will require sales messaging particular to each.
  2. Target Each Buyer. Consider, for example, whether the buyer you are targeting is a prospect, customer, channel partner, industry analyst or investor. Buyer sub-types include user, technical and financial. Identifying buyers by title, role and offering will help to create sales messaging relative to each buyer’s interest.
  3. Answer Buyer’s Primary Questions. Each buyer has different buying questions. For example, prospects want to know, “Why should I buy your solution rather than a competitive option?” Customers are asking, “Why should I continue buying from you?” Channel Partners wonder, “Why should I distribute your product or service?” Tailor your answers accordingly.
  4. Support the Product and Sales Cycle. In the early stages, the most important question you need to answer is, “Why should I change what I currently do and buy a product or service like this?” Educate the buyer on why they should make that change. Later, the primary buying question becomes, “Why should I buy your solution rather than a competitive option?” Your sales message at this point should highlight factors that differentiate your company.
  5. Incorporate the Black and White Factor. Studies show that the human brain comprehends best when it’s presented with a clear contrast between opposites. Statements like “We are one of the leading…” is not as compelling as “We are the leader in…” Use sharply contrasting adjectives like Only, Fastest, Easiest-to-Use, Best Value, etc., to create powerful sales messaging.
  6. Employ the Differentiation Factors. Five important differentiation points include Time, Money, Risk, Strategic Position, and Personal. Attract buyers by appealing to as many of these points as possible.
  7. Provide Proof Points. Most buyers consider your sales messaging to be mere claims. Increase your credibility by providing ample evidence to support what you’re telling your buyers. Make full use of customer testimonials and case studies, the best type of proof points. Also effective are independent 3rd-party organizations such as ISO and the Better Business Bureau. Demonstration or proof of concept implementation are the third best type of proof point.
  8. Apply the “Me Too” Factor. For your sales messaging to be truly effective, differentiate your company with claims no other company can make.
  9. Organize into Three Points. Points presented in groups of three are remembered more easily. Construct your sales message using this principle to maximize effectiveness.
  10. Use a Single-Page Summary.  Simplify the answer to each buying question to a one page format, which is the most your sales reps and buyers will be able to remember at one time.

Most companies are not yet familiar with the principles of sales messaging. Learn to use them effectively, however, and you’ll reap tremendous advantages in pulling more revenue from your sales leads.

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Using Customer Lifetime Value to Plan Your Lead Generation Budget

Saturday, September 4th, 2010

When it comes to purchasing leads, how do you know how much of your marketing budget to invest? With a few simple calculations, you can be sure you’re on the right track, knowing that your expenditure is more than just a leap of faith.

Marketing executives at business services firms feel frustrated when they don’t see an immediate return on investment from leads, especially if they are evaluating leads from a new source. Sales cycles for most business service companies’ average about three months. And even if the lead is qualified, will it take some time for revenue to be generated from the provider of your new leads.

Furthermore, the marketing metrics being used to measure leads are not necessarily the right ones. For example, if your average sale per customer results in $250 in profit in the first year, and you purchase 10 leads at $25 each, with a ten percent conversion rate to acquire that new customer, you might feel concerned that you essentially broke even on your initial marketing investment.

However, customer lifetime value (CLV) is increasingly being used as an appropriate measure of lead value. CLV reflects the present total value of a customer to the company over his or her lifetime. When we discuss CLV, we typically refer to the value of a single customer, using the average sales of such a customer. The model of CLV can be broken down as a function of these three elements:

  • TP: Total Annual Profit (Total Sales – Cost)
  • TC: Total Customers
  • CL: Average Customer Life (in years)

Using the elements, customer lifetime value is calculated as CLV = TP X CL.

Although CLV could measure the customer’s value over his or her lifetime, most marketers use three years (based on considerations surrounding product life cycle, customer life cycle and profit calculations).

Now when you calculate the CLV of a single customer, you will see just what the true value is of your investment in leads. Plus if you factor in any repeat or additional purchases made by each customer, that $250 profit can turn into several thousands of dollars over the term of their relationship with you.

Companies such as Amazon, whose average customer purchase is about $20, typically spend much more than that in marketing dollars to acquire each customer. Why? Because they look beyond the initial buying cycle to realize that over a period of several years, that customer will likely spend thousands of dollars.

Generating qualified leads can be a complicated process, but a good lead generation company can specifically tailor the lead acquisition process to the needs of your business so you can be assured of receiving quality leads…leads who are actively seeking the services you provide…leads who will most likely convert to longtime, valuable customers.

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InsideUp Lead Generation Blogs – Seven Tips for Effective Lead Management

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Even the best leads will not produce the results you want if they are not managed and nurtured well. A study by Marketo found that only 25 percent of new leads are actually sales-ready. The rest will require a long-term management strategy to bring in results.

An unofficial survey of several lead management companies produced the following best practices.

1. Nurture leads before sending them to sales. ( Unless you have purchased real-time leads from a lead supplier. Sales should contact these leads immediately, and any that do not close should be given to marketing for further nurturing.)

2. Become a recognized authority in your industry. Offer your expertise to help prospects make an informed decision. If you provide guidance without pressure, you will come to be viewed as a trusted source.

3. Work with sales to define a sales-ready lead. Take into account demographics such as company size, yearly revenue, and purchase time-frame. If you have purchased leads from a lead generation company, that work has already been done, and these pre-qualified leads can be sent directly to sales.

4. Keep your sales team informed about which marketing activities each prospect has responded to, so they can tell you which strategies are yielding results.

