About Leads

A quick health check of your lead gen practices

2012-05-08T15:19:27Z

Generating leads and closing more business is a never-ending task. And within that practice, there are many campaigns, processes and events that occur. With so many moving parts, it's easy to have things stop working, get out of date, or need refinement.

Here is a quick checklist to ensure the general health of your lead generation practices:

Test your forms, email addresses and phone numbers listed on your website and landing pages. You would hate to have inquiries get lost in the shuffle thanks to a broken form, a disconnected phone number or a dead email address.
Leave your standard voice mail on your cell phone, and then listen to it. Are you compelled by message? If not, reevaluate your pitch.
Check your email deliverability metrics. The lack of response might not be your approach, but rather, your messages are going to the spam folder.
If you're using a CRM, ensure your leads, opportunities and accounts up to date. Nothing is worse than outdated information.
Are you doing lead nurturing or drip marketing? Read the emails you're sending out for outdated information, broken links or for new areas to address. You should also do this for any sales collateral you use, like presentations, PDFs or white papers.

Making sure the backbone of your lead generation efforts is functioning properly is just smart. Try it for your business today.

And, if you have any health checks we didn't include, share them below!

From our other blog: don't fail at testing

2012-05-07T12:55:06Z

Just a quick pointer to an article I just wrote for our general business newsletter: Don't Fail at Testing. Just because testing is so ingrained into most online marketing campaigns doesn't mean that you're always doing it right -- I highlighted 7 common testing mistakes to avoid:

Not defining metrics clearly.
Not setting the right scope.
Not testing the test tools
"Nah, that'll never work."
Moving too quickly.
Moving too slowly
Not thinking broadly enough about what to test.

Head over to our other blog to see the details.

Friday blog roundup

2012-05-04T18:50:28Z

Happy Friday everyone!

In honor of the weekend and the start to another great month, here is a roundup of some good lead gen, marketing, and sales articles that I found interesting this week.

Besides interesting articles, I also wanted to spotlight that National Small Business Week is coming up later this month. Check out some of the events and resources that will be available in the coming weeks.

And just for fun, let's learn about the history of Cinco de Mayo so we can reflect and celebrate tomorrow.

That's all I have for now. Have a great weekend!

Like what you see here? Help us out

2012-05-03T11:56:36Z

We'll be honest - we're big fans of Marketing Sherpa around here. We've always found them to be a valuable source of forward-looking, research-based information for the challenging marketing environment we're all facing.

So we were excited to see their new Reader's Choice awards: much like our own Best of BuyerZone series, they're going to be recognizing outstanding blogs in a wide variety of categories. Unlike ours, they're putting nominations (and later, the final selections) up to popular vote - and that's where you come in.

If you like what we're doing here, head over to the Marketing Sherpa blog and leave a comment nominating About Leads for Best B2B Marketing Blog. If you don't like what we're doing here, send me an email.

Regardless of our own results, we're looking forward to their final lists - although it's a challenge to keep up with all the great blogs we already follow, it's always interesting to see where other people are going for information.

Are you using a CRM?

2012-04-24T19:13:01Z

As we mentioned a few weeks ago, we will shortly be releasing our first annual State of B2B Lead Generation report. In the meantime, we wanted to share interesting snippets to give you a sense of what we've uncovered.

Today, let's look at the use of CRM software. We've talked previously about some keys to ensuring a successful implementation, but firstly, are B2B companies even using CRM systems? Our data says yes, with more than half of the folks we surveyed indicating they do use the software. But that number still seems a bit low given all the talk about lead tracking and management, lead nurturing and more - don't you think? Seems like total CRM adoption still has a ways to go.

Don't let B2C headlines change your B2B strategy

2012-04-20T17:49:49Z

Read a terrific piece today by Chuck Richard at Outsell that should be a warning to B2B companies of all kinds: Mind the Trap: Consumer Does Not Equal B2B.

