Unless you’re the only business in your industry with a capable team of lead generation experts and a strong online presence, you probably have fewer leads than you hoped. The alternative is lead generation by use of tools, with social media platforms coming in as one of the most widely used tools. Facebook is the most popular option among 85% of B2B marketers, while LinkedIn comes second at (81%).
Despite pouring so much money into lead generation campaigns, lead generation remains one of the toughest challenges for some 61% of marketers responsible for lead generation. For this reason, some marketers have turned to lead generation outsourcing for solutions.
Whether you’re looking for an agency that can help you create content and nurture prospective customers or need assistance with customer qualifying, – this article will give you all the insider knowledge you need to choose the best lead generation outsourcer for your business.
What Lead Generation Services Do Providers Offer?
It is not uncommon to see sales management stress the importance of lead generation to increase revenue, expand the customer base, and improve brand visibility. There’s an ocean of tactics for companies to accomplish these things, but the services provided will differ depending on the lead generation company.
Lead generation services can include a wide range of techniques, B2B lead generation strategies, and programs to attract potential customers. But before you decide which lead generation outsourcing provider you go with, you need to know what they offer.
Some providers will offer all these services, while others specialize in one.
- Market research – With market research, providers can dive into your industry, competitors, and customers to discover your target audience. They can also pinpoint where your prospects are, what they want and how they prefer to be contacted. This helps your sales and marketing teams build informed strategies.
- Lead scoring – Lead scoring helps you determine which leads are the highest quality and who is more likely to buy your product or service. Providers use different factors to score leads, but it can include how long the person has been searching for a solution, how long they have been in the market for your product or service, and how much money they are willing to spend.
- LinkedIn outreach – LinkedIn is a great network for businesses to connect with their target customers, partners, vendors, and others in their industry. With more than 850 million users, there’s plenty of potential for your business to grow on LinkedIn. As such, your lead-gen service provider should be well informed in the best outreach strategies that reach your target audience on the platform.
- Inbound marketing – Inbound marketing is the process of bringing people to your website and converting them into leads. This can include email marketing, content marketing such as white papers, online advertising, and more.
- Outbound marketing – Outbound marketing is contacting people who don’t know about your product or service and turning them into leads. This can include cold calling, sales calls, email marketing, and more.
- Email marketing – We’ve said it before that email is far from dead. That’s because it still has over 4 billion users. Ideally, the lead generation outsourcer should know how to reach potential customers via email. There’s one problem, though – subscribers are becoming more aware of the growing number of emails they receive on a daily basis. The challenge for marketers is to figure out how to stand out in such an oversaturated marketing channel.
- Cold calling – You may remember the days when salespeople would call you unannounced and try to sell you something you didn’t want. Today, cold calling for business-to-business marketing is different. It’s strategic, targeted, and, more importantly, has a purpose.
Seasoned lead-gen outsourcers know this and strive to make every call count. After all, it only takes 6 to 8 calls per lead to convert.