In the highly competitive B2B industry, identifying the best and most-effective lead generation strategies is crucial. Most businesses are exploring ways how they will be able to reach their target audience, grab their attention, and convert them into paying customers.
One of these marketing strategies is B2B appointment setting where a dedicated sales department does cold calling or cold messaging to get leads and book meetings. Once a lead is qualified, the sales representative conducts a series of follow-up sequences with a more detailed sales pitch. This engages the potential buyer which will, later on, lead to a sale.
However, lead generation is not that easy. The marketing team, sales rep, and appointment setters must work together to implement an effective lead generation campaign.
What is B2B Marketing?
B2B (business to business) marketing refers to marketing and promoting your products and services to other businesses. Unlike B2C (business to consumer), where your customers are individuals, your customers in B2B are organizations, companies, and businesses.
B2B marketing is geared towards various key stakeholders and decision-makers. The marketing approach is straightforward and not too salesy and dramatic like B2C. Since you are speaking to business professionals, you need to position yourself as an industry expert and establish thought leadership to gain trust and credibility.
Building personal relationships with prospective customers is an essential initial step before persuading them to purchase your products and services. Business professionals do not buy impulsively. Instead, they take time to review your products and services and look for the value they can provide.
When marketing to key decision-makers, it is essential to target their interests, problems, and needs. You need to show them the benefits of using your products and how they can be a great help to their company. Whether you are selling SAAS (software-as-a-service), management tools, or office supplies, the way you discuss your products can influence your customer’s buying decision.
Biggest Lead Generation Mistakes
Generating leads is not easy. With a lot of businesses competing for customer attention, you need to be creative and innovative to make your name stand out. Your lead generation strategy can make or break your business. Without a proper system to acquire quality leads, the business has the potential to collapse and cease operation. It is no wonder why about 70% of B2B businesses fail in their first year.
It is vital to have a proper understanding of what a good sales funnel is. This will give you a clear view of how traffic comes to your website and what factors attract them to do so. A good sales funnel will also fill your sales pipeline with quality leads which can increase conversion rate, leading to more business.
No matter how excellent and trained your sales reps are, if they are speaking to poor-quality leads, there is a higher probability that those will not convert. B2B lead generation requires careful planning, tailored strategy, and patience. To hit the right target, you need to aim strategically. It is difficult to hit the bullseye with your eyes closed.
3 Factors Why Lead Generation is Challenging
a. It requires time and effort
There is no shortcut to success. If lead generation is so easy, then all businesses will be skyrocketing by now. The truth is, you need to invest tremendous time and effort in your lead generation strategy. It is impossible to hit your desired goals overnight. If you want to rush things and ignore the process, do not expect successful results. It takes time to set up a lead generation campaign.
Generating quality leads can take hours, days, weeks, and even months. The process involves researching a company, creating a personalized sales pitch, writing follow-up
messages, sending a bunch of emails, and numerous phone dials. If you are not willing to dedicate time and effort to finding quality leads and nurturing them, do not expect consistent sales and growth.
b. It requires advertising costs
Most B2B companies want to get leads and do more deals but are not willing to spend money on ads. While some organic marketing strategies may work, investing in lead generation campaigns provides consistent and better results.
To generate a good number of leads, you need to put money on the right marketing tools, content, visuals, and marketing professionals. As you may know, big companies pay for TV commercials to push their message to their target audience. The same applies to B2B, you need to invest in advertising campaigns such as Google Ads, social media ads, email marketing, and more.
c. It involves your emotion
Aside from time and money, emotions play a crucial role in lead generation. Many B2B professionals fail in lead generation because they cannot handle their emotions. When they call a lead and their offer gets rejected, they take it seriously. As a result, they lose motivation and become discouraged to make another phone call.
Every marketing professional should overcome the fear of getting rejected. Instead, take it as a challenge and learn the factors that make the leads refuse your product and service offerings. Being able to handle objections will help you become a better lead generator and sales closer.