The Outsell article is focused on media executives, but the lessons apply equally to B2B marketing and sales teams. When you're constantly exposed to articles about how to use Pinterest for marketing and using Facebook to generate leads, it's easy to get swept up in the excitement. But as Chuck puts it:

When B2B media executives and their teams, who are bathed daily in the transmission of these impossible-to-avoid pearls of wisdom from consumer markets on sites and at conferences, apply them to B2B media business decisions, mistakes, market mis-matches, and unprofitable outcomes are likely to happen. [Emphasis added.]

In online lead gen in particular, the B2C/B2B ratio is particularly skewed towards consumers. The big verticals - education and loans - are consumer-focused, and the concept was popularized by B2C names like LendingTree.

As Chuck points out, it's essential to keep the distinction between B2B and B2C in mind any time you're reading a study or even a blog post that talks about the latest, greatest thing in lead gen or online marketing. Don't let B2C messages throw you off your B2B game.

Special thanks to the team at Outsell for making this article freely available.

5 Affiliate marketing mishaps

2012-04-19T14:45:20Z

When running an affiliate marketing program, it is important to keep an eye out for sites that aren't the right fit. But beyond being the right fit, you also want to watch for other warning signs that the affiliate might generate the wrong types of leads. It is important to set the expectations in advance so you aren't stuck cleaning up the mess later. Keeping affiliates in the loop about industry standards will minimize risk and allow you to have peace of mind. Let's look at some of the most common mistakes that affiliate marketers make that will generate low quality leads.

Mistake 1: Not doing research
When choosing an affiliate program, there are several crucial components for affiliates to consider that could drastically impact the overall experience - and it involves some serious research before diving in.

Highest payout. Sure it is tempting to go with the program that has the highest payout, but that might also mean that finding leads for the product or service is a lot more difficult (maybe overall revenue will end up being a lot lower).
Time consumption. Think about the time commitment. If the industry is constantly changing, and the site needs constant updates, will the affiliate be able to keep up? Will you have to hold their hand through everything?
Site visitors. How much do you know about their current site visitors and what their demographics are? What are they interested in? What types of content do they click on most frequently? These are all questions that you should try to answer before getting started. Ideally the product or service being promoted is strongly correlated.
Level of interest and knowledge. Most likely, the affiliate will be writing the majority of the copy for their affiliate site, if not all. It is important that they are either willing to learn about the industry or already know a decent amount about it. If they have no interest, it could come across in their writing.

]]> Mistake 2: Having an unprofessional or cluttered website.
Sure, it sounds great to cram tons of ads and banners on affiliate sites - then the affiliate will make more money, right? No, they are most likely hurting the site by making it look like spam. If the website doesn't look trustworthy, why would someone entrust it with their contact information or credit card information. Simplicity is key. Affiliate sites should be clean and concise. At first, at least, I would suggest focusing on promoting one product or service. Then thinking about expanding, but only if it makes sense.

Mistake 3. Having irrelevant content.
Site content should relate to what you are selling/promoting. Sure, if you are promoting phone systems, the entire website does not need to be about phone systems - but it can be. The affiliate site can be about purchasing managers or office administration - or other topics where the relationship with phone systems is clear.

Mistake 4: On to the next one.
Once an affiliate has decided on an affiliate program and start generating leads, it is easy to get carried away with the momentum of the project. It's exciting to make money off a website - especially if they are seeing results right away! But there are a lot of nuances to being an affiliate marketer and it is important to learn how to optimize a site before they start creating another affiliate site altogether. How else can they learn from their mistakes? And it's much easier to make adjustments on a smaller scale - especially since the rules of SEO are constantly changing. Encourage affiliates to give themselves time to grow the site before jumping to a new project.

Mistake 5: Failing to promote.
Promotion is extremely important for an affiliate website. Use SEO, PPC, traditional marketing, and content efforts to get the word out about your website.

