B2B Lead Generation Blog

Should lead generation ignore current customers?

”We know more about our prospects (leads) than we know about our current customers” was a shocking statement I heard from a client and it stuck with me. In fact, it's the impetus for this post.

When you have a complex sale, it can be easy to think of lead generation as only a process for acquiring new customers rather than a process that can also be applied to generating new or more business from current customers.

A while back I was in a meeting with a marketing leader of a Global 100 software firm.  He shared a story about their new CEO at the time. The CEO asked 10 members of the executive team to write a list of their top-10 customers. Amazingly just 4 of the 10 executives got 5 of more of the customers correct!  Their VP of Sales faired best, with correctly listing 8. 

In the same meeting it was pointed out that the top-10 customers accounted for over 50% of their $300 million in revenue. The CEO immediately declared that, “we're focusing on our customers first!” From that meeting they dubbed their new initiative as, “The Customer First Plan.” 

As a result of reaching out and talking to their customers, they saw a net revenue increase of 15% from current customers and their customer referrals increased by over 100%.

Still, I’m amazed at how many marketers seem to only emphasize new account acquisition when they could also be going further with their existing customers.

According to research by the CMO Council, “Marketers Are Flying Blind When It Comes to Leveraging Customer Data.” The study showed, “just 6 percent of marketers say they have excellent knowledge of the customers when it comes to demographic, behavioral, psychographic and transactional data, while over 50 percent report they have fair, little, or no knowledge of the customer.”

Conducted in late 2007 and early 2008, the CMO Council's “Business Gain From How You Retain” study undertook a wide-ranging evaluation of where and how marketers are "operationalizing" customer intelligence and insight to reduce customer churn, increase lifetime value, improve the customer experience, and increase the effectiveness and targeting of marketing spend.

The CMO Council concluded, “Only 50 percent of global marketers report having a strategy for further penetrating or monetizing key account relationships. In addition, a surprising 45 percent rate the effectiveness of customer relationship management (CRM) systems as deficient or needing more work, with only 15 percent of companies rating themselves extremely good or effective at integrating disparate customer data sources and repositories.”

The solution to solving poor customer management is to leverage a processes that you already have (or should have!). A lead generation program that includes teleprospecting, lead nurturing and lead management.

Adding a customer program to the lead generation mix can be fairly straightforward. The messaging is a bit different, but ultimately we still need to be a relevant resource to people. 

Often the first task in a customer program is to update the database. How long has it been since the database was verified? Are your contacts still there and are they in the same role? If you don’t already know the condition of your data, you can pull a random sample of data to test. Make sure you pull enough data to insure the test is statically valid.

Once the database is in working order, then question becomes, “How can we educate our current customers and affirm their decision to be working with us?” Nurture those all important relationships. Just like when reaching out to prospects, positioning you and your organization as trusted advisors is essential to building trust that starts AND maintains AND expands relationships.

From this point forward you should look to your current customers with the same energy and optimism as you do with your prospect and you’ll be amazed with the results.

So, do you have a Customer First Plan?

Let's stop doing random acts of lead generation

I don’t know about you but I seldom meet a B2B marketer who has time to think. And it seems that the pressure keeps building as more of us seek to do more with less.

That said, it’s vital for us to think before we execute. It’s not about doing more campaign activity… it’s about doing the right things repeatedly better.

The simple act of a sales and marketing team finding time to think and collaborate together is vital to developing a solid lead generation program. Our results will improve because we're following this approach: ready, aim, aim, aim, and then fire. 

Mike Gospe wrote a great piece for MarketingProfs, "Lead-Generation Blueprints in 30 Minutes." I like the article because it shows how one marketer took time (just 30 minutes) to think out a problem with his sales team and develop a game plan before they executed. The ROI results of this approach are truly remarkable.

My sales and marketing meets together weekly via "huddles" it really helps them get the same page and collaborate. It's amazing what can be accomplished in just 30 minutes.

Here’s a list of 35 other ways that Marketing and Sales can collaborate together.

Podcast: How to Optimize Teleprospecting Vendors

More companies than ever are using third party providers for teleprospecting and lead management operations, however there is little information on how to select, engage, and measure these vendors who will add that essential human touch.

I just interviewed Sridhar Ramanathan, President of Pacifica Group, on how to evaluate and optimize outsourced teleprospecting partnerships (aka inside sales, telesales, telemarketing). 

Sridhar is an industry thought leader in marketing and former HP executive that grew HP's Managed Services unit to $1B in revenue. He has spent that last seven years advising his clients at Pacifica group on how to implement successful marketing strategies that increase revenue. 

If you are involved in lead generation for a complex sale, this podcast offers practical information you won't want to miss.

During the interview you will hear Sridhar discuss:

• Why his client's decide to outsource
• What to have ready before engaging a firm
• The criteria companies should use when hiring a firm
• Success metrics used to evaluate effectiveness
• Pitfalls to avoid in a partnership
• Co-sourcing or Outsourcing?
• Best practices that make teleprospecting partnerships very effective

Listen to podcast now (27 minutes MP3 9.58 MB)

Podcast: How to Select and Optimize Teleprospecting Partnerships

Top Lead Generation Tips for New Sellers

The faster we can get new sales reps producing revenue the better. So what works? Jill Konrath shares 5 great tips for new sellers on her Selling to BIG Companies Blog and it’s definitely worth a read. I particularity liked tip number four about creating an “account entry campaign.”

One of the most difficult and consistent challenges for sales people is getting their foot in the door with the right people, at the right companies. Here's 5 more lead generation tips I’d recommend for new sellers.

1. Define your goals – Be clear on what you want. Do you want 20 more leads in your database? Do you want to generate $995K in net new customer in revenue this year? Do you want to add 15 new clients this quarter?

2. Develop a lead generation calendar - Map out your activities for each month and then really follow it! Don’t just make irrelevant pitches more often! Create a plan to add value every time you touch your future customers with relevant ideas, content and resources.

