February 2011 Archives

Following up on leads is critical. Though that should be a surprise to no one, there is actually real, scientific data to prove that point.

The concept of lead response management is one we highly recommend you get up to speed on if you're not already. The folks behind LeadResponseManagement.org define it as: "the discipline of responding to inquiries for information in timely, continual, and consistent fashion to optimize the contact and qualification rates of leads".

To prove the importance of this concept as it relates to the broad field of lead generation, they've conducted (and are conducting) a number of interesting studies to identify when the best time is to contact web leads and how to generate those leads.

Though some of the research goes back a few years, you'd be surprised how much of it remains true today.

So have a read and see how you can apply this science to your lead follow-up practices.
 

We've talked before about how competitive leads are good for your business -- but it's a hard point for many lead buyers to accept. Of course lead buyers would prefer to be the only business matched to a particular lead  -- but the economics of lead gen don't work that way.

Michael Ferree over at LeadCritic has been on both sides of the lead gen equation, buying and selling leads, and he weighed in this week with a good summary of the situation in a post titled Buyers Must Understand the Whole Picture.

Given the cost of generating quality leads, he points out, buyers have to expect lead sellers to maximize their revenue per lead, and creative ways of selling the same lead to multiple businesses are to be expected. We completely agree, and wish more lead buyers would look at our industry this way.

Couple of points to make on this. First, the idea of providing leads to multiple buyers is fine as long as it is completely transparent. At BuyerZone, for example, we let our clients know how many other companies a lead could be matched to -- and it varies according to the industry. That helps the lead buyer know what they're up against and helps them value the lead accordingly. If a lead source is not disclosing their reselling practices, then you've got a legitimate complaint.

As Ferree points out, if you're thinking of the customer first, multiple options are a good thing:

... when it comes to a lead generation company encouraging their user to compare multiple options (which I frankly think is good for the consumer - not forcing them, but providing more options) think twice and don't over react.

Second, this situation only occurs on high-value leads. Companies who deal in list scraping, email harvesting, or other shady practices that they deceptively call "lead gen" have such low costs that they may sell you "exclusive" leads -- but if you've tried these sources, you know it's a waste of money, even if you are the only one who gets a particular list.

Again, Ferree's summary takes the words right out of my mouth:

Simply look at whether your Cost per Sale is in line with your goals and base your marketing buys only off that metric.

What do you think - are lead buyers right to worry about their leads being resold?

We're headed to LeadsCon - the lead generation conference - in early March. As usual, the program is action-packed and full of panels and sessions about all things leads. Like last year, we'll plan to do some live-blogging and also recap our thoughts after the conference, but we want to hear from you: what should we cover? 

Check out the conference agenda and let us know in the comments section below which three sessions you want us to recap for you right here on the blog.

Going to be attending LeadsCon? Let us know at partnerships@buyerzone.com.

Finally, here's a quick look back at our recap from last year's show.

It's Valentine's Day! The perfect time to think about your most important relationships. I'll be honest, Valentine's Day is not one of my favorite holidays. But the message at the heart (no pun intended) of the celebration is a good one - take the time to appreciate the relationships you have. This applies both personally and professionally.

Do you take the time to show your customers that you appreciate their business?

Your customers are the foundation of your business. By building your relationship with your customers, you are making a long term investment in the success of your business. 

Missed any BuyerZone tweets this week? Here's a Friday roundup of some of our best tweets and tweeted articles of the week.

Daily Question: For sales
Daily Question: For marketing

Tweet back replies and we'll feature the best responses here.

Other great reads: B2B Lead Generation Via Search Marketing

Web Words that Lure the Readers

When Two Brands Are Better Than One

Why Your Business Needs a Content Marketing Strategy

Happy reading and happy Friday!

The accessibility of technology has changed the way that we communicate and receive information. But, in the business world, are we early adopters - or are we struggling to keep up?

I was struck when I noticed my 12 year-old cousin with her own smartphone -long before I had bought one for myself. What could she possibly need that for?! To my surprise, she explained that she had incorporated her smart phone into her science project -a project that would mostly determine her grade for the year and the class that she could get into for the following year. Even though it seemed a bit excessive for a science project, I was still impressed by how she was thinking of ways to track, capture, analyze, photograph, and work -all on the go! It forced me to think about ways that I could apply the technology to my business practices -even when I am away from the office.

There are countless ways to receive leads, but which do you utilize? Let's explore some ways to stay connected -even if you are out of the office, traveling, or at a tradeshow.

Smartphone apps. The iPhone, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile are the first phones to break ground with SalesForce.com to have official apps. If you have other Apple products, you can also use the SalesForce Mobile App on an iPad or an iPod Touch -it just requires iOS 3.0 or later. With these apps, you can receive leads and track your closes 24/7. If you are an Android user, the rumors are flying that an app might be coming soon. In the meantime, you can still access the website from a browser on your phone. Or use another app that is compatible, such as MintFly, where you can access and edit information in your SalesForce account.

A guest post by Matthew Schwartz

Ever since we launched Follow the Lead in late 2009, the most popular blog posts have revolved around cold calling. Despite all the kibitzing about online communications and inbound marketing - and the accompanying shift in marcom budgets - cold calling remains one of the most enduring, albeit problematic, methods of generating new leads. In an increasingly digital era, the human touch, the human voice (unaltered and unabridged), is taking on a new currency.
 
But the game has changed. Dialing for dollars is no longer forgivable, not to mention prohibitively expensive. Such an approach to generating new leads is, at best, counterproductive and, at worst, inexcusable, what with online-search engines the norm of business and myriad tools available online on how to drill down so you're reaching more qualified prospects.
 
In numerous conversations over the last 18 months with industry observers, a few essential elements about effective cold calling have bubbled to the surface:

Have you been wondering what BuyerZone actually does? What online lead generation is all about? 

We created a new resource page to answer all of your  burning online lead generation questions  -- check it out!

If there were any questions that we missed, please let us know in the comments section below.