Generating high-quality leads that convert into customers is quite challenging. But if done correctly, it can help your business outperform competitors and significantly grow.
Quality is one of the most critical criteria. If you only increase volume without qualifying leads, you will end up spinning your wheels. However, if you can increase the volume of potential customers by 20% without compromising quality, your business will generate 20% more revenue.
We have prepared a modest list for you, which should definitely help you in lead generation.
Engage in as many dialogues as possible
Relying solely on your website, blog posts, or videos to get potential customers to know about your business is risky. Sales is about building relationships; you need as many real conversations with your potential customers as possible.
For example, if a lead asks about a feature in an email, don’t just offer a link to your website. Instead, answer the question and suggest a quick phone or video call to discuss the convenience of the feature with them.
Generate a targeted list of business contacts
Creating a targeted list of B2B business contacts is an essential aspect of gaining new B2B sales. Lists allow you to easily and quickly access a large number of potential buyers using cold email.
Unfortunately, not all lead databases are created equal. Many databases contain:
Outdated and/or incorrect information.
Links that do not match your target job titles, company size, location, or industry.
Leads that already exist in your CRM.
Links that are already customers.
For such purposes in the UK, you can use tools such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and set your qualification criteria as keywords in the job description. For example, if you need to find all companies in the UK that have deployed SalesForce, you indicate this word in the job description section. Other filters allow you to select MQL by other formal criteria (personnel, revenue, industry, NACE codes, etc.)
Send Cold Emails
Be sure to set up your cold emails and personalize them using substitution tags. Substitution tags allow you to insert the recipient’s name, surname, or company name in each email, making each sent email look fully personalized for each lead. A targeted, personalized email is more likely to receive a response from the recipient.
Make Warm Calls
A cold call is when you call a potential customer with whom you have had no prior contact. A warm call is when you call someone who has heard of you in the past. Warm calls can be extremely effective if done correctly.
Use Marketing Automation to Work with Potential Customers
After you’ve collected email addresses, you can use marketing automation programs to segment customers and send them specific messages to drive conversion. MQL leads can also be converted to SQL by the sales department.
You can also use software to automate outbound communications, which will help you send personalized emails on a large scale and automatically convert those leads to SQL.
Install Chat on Your Website
Studies have shown that 42% of customers prefer live chat for customer support questions.
Live chat tools (now included in every CRM) allow you to immediately engage with your customers. If you can also collect email addresses, you can develop these contacts to generate more potential B2B sales.
Update Your Email Signature with an Embedded Ad Campaign
Include a link to an ad campaign for relevant content found on your website in your email signature. By embedding the link, you can get more potential buyers for your landing page for free.
Join Relevant Groups on Social Media
Engaging with relevant groups on LinkedIn, Meetup, Random Coffee, Uniter, or Dot.Network will help you attract more potential customers. Ask interesting questions to start a conversation and respond to already published comments.
List Your Company in Solution Directories
If you are a B2B company selling software or software-related services, make sure you are registered with relevant online directories. This will help attract potential customers to your site who are looking for similar products. Each CRM has its own marketplace, so get in there.
Use Online Forums to Attract New Customers
Industry forums allow you to meet new potential customers and get to know existing ones better. By sharing your views and insights, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry and gain the trust of potential customers.
Answer relevant Q&A on websites
Sites like Quora can be an excellent source of new sales. Reach out to potential clients by finding relevant questions and providing answers to them. These clients should be trying to solve the exact problem that your service solves. Start by researching existing questions related to your business.
Get more online reviews
87% of B2B decision-makers search for honest reviews online before making a purchase. If your clients leave good reviews, you can attract more potential clients. Clients with high NPS scores tend to leave good reviews.
Use advertising to attract potential clients
Many social media platforms offer advertising that allows you to gather email addresses. Unfortunately, your results may vary depending on the content you promote.
Make sure to send social media visitors to specific landing pages where they can get information about subscribing to your newsletter. You can also allow newsletter subscriptions from your social media page – another way to gather email addresses.
Use PPC to increase website traffic
Increasing traffic with paid advertising is easy, but depending on your industry and competition, it can be not only challenging but also expensive. Make sure you target buyers by studying search volume for keywords and user intent.
Use retargeting to bring back visitors
You can use remarketing/retargeting tools to show ads on other sites to your past visitors. For example, if a visitor goes to a specific page, you can show them a related study on the topic they read. You can also advertise an email subscription offering additional information on a specific topic.
Use SEO to increase your website’s traffic.