3. Build your personal prospecting engine - Leverage these activities by communicating with your prospects, customers, networks and alliance partners in a consistent manner by using traditional direct marketing methods such as direct mail, phone calls, and personal email messages.

4. Use your CRM - Don’t create the biggest database of contacts possible. Instead, seek to create the most relevant database possible that contains the right companies and contacts that influence the buying decision. In the beginning, you won’t have all the data you need. Be patient and you'll build the opportunity profile over time. See each conversation as an opportunity to build a relationship.

5. Be consistent - Remember the fable about the tortoise and the hare? Dig your well before you’re thirsty. No matter how busy you are, be sure to make time to do lead generation activities, especially if you don’t have a marketing team supporting you.

Your suggestions please...what else would you add to this list?

Lead management software becoming a hot topic

What do you do with leads or inquires once you generate them?

This basic question is overlooked by so many and yet it’s the leading cause of failure in what would otherwise be effective lead generation programs.

The common-sense answer to this challenge is easier said than done: Have your best people respond to them quickly and consistently in order to qualify them into sales ready leads. The ones that aren’t qualified yet (but are a fit) you put into a lead nurturing process.

The need to better manage leads and inquires has given rise to a slew of new software companies offering a variety of lead management or marketing automation solutions. 

An interesting conversation was started recently by Laura Ramos on the Forrester Marketing blog about lead management software. I’m really glad to see an analyst giving their opinion and I look forward to more insights. Ramos’ post, “B2B Lead Management Market Heats Up,” is definitely worth checking out.

According to Ramos, there are four primary buckets of technology solutions aimed at solving the “how do I make lead generation activities more effective?” They are:

1. Web analytics
2. Database services
3. Marketing automation
4. “Pure play” lead management

With that said, I think it is important to realize that lead management software and marketing automation tools are only one part of an effective process. Here's what I've learned...

Software will not spontaneously generate collaboration between sales and marketing, nor will it create solutions that match your processes and it certainly will not generate sales-ready leads on it’s own. However, for many the allure of easy execution and fast results are difficult to resist. It’s easy to overlook that these systems require a great deal of hands on input and maintenance to be fully appreciated.

My company has spent well over a million dollars and almost ten years to develop our lead management software system that we use as part of our services and we’re learning what works (and what doesn’t) everyday through testing and trial and error. That said, I can say that developing a good process takes more time than you think and developing people to execute the process consistently is even more difficult.

I regularly encounter organizations that invest in expensive software before they fully understand the fundamental operational processes that it will be supporting. This was and still is true of CRM and SFA systems. Lead management software has turned out to be no different. If you want to fully leverage your lead management software, you’ll first need to develop operational discipline and focus on good execution.

Start by understanding your lead generation requirements and design a suitable process to support it and insert the software into the process where it will be most effective and actually used. Most importantly, don’t under estimate the need for a dedicated team of people that will drive the process and make the inputs into the system.

Begin by mapping out a clear process. At InTouch we use process flow and data diagrams to collaborate with clients when designing lead management programs.  Make sure you involve and collaborate with everyone who will be part of the process. Their buy-in will be key to the programs success. Then identify if there are still any gaps in staffing. Finally, once people and process are mapped out, select the tools or systems that will help your people efficiently manage the process.

Lead management is the bridge between sales and marketing that connects the beginning and middle of the customer acquisition process. It requires engaged people to execute the right process, which is then supported by the right software.

Podcast: A new role for sales as expert content filters

I just had a great interview with Robin Carey, co-founder of the Customer Collective.

Salespeople have become the second choice for information among buyers who'd rather just go to the Internet. This trend actually creates an opportunity for those who think and act like trusted advisors.

You can listen here

In the interview, I share how I got my start and how the Internet has shifted control away from marketers and salespeople. I also describe how today's sales people can add value to the buying process by becoming expert content filters for prospects. This is the key to lead nurturing with a human touch.

What's The Customer Collective? It's a new business outreach community for sales and marketing executives. It was built in collaboration with established media companies like Business Week, ZDNet and BNET. I see it as a social media site (that doesn't focus on social media) but rather looks at real meat and potatoes sales and marketing. We need more sites like this.

Why cost-per-lead budgets fail and fewer leads are better

A reader asked me to explain why fewer leads are better and why “cost-per-lead” budgets fail. These are two great questions that have the same fundamental answer: quality first then quantity.

The truth is that sales people care very little about the cost of the leads we generate. What they really care about is how many of those leads will actually become viable sales opportunities.

For this reason, I think cost-per-lead measurements are irrelevant unless we can answer another fundamental question first, “What is our rate of lead acceptance (a.k.a. sales pursuit) into the sales pipeline” and then “What is the cost per opportunity?”

Sadly, I find that a lot of marketers tend focus on cost-per-lead because they really don’t know what happens to their leads after they hand them off to their sales team. This is why closed loop feedback and lead management are so important.

B2B Marketers must start measuring cost-per-opportunity now! Why? It’s the one metric that can help you understand how well your sales team accepts and pursues leads.  Ultimately, it shows if your leads are actually helping our sales team sell and if we’re positively contributing to their pipeline.

Lead acceptance into pipeline is primarily a function of lead quality.  There are other influences such as sales training and refining the lead handoff process, but lead quality stands out as the single largest factor driving the real ROI of our lead generation programs. 

In a cost-per-lead model there is a tendency to drive down the cost of each lead by generating more leads, which is good if the quality does not suffer.  However, this is rarely the case since there are a finite number of high quality sales ready leads in your target market at any given time.

The real question is, “Are these leads helping our sales team sell more and will these leads become profitable customers?” 

In most cases in order to get more leads to sales (as they demand more leads now!), marketing is forced to send early stage leads, often at the inquiry stage in order to meet quota or cost per lead requirements. Of course, the need for more leads does not come with a commensurate budget increase!

