Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
1, Don’t rely on a single vendor for all your lead generation activities. Have multiple channels, both external and internal.
2, Outbound prospecting, such as cold calling or email blasting, is the first and fastest way to get new leads, but also requires high energy and repetition each month for sustained success.
3, Networking and inbound marketing, such as landing pages utilizing paid advertising, take the most time to nurture, but eventually require less energy to actually generate leads.
4, Test two to three different options within each of four channels. Test them before deciding whether to continue with them.
Are you tired of being bombarded by lead generation companies on social media channels like LinkedIn? Over the past five years, we’ve experienced a perfect storm of outsourcing growth. This explosion has been driven by three key factors:
One of the biggest mistakes I see business leaders make is completely outsourcing their lead generation activities to other companies. This article provides some direction on creating your own lead generation strategy.
Just as you wouldn’t rely on a single vendor for all your supplies, you shouldn’t depend on one source for all your lead generation activities, whether internal or external.
A best practice is to have multiple lead generation channels and test their results to determine where you’re getting the best return on investment. All lead generation channels can be categorized into four quadrants. (Fig. 1.)
Just because I list items as “Internal Efforts Required” doesn’t mean you have to do all the work yourself. You may choose to outsource that work. However, you are simply delegating the tasks to someone else. You still need to manage it. Let’s start with the fastest methods of generating leads.
The first and fastest way to get new leads is through outbound prospecting:
This is one area, out of 21, where the majority of lead generation companies that approach you want to work.
Although this is a fast lead generation quadrant, these channels require a high level of energy and resources. When the leads come in, there is very little to keep the channel performing. You must repeat the process each month.
Another fast way to generate leads is through referrals. You can immediately start making phone calls or sending emails to get referrals from four sources:
The following two channels take more time to nurture, but they eventually require less energy to generate leads. Think of it like driving a car: first and second gear require more gas to get the car moving quickly, while third and fourth gear, or overdrive, use less energy once the car is in motion. The same is true for your lead generation machine.
The third area is networking. Some of these lead-generating activities include:
Once a network connection is made, someone must nurture that relationship. Those relationships can furnish continual leads for you over time.
The final option is inbound marketing. This includes some of the following:
You can also combine channels. For instance, you might take an old-school tradeshow and connect it with a speaking event or webinar, along with working with an association. You can also link email blasting with landing pages to promote attendance at live events.
Pick three channels from different quadrants. The key is to test two to three different options within each of the selected channels, giving you six sources of leads to track. For example, if you want to engage a lead generation company using LinkedIn messaging, try two companies simultaneously to compare their effectiveness. If you’re considering returning to trade shows, test two or three before deciding whether to continue with that channel.
Track your spending and results over a period relevant to your industry. When the time is up, make decisive choices about which channels to cut and which new ones to try. For the channels that perform well, begin testing different messaging within that channel to optimize your lead generation system.
Lead generation doesn’t have to be the nuisance you experience in your email inbox. It can become a valuable source of cash flow for your sales or business development teams, taking your revenue to a whole new level.