SEO. Make sure that they have optimized their metatags, titletags, H1, keyword density, and meta descriptions to improve the page rank.
PPC. Encourage affiliates to start out with some basic pay-per-click advertisements to draw in more views to their page. Just warn them to calculate ROI carefully.
Marketing. Have them send out emails or newsletters to get previous visitors to come back to their site. That way, they will build up some loyalty.
Content. Adding fresh content to their site can be a great tool to promote. The more relevant information that you have on the site about the topic, the more you will prove your credibility.

Can you think of more affiliate marketing blunders that we should have included? Comment below and let us know!

Do you think that you could be a great affiliate for BuyerZone? Visit our Affiliate Marketing page or contact Jonathan Moura at 800-915-4756.

Universal Lead Definition: do you have one?

2012-04-17T12:52:37Z

Brian Carroll over at the B2B Lead Roundtable Blog has a good post on the importance of a Universal Lead Definition, a topic we've hit on before. Carroll even goes so far as to alert his readers to NOT begin any lead generation campaign without this defintion in place, something we wholeheartedly agree with.

According to Carroll, a true Universal Lead Definition meets the following criteria:

Fits the profile of your ideal customer
Has been qualified as sales-ready
Spells out the responsibilities and accountabilities of sales and marketing
Makes marketing and sales more efficient

Read the full post.

Caroll also sites a recent MarketingSherpa study that found that 61% of B2B marketers are sending leads to sales without any qualification. In our forthcoming report on the State of B2B Lead Generation, we too found a similar lack of alignment amongst B2B marketing and sales teams. Our data indicates only 36% of respondents perceive alignment between marketing and sales within their organization as a 9 or 10 (with 10 being extremely aligned).

These data points underscore that we as B2B marketers have a ways to go until total harmony is reached between marketing and sales.

Do you have a Universal Lead Definition? If so, let us know in the comments below.

Is lead nurturing a sales activity or a marketing activity?

2012-04-16T14:50:41Z

I was reading a recent post by Chuck Coker on the B2B Lead Roundtable Blog (Market to personality and behavior, not job title) and trying to decide why it didn't sit quite right. I definitely agree with his point about a prospect's personality being a more effective guide to targeting your communications than just their title, and his examples and suggestions are spot on.

After chewing on it for a while, I realized that what gave me pause was labeling these kinds of conversations as lead nurturing. In my understanding, lead nurturing happens further up the funnel - before you're having regular phone conversations with the prospect - and it's something done by the marketing team, not the sales team.

What's the definition?
The general concept of lead nurturing seems simple enough: engaging prospects who aren't ready to buy to provide information and assistance, with the goal of establishing yourself as the go-to source when they are ready to buy. But where's the line between lead nurturing and just good old-fashioned sales techniques?

One major distinction is that these days, lead nurturing programs are all about multi-touch, automated, multi-platform communications. Customized scheduled emails, social engagement, and yes, follow-up phone calls can all be involved - but most of that is handled by the marketing department as they try to develop the leads to the point where they're ready for sales.

That's not to say that the sales team doesn't have a role in lead nurturing, as well. But instead of a new set of activities, it's more about how they approach their conversations with prospects: focusing on providing value first, and selling later -- helping to 'ripen the bananas,' as Brian Carroll puts it in Coker's post.

So can we use personality types for nurturing?
Selling to personality types as described by Coker is a great sales tactic - once you're very engaged with the prospect, communicating back and forth regularly. But as we see it, the bulk of lead nurturing is aimed at prospects who have had fairly limited engagement with your company and aren't ready for direct sales contacts yet.

In these cases, marketing to titles is a good tactic. It lets you quickly bucket your prospects into targetable categories so you can get them on drip campaigns and start building your relationship through email, social, or other channels. The sooner you can start providing information that's customized to the exact needs of the prospect, the better - and basic information like titles is much easier to collect than a good understanding of personality types.

What do you think?
So let me know - what does lead nurturing mean to you? Is it a sales tactic, a marketing tactic, or somewhere in between?