Simply sending more leads over the fence to sales will only result in more early stage leads being lost, ignored or discarded.  And if your early stage leads are not being cultivated with lead nurturing and given the attention they need, they will go to waste. Unfortunately in a cost-per-lead scenario this waste will not be measured, rather only your lead production costs.

There is no doubt that a cost focused mindset is a lot different than a value driven mindset.  The cost focused mindset often drives decisions that are arbitrary to the objectives of a lead generation program. The most valuable leads are those that your sales team can convert to viable sales opportunities, not just leads that drive more activity.

Pushing more leads and creating more activity can give marketers a false sense of security in the short term, but in the long term the cycle of failed campaigns will continue as past failures are dismissed, overlooked or as fingers are pointed.  To break the cycle, we must close the loop with sales and start measuring opportunities.

The following are real-world metrics that every marketer should track in their lead generation program:

• # of inquiries? 
• # of leads? (qualified as "sales-ready")
• # of opportunities (leads in moved into sales pipeline)? 
• # of closed deals from marketing leads?

If you know those metrics you can start to track the following key performance indicators:

• Inquiry to lead ratio
• Lead to opportunity
• Lead to proposal ratio
• Lead to sale (win) ratio

A value driven mindset requires leaders and marketers to plan and budget for the long term and to take a more holistic view that goes beyond cost-per-lead budgets. Cost-per-lead budgets are irrelevant unless you can first measure cost-per-opportunity or cost-per-lead-pursued and lead quality is a key driver in insuring that those leads are pursued.

What do you think about cost-per-lead budgets or sending fewer high quality leads to sales people? 

Lead Nurturing as trusted advisors with the Human Touch

In today’s commoditized business climate I think what sets companies apart with a complex sale is how well they build and cultivate relationships.

Over the years, I’ve observed a truth; and this truth will requires many sales people to reconsider how they think selling should be done.

The truth is, average sales people think they are most effective when they talk with someone WHEN they are ready to buy, but top performers seek to build relationships with the right people in the right companies BEFORE they're ready to buy.

This is where marketing can have a profound impact by helping their sales team go beyond the lead.

Today’s prospects have a general lack of trust and they simply don’t want to be sold. They are weary of pitches, hype, pushy sales people and manipulative marketing tactics. They are time constrained and too busy to think or strategize. So what do they do with most sales and marketing messages? They simply ignore them.

For this reason, I think it’s critical to contact and have initial conversations with our future customers that are devoid of sales pitches.  Quite literally when we begin a conversation with them, their attitudes and beliefs are being shaped, primed by the information they have already soaked up through various sources. 

Be a resource to them regardless of their timing to buy. Otherwise, they are likely to get information from the internet or uninformed colleagues, trade publications or heaven forbid your competitors. In other words, we need to move from lead generation campaigns to conversations.

Sellers can make the biggest impact early on in the buying process, or before it happens by developing relationships with potential clients and becoming a trusted advisor. The best way to do this is by starting with what we call the “human touch.” A personal phone call to the right person that is free of sales hype is the best way to build relationships that lead to positive sales results.

Relationship building with prospects is part of the overall lead nurturing process.

The goal of lead nurturing is to maintain a relevant and consistent dialog with viable leads - regardless of their timing to buy - until they are sales ready. A key aspect of lead nurturing is the ability to provide valuable education and information to prospects up front. In this way you will be able to position yourself as a trusted advisor and perhaps even a thought leader.

I was honored to speak at the Jill Konrath's Sales Shebang. Jill posted a summary of what I shared on the Selling to Big Companies blog. It includes specific tips on how you can leverage thought leadership to win more sales with lead nurturing.

Read: Leverage Thought Leadership to Win More Sales (with Nurturing)

Think more, do less

Are you too busy to think? Many of us feel that way at times. As simple as it seems, finding time to think effectively is vital to developing a solid sales, marketing and lead generation strategy. Without question, our mindsets ultimately influence our strategic choices.

Which is why I think Michael Webb’s post on the subject of thinking differently and banishing waste from sales and marketing is very compelling.

Michael explains that one of the most valuable questions he asks sales and marketing teams is, “What kinds of things clearly add no value to your sales and marketing operations?” Webb has found that people react strongly to this question. He often hears the same feedback over and over. Such as:

• Time spent on administration, reporting, and menial tasks (leaving little time for customers)
• Trade shows and events that generate boxes of “leads” not worth calling on
• Marketing literature that no one reads
• Wasting time with the wrong prospects

I see these same things too. So, instead of spending time looking at ways we can to create more of the same activity, why not think about how you can focus on what your internal and external customers really care about?

This involves asking provocative questions about the lead generation status quo such as:

• Will creating more activity for sales people really drive more revenue?
• Do I really want to know what my sales team is doing (or not doing) with our leads?
• Where is our sales team getting stuck in advancing our leads?

Also, I think you’ll find this post by Ed Batista on Strategic Quitting relevant. He highlights some thoughts from Seth Godin's book The Dip and he ties in some ideas from Peter Drucker.

Ed shares these questions, “Where can I deliver excellence? Where should I expect excellence in return? And how can I focus my time and energy to make this as likely as possible? This allows me to do some strategic quitting--or even better, not to start misguided efforts in the first place--and substantially increase the return on my personal investments.”

Some of your lead generation tactics may generate more inquiry activity than others but that doesn’t mean they are more valuable.

For example, I’ve talked with marketers who have analyzed their lead generation results and found tactics that generated the most activity often proved less effective at driving actual ROI, while others that didn’t produce as much activity did. These types of insights and ROI measurements can only be gleaned over the long term but if your status quo is to continue driving more campaign activity; then you may never know the difference.

At some point, if we are willing to stop and examine our decisions and the status quo, we will likely catch ourselves starting more low value activities and quit before we pursue them in the first place. Now, that’s time well spent!

