Buying and selling sure isn’t like it used to be. A report from The Rain Group, “Top Sales Leadership Challenges & Priorities,” lists how the ways of commerce are decidedly different.
Among them:
Buyers used to count on sellers to explain their products or services. Who knew anything about cars or TVs or microwaves in the old days? The seller did, that’s who. Now buyers know all sorts of things about any product they want. What they need, though, is advice; they need sellers to show value over and above the actual product. Buyers need a consultant.
Here’s what else is different: identifying the prospect who needs your consultation. The Rain Group report says, “Prospecting used to be difficult (and it still is), but it was easier to understand. Buy a directory, send direct mail, call, call again, get an appointment and take it from there. Now it’s a Kafkaesque morass of outreach media, technologies, long-term touch sequences, coordination with marketing, email laws and rules and more.”
So yeah, lead generation isn’t like it used to be. Yet people still need cooling and heating, electrical service and plumbing in their homes. They still need to know who provides a quality product, who they can trust to deliver quality installation and who they can call when they have a problem.
Where do leads come from? There isn’t an email in the world that can break and install an HVAC system. Yet your email campaign is part of your integrated strategy to get in front of your customers. And so is your social media marketing, your search engine optimization strategies and your direct mail campaign.
Lead generation is less slingshot, more souffle. It’s not a matter of picking off a customer here and there, but rather a process of baking your value into your market with multiple ingredients.
The lead generation process relies on the creation of an irresistible offer. You’re not going to send out a postcard that says, “Hi, I’m selling plumbing services that I would like for you to buy.” Well, maybe your grandmother will give you a call if you did, but nobody else.
Instead, you must craft an offer that demonstrates value. That value will be communicated to the prospect in either its exclusivity (this is just for our regular customers), its time limit (you must schedule before the end of the month), its uniqueness (this is the only one there is), its limited availability (we only have ten in stock – when they’re gone, they’re gone) or its high demand (everybody in town is getting this).
A value-demonstrating trigger prompts a response (I need to act), yet you’ve got to tell them specifically how they need to respond. That comes in the call-to-action, e.g., “Schedule your appointment now.” Otherwise, they’re on to the next attention-seeking missile of daily life.
Whether your direct response marketing is an email, a social media ad or a direct mail letter, you’re most likely sending your prospect to a landing page to get more information. Even if your direct mail letter contains the full details of your offer, in a “research-savvy” marketplace, most prospects will check out your website before giving you a call.
That landing page will contain a response mechanism. You need a lead capture form where the prospect will provide contact information so you can begin your lead-nurturing process through drip email and/or phone call. Your marketing turns into a lead when someone expresses interest in your offer and you’ve got a way to communicate with the prospect.
Lead generation is multi-channel, which is why an integrated strategy is so critical. Even if someone calls you after they get your letter, they may also have seen your social ad or your billboard or another marketing piece that was reinforced when they opened your direct mail offer. The continued reinforcement helps you rise above the noise and stand out.