First look from State of B2B Lead Generation report

2012-04-03T14:09:55Z

As we mentioned previously, we recently conducted a study in conjunction with LeadsCouncil to uncover the true state of B2B Lead Generation. We asked marketers in this space (full disclosure: many of the respondents are clients of BuyerZone) about their use of technology, social media, budget, lead quality and quantity, and more. While our full report is coming soon, here's a sneak peak at some of the data:

This data, from 179 B2B marketers, shows that most companies understand the importance of speedy lead follow-up (thankfully!). But, even the 17% who follow-up within 24 hours might be losing their edge in terms of closing leads. 24 hour turnaround used to be acceptable, but with modern technology and increasing customer expectations, it's probably not getting the job done anymore.

How quickly are you following up on leads? Do you have a firm process in place to handle inbound inquiries?

Up sell and cross sell with customer nurturing

2012-03-28T15:00:26Z

We've all heard of lead nurturing - building relationships with potential customers until they are ready to buy. This can be as simple as just providing prospects with relevant and useful thought leadership content to help them along the funnel. However, once they become your customer, are you then forgetting about them?

Sure you might send your customers an operational communication from time to time, but are you continuing to build upon the relationship? Are you building that sense of trust that a customer looks for? Well, one of the best ways to up sell and cross sell your current customers is with customer nurturing - continuing to nurture even after the initial purchase. Not only will you have immediate financial benefits, but it could improve customer loyalty and retention in the long run as well. ]]>
Nurturing your customers is as simple as being in contact even a few additional times per year. Sharing a relevant whitepaper, sending a special offer, asking what you can do to improve their experience, or advertising new product launches are all great ways to provide useful information and potentially increase the value of a customer. Think about how you can start solving your customers' problems and purpose your content around that. Rather than just sharing the information, explain how it can help them and why it is relevant. You need to build up that reputation of thought leadership and credibility - and it is easier to convince paying customers than prospective ones.

You can even use marketing automation tools to nurture customers - just as you would to nurture leads. Send emails based on how long they have been customers: from introductory information to other tips and tricks. As the relationship with the customer evolves, adjust the content. It's that easy. Then, when your sales team calls down the road, you have been in contact with them the entire time - the call is not as out of the blue because you have been showing them the value all along.

There is a lot of thought being put into acquiring new customers (and rightly so). But don't forget about your existing ones; keeping them should be your most important goal!

Do you have additional tips for customer nurturing? Share them below.

Avoid striking out before you even get to the plate: five early-stage lead gen tips

2012-03-27T11:15:25Z

The very top of the lead gen funnel is a dangerous place. Potential leads at this stage haven't given you any information yet, so you don't get a second chance to win them back. And they're just beginning to interact with your brand, through your content or a social channel, so chances are they're also looking at your competitors and other alternatives.

They're fragile, easily distracted, and busy: it doesn't take much to lose them. Here 5 keys to improving performance at the beginning of the lead generation cycle.

1. Send good trust signals
Before they even digest a word of your content, potential leads are evaluating how trustworthy your company is. Things like having a professional-looking design, making real-world contact information like phone numbers very visible, and including recently-updated information all contribute to their initial impression of your business.

Even things like having text that's free of typos and other mistakes contributes to your trustworthiness. Although it's not usually a conscious decision, prospects can be turned off by landing pages or lead capture forms that seem amateurish or flimsy. Here's a little more about sending good trust signals.
]]> 2. Speak their language
If you know your target audience well enough, you'll know how to speak to them in the language they use. I don't mean "English" - I mean, if you're selling to farmers and ranchers, the type of words you should use on your lead gen materials is different than it would be if you're selling to IT professionals.

Use real examples that matter to your target market, don't speak down to them or try to sound more technical than necessary, and you'll help those prospects keep reading long enough to decide to take the next step down the funnel. Here are some good suggestions on how to figure out exactly what language is important to your potential customers.