B2B Marketing and lead generation via Social networking

Have you dipped your toe in the water of social networking yet? And if not, should you start? That's a question I know a lot of very busy B2B marketers ask themselves which is why I found Tessa Wegert's ClickZ article on "Facebook as a B2B Marketing Tool" interesting.

In the article, Wegert highlights how some marketers are experimenting with using the Facebook site for proactive marketing and build targeted niche networks and B2B communities.

I've been using LinkedIn for several years because it's geared more for business people. But I’ve heard the audience demographic of the Facebook is now moving from being focused on college kids to becoming a place for adults.

Overall, social networking sites are proving to be great tools for job seekers and recruiting. But I still wonder about the value of social networking tools for lead generation and business development that Wegert's article brings up.

In B2B, I think our reputation matters as much as our brand. Like traditional networks, online social networks must be built on trust and value to be effective. In either case, you can't replace credibility lost, if you fail to use them correctly.

I have a few hundred people in my online social network and more in my off line network. But I've found it takes just as much effort to use social networking tools to nurture relationships online as it does to nurture relationships off line. So in the end, I end up connecting more with my network offline or using old standbys like the phone or email.

Here's my question…

If you use social networking tools, I'd love to get your input. Do you think a typical marketer or sales person (who isn't a good “networker” already) can build relationships and generate sales leads for their company from a social networking tool? Why or why not?

7 Tips to Improve Sales Follow-up & Close More Leads

If you are like most B2B marketers, lead generation is at top of your priority list. But as you may already know, generating tons of “leads” doesn’t guarantee sales will follow.

Does the sales team either ignore your hard-won leads or complain about their quality? Do you ever wonder was the lead even contacted? If so, what’s the status?  Could you have helped move it along by going deeper in the sales cycle?

This chronic lack of visibility has a snowball effect of making it challenging for marketers to measure their effectiveness and understand their return on marketing investment (ROMI). So what can be done about it? 

Here's 7 Tips to Improve Sales Follow-up

1. Get buy in from sales team on your "sales ready" lead definition
2. Provide qualification information for each sales lead
3. Qualify and Distribute sales ready leads immediately
4. Communicate hand off to sales person
5. Measure sales pursuit - If lead not followed up it will be pulled / reassigned
6. Regularly close the loop -what gets measured gets done
7. Sales management must also audit and track rep follow-up

How often do you close the loop? I’ve found the most powerful way to improve sales follow-up on marketing generated leads is doing more frequent sales and marketing huddles.

Read Collaboration Huddles and 35 Other Ways to Improve Sales and Marketing Teamwork

Finally, if you’re using these tips already and still feel that your marketing and sales teams are working against each other instead of being on the same team, you could have some challenges with office politics read on.

MarketingSherpa just published an interview with Marketo CEO Phil Fernandez from a marketing view point and Barry Trailer, Co-Founder, CSO Insights who brings a sales perspective. Together Phil and Barry share seven other strategies to get both sides talking including how to:

• Model the sales/marketing funnel
• Develop a common vocabulary
• Create a closed-loop reporting process

MarketingSherpa: Overcoming Office Politics - 7 Strategies to Generate & Close More Leads.

Related posts:

Closed Loop Feedback: The Missing Lead Generation Huddle
Closed-Loop Marketers More Likely to Reach ROMI Goals
Podcast: Using Closed Loop Feedback to Boost Lead Generation ROI

Off-Topic: On Selling Ideas in 1776

Fellow blogger Tom Pick, over at the The WebMarketCentral Blog tagged me to write something off topic, interesting, seasonal and non-work related this week. I liked Tom's off topic post (great pictures) chronicling his kid's deluxe tree house that began "innocently as a tree deck." I love learning history so I'll see if I can meet at least a few of the above conditions in my off-topic post.

In the past, I've written about giving away ideas. But lately I've been wondering about selling ideas. So yesterday – somewhere between family, food and fireworks – I had a chance to think a bit about the Fourth of July and how it came to be. I believe history provides us a valuable lesson on how to sell an idea.

While historians may debate about the controversies and motives behind the signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, they all agree that it represented two fundamental ideas; freedom and liberty.

But before the declaration letter was drafted and signed those two revolutionary ideas had to be sold. Here’s a story you may not know… I’ll give you a hint: before there was “voice of the customer” there was “voice of the people.” 

Before he was president, Thomas Jefferson was the chief writer of the Declaration of Independence letter. But despite being brilliant thinker and writer, historians say he was extremely afraid of public speaking. At times, he would even avoid speaking in public by faking illness!

Despite his fear, Jefferson was getting ready to sell a new and remarkable idea inspired by Thomas Paine’s work “Common Sense” that asserted America’s Independence from England. But little did he know that his fear of speaking would help him develop a powerful new approach to selling an idea.

I came across an interesting article by Greg Oriancant that explains how some historians believe Jefferson developed his “voice of the people” writing style. Jefferson's writing style evoked a sentiment that identified with the desires of a people who were unhappy with English rule. It is believed that this style enabled him to sell the idea of independence at the continental congress.

In his article, "How the Declaration of Independence Could Have Been Declared Out Loud", Oriancant notes the following about Jefferson's writing, "...he [Jefferson] put careful consideration into eliminating any indication of individual opinion in fear that the people would ultimately balk at going independent from England. Instead, he made powerful, persuasive arguments that would be irrefutable by the people--plus making the people part of the process.”

In the book, Declaring Independence: Jefferson And The Art Of Public Speaking author Jay Fliegelman writes, "Jefferson was saying there are certain universal truths about the public good and political rights that are re-articulated over the length of history, from the classical period onward. To him, the point is to recover these truths rather than to invent something new."

Fliegelman also asserts that Jefferson drew his inspiration on how to write persuasively from the writings of Homer (the thinker not The Simpson's guy), and even emerging ideas of music theory. Jefferson was a violin player and he read an influential music theory essay by Mozart's father. That eassy taught how to bring an group of musicians with different styles together (soon to be people and ideas) to make an audience believe in what you were playing.

