In this blog post I will write about 4 different automated activities to generate leads. These can be run individually or can be combined. The idea is that these different activities can be part of your sales and marketing strategy to help you increase sales and take your company to the next level.
By automating these activities, you will save a lot of time, allowing your sales people to focus on the right things. However, in order to succeed with these automations, different tools are required. One incredibly important thing to take away is that these tools need to be used correctly and preferably with the guidance of someone who is knowledgeable in the field. It is also important to make sure that the tool you are using is allowed to be used and in the way you want (different rules in different countries).
If you use these tools incorrectly, they can do more harm than good.
It is also worth noting that all the activities below can be done manually. It can work well but often takes a lot more time.
Lead generation by working with Email
Email marketing is an activity that has long been popular and in many cases still works if done correctly. According to surveys, many respondents said they would rather be contacted by a salesperson via email than by phone. Warming up a potential customer via email first and then calling once you've made contact via email is often a good combination.
The idea of automated emails is that salespeople can work on potential customers without spending a lot of time manually sending emails. There are several different tools out there that are focused on setting up email loops to a select target audience. The tools will help you both find the right decision makers and companies based on your chosen parameters. The tool also lets you create the email loops you want to send to a specific decision maker.
The tools usually allow you to build different email loops based on your selected decision makers in different industries. You can also do A/B testing to see which emails perform best against your target audience. My advice when building your email loops is less is more. It should be short and concise and preferably end with a question. The most important thing is not that you get to a meeting right away but that you get a conversation going. If you can do this, it's easier to pick up the phone and call and say hello in a non-salesy way.
If you need help setting up and creating these email loops, please contact us at Contitude. Worth mentioning is that we are system independent but are happy to guide you to the right tools.
Lead generation via LinkedIn
More and more people are realising that LinkedIn is an important and useful platform to be seen and network on. Especially among our existing and potential customers who work in B2B, it is particularly important. If you haven't already discovered LinkedIn as a channel to communicate with your customers and prospects, there's a reason to find out if your customers are there. If you're interested in learning more about social selling, please check out this blog post "What is social selling?" or you can download my 30 minute social selling course here for free "download social selling course"
There are several ways to generate leads via LinkedIn. The easiest way to start is to use the search function to find people and companies you want to work with and then send them a contact request manually. Incredibly important that you include a personal message in your contact request. And don't start selling too quickly. Instead, focus on starting a dialogue and creating a relationship and be curious about the person in question.
Another way to continuously publish content on LinkedIn to attract and engage both existing and potential customers. By doing this, you attract potential customers feel that your content can help them get better. This is something that takes time to build up but can provide great value in terms of leads in the long run.
There are also other ways to generate leads on LinkedIn, such as through advertising. If you want to know more about advertising on LinkedIn and Social Selling, please contact me.
In addition to the above, it is also possible to set up an automated process on LinkedIn to generate more leads. This is then done using external systems that are geared towards helping the user connect with potential customers. If you are going to start using such a system, it is very important that you check whether it is okay for LinkedIn that you use that particular system.
If it's okay to use the system, you can build loops like the email loops I talked about earlier. The system selects a target audience based on your criteria and then sends automated contact requests and subsequent messages if the person thanks you for your contact request. Again, important to be brief, concise and relevant. Ask questions and open up conversations in these messages. The aim is to start a dialogue and begin to build trust.
Lead generation via Inbound Marketing
You've probably heard of Inbound Marketing one of the many cool buzz words out there ;-)
Inbound marketing is really about working to get your potential customers to find you when they're looking for knowledge or really need a service or product. To succeed with Inbound marketing, it's important to be visible in the channels where your customers are. This can be anything from being visible on Google, Facebook, LinkedIn to Youtube and more.
Generating leads through Inbound Marketing is something that takes time and it is important to have an overview of the entire chain and by that I mean the entire customer journey. Let's say a person googles "best checkout system for small stores" sees your website in the Google search results and clicks through. Once inside this page they land on, it's important that there is clear information about what you have to offer and how you differentiate yourself from other providers. There also needs to be clear CTAs (Call to Actions) which are buttons that lead your visitors to the right place. This could be anything from 'book a demo' to downloading our guide on 'how to choose a POS system'.
Then it is preferable if there is a Marketing Automation and CRM system that collects the data and structures it so that the lead created can start to be processed in a good way.
Depending on where the potential customer (lead) is in their buying journey and what type of customer they are, you can use the Marketing Automation system to process the lead until they are ready to be contacted by a sales person.
Generating leads through inbound marketing takes time compared to the above activities. However, the good thing is that once everything is set up and rolling, it flows on its own and generates leads continuously.
Lead generation via LinkedIn and email
Once you've gotten really warmed up, combine email and LinkedIn for even greater impact. Maybe you're already working with one of these technologies but want to create an even better result. In that case, a mix of both might be a good idea.
For the best results, first engage with your prospects on LinkedIn by visiting their profile, linking to their posts and sending them a contact request. Hopefully you'll make contact. You can then send an email to the person in question and refer them to your contact on LinkedIn. Hopefully the person will remember you and the response rate will be much higher. To top it off, you can then call the person and hopefully have a fruitful conversation that doesn't feel forced and salesy.
There are also tools that can automate this entire process to save time for your salespeople.
Lead Generation Summary
As you have now read, there are several different types of lead generation techniques to use. My advice to you now is to start testing. Choose a technique and channel that you think will work for you and give it a try. If you decide to use any kind of tool, I would like to remind you of the importance of checking if it is ok to use in Sweden and get help to set it up so that it doesn't go wrong. Also important that you think twice when creating content for email and LinkedIn. If the content is too long-winded and salesy, no one will respond.
Instead, focus on keeping it short and ask questions and be curious to try to get exciting conversations going. It will take work from you to process the leads you receive as a personal touch needs to be created.
If you'd like to talk more about lead generation and discuss different tools, systems and techniques, feel free to book a consultation with us below.
Good luck!
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