3. Don't ask too many questions
We've talked before about the importance of keeping lead capture forms short. While the instinct to collect as much information as possible is a good one for marketers, it goes wrong when asking for more information prevents users from completing your form at all. There is plenty of data on how asking fewer questions improves conversion rates - don't ignore it. Ask just enough to enable you to follow up and get the most elementary idea of how qualified the lead is.

4. Provide the info they need in the form they want
At the top of the funnel, you're dealing with potential buyers who are still early in their evaluation process: they're just gathering information. You can't demand much from them at this point - you need to concentrate on giving. Don't put all your content behind registration gates: prove your value by giving away actionable, helpful content that isn't just focused on your products.

Also make sure you're providing that content in a variety of formats so you can reach the most users. Some will be looking for web pages to bookmark, others will be looking for blogs or Twitter accounts to follow, still others will be searching for PDFs or other documents they can download or print out and digest later.

5. Don't sell too hard - yet.
Potential buyers at the top of the funnel aren't interested in your finely crafted sales pitch yet. They're simply trying to gather information on the products and players they're dealing with. Their first interaction with you will shape their overall opinion of your company, and if all they get is 'sell sell sell' they're less likely to return to you.

If you provide assistance - answers to their questions, online tools they can use, worksheets or lists that can help them make a decision - you're going to be remembered more favorably when the prospect is in a buying state of mind. Then you can bust out the sales pitch.

It doesn't stop there
There are plenty of opportunties all down the funnel to improve your overall results - but the not-yet-contacted prospects at the top are a huge pool of potential customers. What have you done to help draw these people into your funnel? Share your tips below.

Image via Charles Haynes on flickr

Guest post at LeadsCouncil: 5 landing page mistakes we all make

2012-03-23T13:43:37Z

I've got a guest post up at the LeadsCouncil web site: Five Landing Page Mistakes We All Make. I say "we" in the headline specifically because BuyerZone has made all of those mistakes at different points over the years, and while we've learned the lessons, we're still not perfect.

As a result of #3 -- constantly testing new designs and other changes -- we're regularly creating new versions of our landing pages. The trick is making sure we're not letting old mistakes creep back in as we're testing new improvements.

(If you're not familiar with it, LeadsCouncil is a great resource for lead buyers and sellers. It's an independent organization that aims to build trust and promote best practices, with the overall goal of helping increase the size of the lead gen market. BuyerZone is a founding member of LeadsCouncil and we're glad to be working with them on our State of B2B Lead Generation Survey.)

Speak out! State of B2B Lead Generation

2012-03-22T13:21:05Z

Curious how quickly other businesses are following up on leads? Do you wonder how many companies are truly using drip marketing/marketing automation?

We're happy to announce the first annual State of B2B Lead Generation survey. This short survey, which we're sponsoring in conjunction with LeadsCouncil, digs into the thoughts and practices of companies in the B2B space. We'll shed light on how companies are managing leads, including use of technology, social media, follow-up practices and more.

Are you in B2B? Take the survey now and check back here in a month or two for our full report on the state of B2B lead generation!

Related: read the press release announcing the launch of the survey.

20 Under 20: Small business winners announced

2012-03-20T13:00:15Z

Spring has sprung, and BuyerZone has some big news: We're proud to announce the winners of BuyerZone's 20 Under 20 Awards!

Months ago, we asked you to tell us about the small businesses that you love - the ones that you've seen do impressive things since being founded less than twenty years ago. After an initial round of reviews, we made our selections. Then we interviewed each of our winners to get the details on how they became what they are today.

Their stories are inspiring. While our winners are diverse in their lines of business, all twenty companies share a common thread that is passion for what they do. This passion comes from the talented, smart, innovative, hard-working, and driven people that work at each company. (Head over to our Pinterest winner board to get to know some of the faces behind each company).

So without further ado, we bring to you The winners of this year's 20 Under 20 Awards!