As I look back on how these powerful ideas were sold, I realize how little has changed about the collaborative process of selling ideas. The variety tactics we use now different but the overall process of selling ideas is virtually the same.

Here's some "on-topic" resources for selling your ideas in the workplace:

How to Sell an Idea is a concise and well written guide on selling ideas.

Selling your ideas: A critical executive skill is another good resource on selling ideas.

Podcast: Interview with MarketingSherpa's Anne Holland

Would you like some inspiration or some fresh ideas for your marketing and lead generation strategy?

If so, MarketingSherpa just released their “Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007-08” and I had the privilege to interview Anne Holland about this year's findings. Very useful stuff. Download the Executive Summary

During our in-depth interview, Anne shares some terrific insights and helpful data on numerous marketing and lead generation tactics.

Three data points that I found particularity interesting:

1. Teleprospecting works. As we all know, tech buyers are a notoriously tough crowd to cold call. Sherpa's findings contradict the "calling doesn't work" line we've heard for years. Their data shows that over 50% of tech buyers admitted to short listing a vendor after receiving a well timed and relevant phone call.

2. Sherpa's data shows that more decision makers (not just influencers) are attending webinars and watching archived events. This indicates the importance of relevant educational events and online content for lead generation.

3. Companies who provided fewer but higher quality "sales ready" leads to their sale people have better sales conversion rates than those that send lots of early stage leads and that creating a "cost per lead" culture just does not work.

Listen to podcast now (31 min MP3)

Show Agenda  

• Benchmark data that B2B all marketers must know
• Fresh ideas and best practices for lead qualification
• Why you should capture and track all web inquiries in your CRM
• How many buyers/influencers in the typical F500 buying process (hint: it's big!)
• Sherpa's unexpected data on B2B telemarketing (teleprospecting)
• Useful data on lead management and lead nurturing
• How webinars are reaching more decision makers than you would expect
• Common email mistakes (and why mobile devices matter more than you think)
• How and why high quality content is important and influential to buyers
• Why fewer leads is better (the CEOs role) and why "cost per lead" budgets fail
• Distinguishing characteristics of top performing marketers
• Unconventional research that will improve your corporate website homepage

The Business Technology Benchmark Marketing Guide features data on numerous marketing and lead generation tactics especially valuable. They also have practical data on search, email, PR, direct mail, lead generation, trade shows, podcasting, telemarketing, budgeting and more. They interviewed over 1000 marketers, plus this year they gathered in-depth research from 4,658 actual business technology buyers.

If you are a marketer for a company that sells technology, I encourage you to get a copy of this report. It will definitely help you better budget, forecast, and benchmark your marketing results.

MarketingSherpa: Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007-08

The Physics of Trigger Events for Lead Generation

Most buyers aren't ready to buy when we're ready to sell. This trite but true observation has significant implications when it comes to lead generation.  It means that we must continue to nurture viable prospects until they are ready to buy. But what about the prospects who are not in your nurturing database yet?

This dilemma has led me to think about how trigger events are related to one of the basic laws of physics. Newton’s first law of motion (also called the law of inertia) is often stated as “an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”

The first law of motion can act much like one of your potential prospects.  Unless there is an “unbalancing force” acting on them that is sufficient to move them away from the status quo (as rest), then they will not change their direction.  In this context, trigger events can be seen as the sufficient force or event that moved and changed the status quo.

So in the context of lead generation, what’s a trigger event? A trigger is a happening associated with a consequence so significant that it causes new behaviors, new ideas and new opportunities. One of my clients found companies with their key trigger events was 400% more likely to buy than companies without those trigger events.

When InTouch conducts an ideal customer profile workshop for a client, we help them understand favorable trigger events and related implications. The above trigger event mind map figure (Click Image to Enlarge) shows just some of the possible trigger events that you can track.

Trigger events matter for two key reasons. First, they may indicate the status quo in an organization is changing and secondly, they can contribute to the development of timely and relevant sales and marketing messaging. Relevance is one of the most difficult things to achieve with lead generation programs but trigger events can help a great deal.

Messaging that addresses (in a personalized manner) a specific problem that your prospect is having is more relevant and thus will be more effective than a generic features and benefits message. What’s better is that the problem can often be tied to a specific event or events.

There are three basic steps if you want start using trigger events:

1. Review 10 - 15 recent sales "wins" and look at what business pains or events were present. (See the above mind map for examples)
2. Develop an intelligent system to identify when your trigger events happen.
3. Understand trigger event implications and what to do once they happen.

You can research new business opportunities based on trigger events, for little to no cost, by leveraging press releases, websites and news wires. If you have a corporate librarian or local business library they can help you find what you need.

To begin collecting trigger events, I'd start with using free tools like the following:

Technorati watchlists

Google news alerts via email

Yahoo! RSS feeds & via email

Don’t try to do everything at once. Start with some basic trigger events and then build upon your foundation over time. Remember it’s an iterative process… you want to first crawl, walk and then run. As your sophistication grows, you will be ready to look into third party tools that specialize in tracking trigger events. 

Trigger event are a great way to change the physics of the buying process and yet another way that we marketers can to go beyond the lead.

Are you using trigger events? I'd love to hear your comments or experiences.

BTW - You can read more about trigger events in Chapter 5 of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale or search my blog archives for "trigger event." Also, Jill Konrath has some great information on trigger events (geared for sales people) in her book Selling to Big Companies and her blog too.

10 Lead Generation (Prospecting) Tips for Sales People

Sales people often lack the support of a dedicated marketing team that is able to execute lead generation programs on their behalf. This is particularity true in small companies.

Still, those sales people succeed in spite of it all. They must, in one way or another, generate their own leads to meet their revenue and sales targets that’s independent of corporate marketing programs.

