More leads mean more sales, right? Sales organizations obsess over lead generation, hoping at least some of their leads will make it all the way to the bottom of the funnel.
Consequently, most sales agencies sell leads to their clients. They promise a certain number of leads each week and are judged solely on whether or not they reach that number. This is the old way of doing business.
There’s a better way.
A common objective for sales development representatives (SDRs) is to book as many meetings as possible. The majority of cold emails in your inbox are trying to score a meeting: ‘Can you spare 15 minutes next Wednesday?’ Click here to schedule a time that suits you.
When you're dealing with large companies and large deal sizes of $20k+, you need more than a Calendly link to stand out from all the other emails and cold calls they've received that day. The problem is that too many people ask for meetings right away and seem surprised when their pipelines run out.
Your goal in 2023 should be to generate relevant conversations with your clients. That might have worked at one time, but it's time for a change.
Since lead generation strategy is a relatively straightforward, repeatable process, you can hand your playbook to any new salesperson and expect them to start generating leads.
Conversely, it takes more effort and skill to start a lead conversation. This requires research; you need to know everything there is to know about your ideal customer profile (ICP), your buyer personas, and the product/service you're selling. Before you pick up the phone or write an e-mail, you need to understand your prospects, their pain points, and specific ways in which you can assist and add value.
Ask open-ended questions and listen to what they say, rather than bombarding them with links to your calendar once you've begun a conversation.
As with booked meetings, agencies should avoid calculating ROI based on closed leads unless they are specifically offering them as a service. Too much focus on closed leads can inadvertently encourage pressure tactics in sales. Today, that's more likely to get your number blocked and your email reported as spam.
In order to generate relevant conversations, it is necessary to consider quality and quantity. Sales Automation tools enable you to reach out to more of your ideal prospects, the people you can help.
By starting more conversations, with the right people, you will be able to close more opportunities and have more happy customers rather than wasting time chasing down low-quality leads.