5. Compile qualifying questions, call scripts, and email templates to help with the initial contact. Using these tools, a rep can refer to specific interests the prospect has demonstrated, such as downloading a white paper on a particular topic. Ask questions that will help you gain new information, rather than what you already know about your prospect.

6. Don’t waste leads. Make sure sales follows up on each one. Reassign leads that aren’t contacted the first time around. Every lead should be valued and cultivated through the often very long B2B sales cycle.

7. Track the results of individual marketing activities to gain a deeper insight than you would by simply tracking the lead source.

If you are working with a lead generation company to supplement your in-house marketing strategies, many of the best practices listed above, such as lead scoring and qualifying to determine which leads are sales-ready, will have already been done by the lead supplier. Using pre-qualified leads can take some of the pressure off your marketing team while keeping the pipeline filled.

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Keeping Prospects Engaged Through Email Can Lead to Future Sales

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Email is proving to be one of the most effective means of initiating contact with and nurturing B2B leads. A recent study by MarketingProfs found that companies offering business services were among those who experienced the highest open rates (at 21.9 percent) as well as an excellent click ratio (at 4.9 percent) in their email campaigns.

In a 2010 survey conducted by Datran Marketing, 39.4 percent (the highest result) of industry executives, reported that the email was the most effective advertising channel for their company.

A strong email marketing campaign will combine the right timing of emails with a targeted campaign based on where your leads are in the sales cycle. Building a relationship in this way will result in greater customer retention and higher repeat purchase rates.

In fact, a 2009 study conducted by the Direct Marketing Association revealed that email marketing resulted in an ROI of $43.62 on every dollar spent. This was the highest rate of all direct marketing methods.

Immediate Initial Contact Followed by Nurturing—A Golden Combination

The best time to email a new lead is within the first five minutes of receiving the lead. Take this opportunity to thank them for their interest and to present any special offers you have as further incentive to try out your services.

Use email to build trust throughout the sales cycle. This is especially effective for B2B purchases, which typically have a longer sales cycle as the buying decision goes through various levels of approval. Your emails can create an atmosphere of goodwill and demonstrate that you’re there to help them find solutions.

Focus on providing real value with every email; your prospects will appreciate the fact that you are delivering more than just a sales pitch, and the occasional testimonial or case study regarding your services will be well received.

Once you have closed a sale, send an immediate thank you email and let your customer know you are there if they need help. This is a good time to offer tips on how to get the most from their purchase.

Retention emails afford the opportunity for future sales, but be careful to avoid a “hard sell,” and always pepper your sales messages and offers with useful tips and information that will help build confidence and trust in your company.  

So what are the best times to contact your leads? As with telephone marketing, the best time to email a new lead is within the first five minutes of receiving the lead. Take this opportunity to thank them for their interest, and to present any special offers you have as further incentive to try out your services.

Email is a valuable tool for building trust throughout the sales cycle. This is especially true for B2B purchases, which typically have a longer sales cycle as the buying decision goes through various levels of approval within a company.

A slower economy has also contributed to lengthening sales cycles, resulting in an even greater need to fine-tune the nurturing process. An effective email campaign can help create an atmosphere of goodwill with your prospects and demonstrate that you’re there to help them find solutions.

Strategic consultants at Responsys suggest using a progressive profiling system, asking only one question with each email, letting the customer set the tone and pace, and being careful to never assume too much about your prospect.

During the consideration phase, continue to monitor the data you collect about your prospect and change your messages accordingly.

Strategists for ExactTarget recommend that companies focus on two complementary goals during this stage: Deliver content that helps establish the company as the expert on the topic of interest, and educate the consumer on the products or services the consumer inquired about.

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Close More Leads with Mature LMA Solutions

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

The dream of every B2B marketer and sales rep is to close every single lead. The reality, however, is that a percentage of even top quality leads will not close on the first contact, for a variety of reasons. One way to increase your closing rate is by using lead management automation (LMA) technology.

A recent survey by Forrester revealed that companies utilizing mature LMA technology are able to close 10 percent of their qualified sales leads, a considerably higher amount than the 4 percent reported by companies with a less mature LMA solution.

Implementing LMA processes that work for your company begins with finding the right vendor. Most LMA providers offer their services as a hosted solution, reducing or eliminating the need for software installation.

Vendor Choices Abound, but Quality and Features Vary Greatly

There is an abundance of both new and established vendors, each offering different capabilities and features. And new vendors seem to appear daily. That’s why it’s important to choose a reputable vendor with the expertise to help you strategize, analyze results, and provide continued support toward the development of best practices.

According to marketing automation experts at Loopfuse, a vital feature of LMA technology is “the  consolidation of data across disparate data-sources. That is, the data you once had to pull from your Analytics package, your CRM, your Lead Capture database, and your Email Marketing solution are now consolidated under one roof.”

Other features most marketers will find helpful include:

  • CRM Integration: Helps to align marketing and sales; allows CRM data to be easily manipulated from within the marketing automation platform.
  • Lead Nurturing: Automated communications keep prospects and customers engaged, and increases up-sell rates.
  • Lead Scoring: Quality metrics applied to each lead and prospect, relative to that of others in your database.
  • E-mail Marketing: Targeted e-mail marketing; launches e-mail campaigns to prospect groups.
  • List Management: Segments your lead database and targets leads via focused, automated campaigns.
  • Reporting: Allows for easy tracking and measuring of response rates, so you can make immediate adjustments, and plan for future campaigns.

This is just a short list, and every vendor will have a different selection to offer, especially as the technology continues to develop. B2B marketers will find that LMA solutions facilitate the shift from outbound to inbound marketing, and help to establish long-term customer relationships.

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