In fact, they may be obligated as a part of their role to develop and execute localized lead generation programs. And instead of calling it lead generation, sales people will probably call it prospecting.

All of which means investment of time and proficiencies frequently beyond their realm, and sooner or later, one way or another, there must be a shift from prospecting back to selling.

In lead generation, the job of the marketing department is to develop leads to match the buyer’s readiness to buy and the seller’s expectations of selling. Marketing to sales: “We get the leads, you get the sales.”

Nevertheless, there are some organizations that for various reasons still place the responsibility of lead creation with the sales sector. While I disagree that this is the most effective way to generate leads, it’s important to note that the tenets offered in this post can be just as valuable to sales people doing their own personal lead generation as it to a dedicated marketing team.

Here are a few tips that I often share with sales people who are doing their own lead generation. 

1. Build an ideal customer profile – Focus your energy on leads that best fit your ideal customer profile. Both the companies and the individuals you covet as customers.  What separates your best and worst customers? What are their attributes and demographics? What organizations/associations do they belong to? 

2. Talk to your best customers – How much do you really know about your customers?  A simple phone call can generate plenty of useful information.  Ask your customers why they chose to work with you?  Is that the same reason they keep doing business with you?  How has working with you helped their business?  Would they refer you to other people?  Use this information to refine your message to identify more leads just like your best customers. Once you understand why clients chose your products or service you can tailor your message around the needs you solve. 

3. Build your personal prospecting engine - Leverage these activities by communicating with your prospects, customers, networks and alliance partners in a consistent manner by using traditional direct marketing methods such as direct mail, phone calls, personal publicity, and email campaigns. 

4. Develop a lead generation calendar - Map out your activities for each month and then really follow it! And don’t just make irrelevant pitches more often! Create a plan to add value every time you touch your future customers with relevant ideas, content and resources.

5. Act like a good financial manager - Your lead generation efforts should include a portfolio of tactics that you apply consistently over time.  You're not in it for the big hit. You’re investing in planting seeds that will eventually grow into relationships.

6. Define your goals for lead generation – Be clear on what you want.  Do you want 200 more leads in your database?  Do you want to generate $600K in new business in revenue this year?  Do you want to add 26 new customers this quarter? 

7. Rigorously qualify - Every sales opportunity to make sure they fit your ideal client/customer profile before you starts to develop a proposal or agree to do work. 

8. Be consistent - Remember the fable about the tortoise and the hare?  Dig your well before you’re thirsty.  No matter how busy you are, be sure to make time to do personal lead generation activities especially, if you don’t have a marketing team supporting you.

9. Develop a lead nurturing plan – While you may generate leads from your initial campaign, you will generate more by following up with additional touches just be sure that are meaningful and relevant to your audience.

10. Develop and maintain your own database – Even the best lists are not 100% accurate.  During the planning phase you should make sure your list fits your ideal customer profile.  Also, don’t create the biggest database possible. Instead, seek to create the most relevant database possible which contains the right companies and contacts that influence the buying decision. In the beginning, you won’t have all the data you need. Be patient and you'll build the opportunity profile over time.

Now Announcing the "Start With A Lead" Podcast Show

I am pleased to announce that I'll be hosting a new podcast show called "Start with a Lead" debuting in April. 

The show will have content specifically for marketers and those who care about B2B lead generation, sales leads, and marketing strategies focused on the complex sale.

In the show, you’ll hear from thought leading experts on a variety of marketing and lead generation topics. You'll get the latest tips and strategies; and learn what really works and what doesn't to generate high quality leads in the complex sale.

Why a new show? Over the past few years, I’ve experimented with podcasting, (you can see my old podcast here) but now like Emeril, I’m ready to 'kick it up a notch’ and apply what I’ve learned from experience and listener feedback. 

Also, I’m  going to “open the phone lines” to listeners who’d like to ask questions in advance of the show so we can be more interactive and get your specific questions answered.  I’m looking forward to learning with you as I interview leading experts (and ask your questions) to get the latest contemporary thinking on lead generation. Stay tuned!

Going beyond the sales lead

Ultimately, the purpose of B2B marketing is to help the sales team sell. But marketers often get so wrapped up in driving activity that they seem to forget it's about driving sales conversion.

For example, ask most executives and marketers what sales people need and they will say, "more leads." Your sales people don’t want more leads actually, what they want is "more effective selling time." It's not about more activity. It's about helping the sales team achieve better results.

After working with hundreds of sales people and seeing their sales processes first hand, I frequently hear this "stuck point." They often ask, “How do I advance the lead when there isn’t an immediate need?” Sales people are often stuck wondering, “What else can I talk to them about?”

With out your input, sales people often resort to boring or irrelevant messaging that don't position them as trusted advisors. Phone calls such as, “I’m just calling to touch base” or emails that say, “I’m just checking in…” are like saying “Are you ready to buy yet?”  This is not because they lack creatively, it a simple matter of time or perspective. Sales people need to spend their time selling, not building content and messaging.

With or without your knowledge, sales reps are altering your messaging and creating their own collateral. Remember: The first impression matters.  So does the second.  So does every single touch after that. This is especially true with complex sales that require multiple conversations on the phone before you may get your first face to face meeting in the later stages of their buying process.

B2B marketers need to do more for their sales team than just throwing leads over the wall. If marketing wants to view sales as their customer, they need to be much more involved from the customer's perspective to understand their buying process and go beyond the lead.  This is an opportunity for marketing leaders to shine.

To do this you need to be thinking strategically, which involves getting more than one perspective. That means that sales must provide input to marketing (and marketing needs to accept and value the input) on the development of things such as sales collateral, white papers, case studies, articles, advertising, e-mail campaigns, value proposition development etc. as a joint team.  It also means getting out in the field with your team to really understand how you can help them sell.

If you go beyond the lead, you’ll generate much greater return from your lead generation investment and you’ll be doing what you’re meant to do… help the sales team sell.