Use search engine optimization (SEO) to get your site to the top of search engine results pages. Make sure you’re targeting the keywords that people use to describe your service or product. Setting up lead capture on your page can also increase the number of leads from SEO.
Don’t try to hack Google’s algorithms to get a high ranking with bad content. Since Google’s search is constantly improving, you should spend your time creating great content.
To improve your SEO ranking, work on creating good backlinks by guest blogging or other methods. You should also understand which keywords are important and focus on them with your content.
Here’s a brief list of good tools to optimize your website’s SEO:
- Google Search Console
- Google Analytics
- Serpstat
- Ahrefs
- Seranking.com
Optimize your website’s landing pages
When someone clicks on a certain keyword search or Google ad, they should land on a unique landing page. Each landing page should offer the exact solution the person is looking for.
Conversion optimization, such as a call to action (CTA), can help increase sales. You can ask the visitor to leave their name, email address, and phone number to receive a free gift, such as an e-book.
If you use a third-party landing page, you won’t increase your site’s SEO ranking, so be sure to place your landing pages on your own domain so that traffic goes to your site.
Use a blog or newsletter to attract new customers
Blogs and newsletters should have rich content that readers actually want to read. If you have a high-quality blog, you can generate leads and backlinks by posting them on other sites. Creating an information newsletter will allow you to stay in touch with existing customers.
Use webinars to attract new customers
Webinars are online conferences where the presenter discusses a relevant topic with the audience. Webinars are usually conducted using slides or interview-style presentations.
Use an e-book to increase the number of potential customers
E-books provide customers with valuable content and demonstrate your competence. Try to get an email address when visitors download an e-book so that your sales department can follow up with them.
Interview decision-makers and influencers for your blog
Approach decision-makers by interviewing them for your blog, e-book, or guest post. Be sure to ask brief questions so that they can share their knowledge. This will help you build your network and allow other customers to see your expertise in the industry.
Use whitepapers to attract new clients
Whitepapers are a great way to attract visitors to your website or business. Creating a report or guide on a specific topic can pique the interest of potential clients.
Use other audiences by guest posting
Guest posting relevant content on other blogs is a great way to spread your message to a new audience.
If you don’t have time, you can outsource your work to freelancers. Many freelancers write and submit articles to blogs and other publications. However, give them very specific instructions and always check the content to ensure it aligns with your brand.
Use press releases to attract new clients
Issuing a press release can help drive traffic to your website and generate more potential clients.
Always grow your network
Building a network is an investment, and most people usually have a specific goal in mind. Determine whether you want to gain new contacts, leads, or referrals, or get an invitation to an exhibition.
People are generous when others can be helpful to them. Be creative in how you can help those you meet, and they will be more willing to help you achieve your goals.
Use current clients to attract referrals
Develop and continually strengthen trusting relationships with your current clients so that you can ask them for introductions. These can be other offices, suppliers, or even other companies they know.
Encourage customer referrals and recommendations
When a customer has a positive experience, they may want to recommend your company to friends and acquaintances. Such customer referrals often lead to B2B sales. Using NPS rating or similar procedures can help you identify those who are most likely to promote your tool.
Research shows that referrals bring in more qualified clients than any other source.
Use LinkedIn to make connections
LinkedIn is a huge source of potential customers, but it can be quite difficult to reach a large number of people.
To begin with, you can sign up for a basic account on LinkedIn for free. From there, you can connect with all your contacts and see who they’re also connected to. Many users have several hundred connections, which makes it easy to reach out to them and introduce them to each other.
Find out who the dissatisfied customers of your competitors are
Look for competitors who offer a similar product. Do they have a higher price or is their solution less efficient than yours? Contact them.
Find people on social media who complain about their solution and contact them directly.
Create an advisory board
Advisors are an informal group that provides advice and a personal network for your business. Many tech startups and small businesses use advisory boards to achieve success.
The most effective ones have influential and well-connected members. In exchange for providing more sales recommendations, board members usually receive rewards or stock options.
Speak or attend industry events
Events and exhibitions in your industry are a great way to meet new customers. Here are a few general recommendations to follow:
Speak at events where you also have a booth. This will allow you to position yourself and your business as experts in your field.
Make sure you can get contact information, such as email or phone number. Many events or trade shows offer equipment for renting contact information.
Always talk to existing customers to get the opportunity to introduce them to new ones.
Launch channels for partner sales
Look for non-competing companies with a similar customer base. For example: if you’re a lawyer, accountants or financial planners may have the same clients.
Having relationships with partners will allow you to get more sales leads compared to your competitors.