Here's 9 ideas to help you go beyond the lead:

1. Build a library of selling and nurturing content specifically designed for you sales team. (The content does not have to be flashy, just relevant.)
2. Make the content library easily accessible. 
3. Use the phone to qualify all inquiries before sending them to the sales team.
4. Establish a clear process for handling and distributing leads.
5. Leverage your CRM system to create a lead management process.
6. Distribute leads rapidly.
7. Expect your sales team to follow up on each lead promptly.
8. Measure sales lead acceptance and follow up by sales team.
9. Close the loop with your sales team regularly.

Podcast: Use Feedback to Boost Lead Generation

Ever feel like the results of your lead generation efforts aren't being fully utilized? You’re not alone. Without a solid process in place an astonishing eighty percent of marketing expenditures on lead generation are wasted because the leads are lost, ignored or discarded by sales. But there are steps you can take to improve lead acceptance and generate better ROI.

I was recently interviewed for a story by Marketing2IT's Ginna Hall on the subject of "Closed loop feedback" which is a vital to improving any lead generation program.

Agenda

1. Why closed loop feedback is so important to lead generation.
2. The best way to gather feedback.
3. Who needs to be involved.
4. Who owns the feedback process: marketing or sales?
5. Three obstacles and how you can avoid them.

Listen to podcast now (MP3 16:55 min 5.5 MB)

Podcast: What Sales Really Needs From Marketing

John Jantsch, small business marketing expert and author of Duct Tape Marketing recently interviewed me and sales expert Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies about what sales really needs from marketing.

This podcast was conducted for the marketing alliance partners for Sage Software, makers of ACT!, Peachtree and SageCRM software.  John originally hoped that Jill and I would debate or lock horns (Jill from the sales viewpoint and me from the marketing viewpoint). Instead, we could almost finish each others sentences : )

This is one of my favorite podcasts. I share more ideas on what marketing can do to create and nurture leads before handing them off to the sales force.

Listen to podcast now (MP3 60 min 45 MB)

P.S. I just read John Jantsch's new book, Duct Tape Marketing. If you're a small business owner (or plan to be one in the future) you'll want to put this book on your reading list. It’s great. If you decide to get a copy, you should check out his bonus offers. I'll be posting my Amazon review soon.

Podcast: Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way

It's been well documented that quality of collaboration between sales and marketing directly impacts ROI. 

The challenge that many organizations face is that their sales process is a black box.  No one except the sales team knows what is going on inside the black box until a proposal or sale happens.  Worse still, 80% of the leads that go into the sales black box are rarely seen again. 

This makes it particularly challenging for marketers who are trying to measure their revenue contribution and lead generation ROI.  So what can be done about it? 

Process mapping is a well-known technique for creating a common vision and shared language for improving business results.

I had the chance to interview Michael Webb, founder of Sales Performance Consultants and an expert on sales process improvement on his excellent book, Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way. Michael gives some great input on how sales and marketing can use the six sigma process to create better sales and marketing results. 

Show Agenda

• How is six sigma relevant to the sales and marketing process?
• How can sales and marketing apply a six sigma process and what are some problems the process can address?
• What are the barriers in helping to create the six sigma process?
• How do you encourage people in sales and marketing who have tried to create a process that hasn’t worked, to give it another shot and how can you help them create one that works?
• Provide examples of companies with complex sales that applied six sigma to the sales and marketing process.

Listen to podcast now (MP3 24 min 5.5 MB)

Lead Generation for the Complex Sale

I recently did a phone interview on Lead Generation for the Complex Sale with Nettie Hartsock for Allbusiness.com's Must Read Business Books column.  The brief interview covered the following topics:

• Who are the right people to engage?
• Do you have to understand the customer buying cycle?
• What's your definition of lead generation?
• Lead nurturing
• Role of the ideal customer profile 

Read the interview transcript

How to Become a Thought Leader and Attract Customers

Would you like to be more visible and generate sales leads on a limited budget? Become a thought leader! Thought leadership gives you an edge to combat commoditization and attract more business. 

RainToday recently released the results of a new, year-long research project called How To Become A Thought Leader. The report was written for service providers but I believe the core ideas also apply to most companies with a complex sale.  Thanks goes to Britton Manasco for reminding via his blog post, "It Pays to Be a Thought Leader."

As I wrote a while back in my post, "in defense of thought leadership," there are just a few select thought leaders in every industry and field of study.  So everyone can't be one. But if you have the vision, desire and passion to do it, this report tells you how. 

I was humbled to be interviewed, along with eight other business leaders, and to be able to contribute to this report, which includes:

• 100 Pages of expert analysis on how to become a thought leader in your field
• 95 Pages of stories and advice from thought leaders in professional services
• 20 learning checklists and questions for self-evaluation
• Down-to-earth views of how passion, relevance and reach work together for you

Download my 14-page interview on thought leadership (243K PDF)

Get more info on the report at http://www.raintoday.com/thoughtleader.cfm

Podcast: Marketing and Sales for Big Complex Selling (pt 3)

I wanted to share the final installment from the podcast series I did with 800-CEO-READ.  In this podcast, Todd interviewed me and Jill Konrath on the critical interface between marketing and sales. 

Here's what Todd says about it:
"Here is the final installment to our podcast series on marketing and selling to big companies. We again have Jill Konrath and Brian Carroll talking about the topic. What we try to spend time on in this call is "space" shared between marketing and sales. Brian leads the call with the stat - "80% of leads sent from marketing to the sales organization are lost, ignored, or discarded." You can see why this is a good topic to explore."

Listen to podcast now (MP3 35:56 min 24.68 MB)

Visit 800-CEO-Read Podcasts to hear the complete three part series

Telemarketing big with Xerox

Do you use the telephone as part of your multi-modal lead generation strategy? 

A recent BtoB Magazine article by Carol Krol, "Copy this: Telemarketing big with Xerox" shows that, although the phone may not be as buzz worthy as other lead generation tools, it remains the backbone to successful lead generation. 

However, as Krol’s article shows, the telephone shouldn’t stand alone.  It should function as the integrated hub for all other lead generation modalities and the central point for qualifying inquires converting them into sales ready leads. 

It is fascinating to see just how versatile––and necessary––the phone is for lead generation, with such applications as:

• Initial prospecting and qualification.
• Qualifying inquiries from various sources.
• Appending data and information.
• Reconnecting with past customers and leads.
• Centralizing leads for profiling and scoring.
• Following up on requests for information.
• Driving seminar and webinar attendance.
• Inviting and following up on trade show attendees.
• Validating direct marketing lists.
• Following up on direct mail campaigns.
• Building a database.
• Scheduling sales appointments.
• Developing relationships.
• Getting internal referrals.

To use the phone as an effective lead generation strategy, consider creating a specialized teleprospecting function within the marketing group. Teleprospecting teams often improve ROI because they create functional bridge between the sales and marketing to increase accountability and results. 

Creating a teleprospecting or lead management team, as an internal unit is easier said than done.  So it is not surprising that more organizations are now outsourcing their teleprospecting activities to companies like InTouch. 

Podcast: Marketing and Sales for Big Complex Selling (Pt 1)

I had a great time chatting with Todd at 800-CEO-READ on lead generation. This is the first of three podcasts 800-CEO-Read is doing on B2B sales and marketing.

Here's what Todd says about it:
"In this podcast, I talk with Brian Carroll, author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale. Next week, I interview Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies. In week three, I bring Jill and Brian together to talk about the interface between marketing and sales."

Like many of Todd's podcasts; this one is a high-level discussion geared for business leaders and those who support sales people. While you're there, I encourage you to take some time to visit 800-CEO-READ's other websites. They are a super resource for anyone who reads business books.

Listen to podcast now (MP3 43:47 min 30.1 MB)

E-Book: What Sales Really Needs from Marketing

The biggest challenge most sales pros with a complex sale face is getting access to executives, especially those in BIG companies. To be successful, sales and marketing efforts must be better aligned.

Jill Konrath just wrote an e-book that gives practical advice on how to align your sales and marketing efforts. In "What Sales Really Needs From Marketing," you'll learn seven strategies that you can leverage to get more and better opportunities into your sales pipeline.

Download "What Sales Really Needs From Marketing"

If you like what you read, you should check out Jill's book (Selling To Big Companies) too.

Using White Papers for Lead Generation

Michael Stelzner wrote a solid overview article in MarketingProfs this week titled, "How White Papers Can Turbo-Boost Your Lead-Generation Campaign." 

I've written a number of times that educational content is an important tool for lead generation. If you're involved in marketing to IT or financial buyers, you should consider using white papers or e-books. 

I'm a big proponent of educational marketing, because it allows you to reach people early in their buying process. Just remember, they should be EARLY in their buying process!

Early-stage leads - those who are not ready to speak to a sales person yet – can be developed further with an effective lead nurturing program.

Do you qualify leads before sending them to your sales team?  After doing numerous lead qualification programs, we have found that only 5 to 15 percent of those who download white papers are truly sales-ready leads. So don't pass white paper inquiries to your sales people until they're more rigorously qualified as sales-ready leads. 

We’ve found that when you send educational content of any kind, it’s important to followup with a human touch; namely, followup phone calls. During each call your goal is to be a trusted advisor, and not simply focused on whether they are ready to buy. Ask why they downloaded the white paper. What questions were they hoping to get answered and how else could you be helpful?  Can you send them other relevant and educational content?

As noted in “Sales leads are too valuable for sales people alone,” you need to look at how you can help your sales people, who likely don’t have time to do followup on early-stage leads. If possible, you’ll need a separate function, internally or outsourced, that can manage the lead qualification and followup process for you.

Speaking at MarketingSherpa's B-to-B Demand Generation Summit 2006

I'm speaking at MarketingSherpa's Demand Generation Summit being held in Boston and SF this fall.  I've worked out a special promotion with MarketingSherpa -- you’ll get a complimentary autographed copy of my book and a $300 discount on the Summit if you register by August 31st.

This should be just in time to inspire you during your fall budget and planning season. Meet experts; mingle with your peers; and discover new data, strategies, and tactics (includes search, podcasting, email & microsites). 

Please note, you must click on this link to register so you can get the discount and free book (that's the only way our good friends at MarketingSherpa can identify you as qualifying for the complimentary, autographed book offer).

Webinar: Lead Generation Strategies for the Complex Sale

Join me for a complimentary webinar this Thursday, August 17, 2006 at 1pm EDT.  This action-oriented session will provide tips and best practices that you can put into practice immediately.

When you leave this session you will:

• Learn 3 proven lead generation strategies that deliver results
• The most effective ways to get sales and marketing alignment
• See the most effective tactics used for an integrated marketing program
• Know how to identify and prioritize your best prospects
• Hear what's working to develop a dialog with executive level buyers

Register here

This event is sponsored and hosted by WebEx Communications, the worldwide leader in online meeting applications.

New E-Book Offers Great Advice

If you are involved in selling (or marketing) professional services, you’ll want to know about this new eBook, The One Piece Of Advice You Can’t Sell Without: From 11 experts on selling professional services, produced by RainToday.  They have consolidated the best advice from top-notch professional service sales experts.

Chock full of useful information, the eBook provides a broad look at the selling process. Although the advice comes from many directions, you'll find some ideas will help you sell more. 

Download the eBook here.

Each expert concisely provides the one piece of information that, from the author’s perspective, we must know to succeed. 

Names of contributors are well-known, and their credentials are impressive:

• Seth Godin, author of Small is the New Big & Purple Cow
• Jill Konrath, Chief Sales Officer, Leapfrog Strategies and author of