With marketing budgets squeezed across all sectors, it is important that acquisition investment delivers results. If your lead generation efforts are not generating good quality leads with prospects who have an appetite for your products and services, they will quickly sap huge amounts of money and resource.

Successful and sustainable lead generation can only be achieved within a solid sales and marketing strategy. Only with clear priorities and objectives, can your lead generation efforts, budget and resources be channelled towards generating high quality opportunities in a targeted and focused way.

So, what do you need to do to ensure you don’t burn through your acquisition budget and waste valuable resources chasing leads and opportunities that will never convert?

Here are our eight top tips for sustainable lead generation:

Define your audience

Identifying the key characteristics of your target audience is everything. If you’re bringing in leads that don’t have a propensity to buy, you’re wasting your time. Before you kick off any activities you need to know who is most likely to be receptive to your offer. This will inform the data you source, your targeting and segmentation, and how you assign resources from the start.

Use the right channels

Once you know who you want to reach, you need to find out where they are active - which channels and media do they use? If you can identify which channels are most frequently used by audiences that are likely to convert, these will provide the backbone for a successful lead generation strategy. To help understand your channel choices, read more here.

Refine your ‘Calls to Action’

Avoid using generic call to action (CTA) requests – what might seem like a small element is actually a key factor in a successful lead generation approach. Your prospects will be bombarded with marketing communications from all sides, so it is vital to be original and use your brand tone of voice and audience persona research to design CTAs that stand out and resonate.

Get the message right

Spend time honing your message. You have limited time to get attention and make a connection, so you really need to communicate your key points quickly and clearly. Whilst the message needs to be consistent, the format should be adapted for different channels. A longer message that works for email won’t hit the right notes for social media or online advertising. Remember also, there is a fine line between not enough information and too much – you need to get the prospect’s interest but leave them wanting to find out more.

Keep an eye on competitor activity

It is likely you’ll have carried out market research in formulating your overall strategy but it is worth taking a close look at where your competitors are active, what messages they are communicating and how. This will help you refine your proposition, your channel choices and CTAs, and could highlight opportunities you would never have considered.

Work smarter

It is critical to take a structured approach to lead generation. Establishing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is integral to understanding what good quality looks like, so you can refine and evolve your approach. KPIs will vary depending on the channels you use and each campaign’s objectives but should ultimately tie leads generated to opportunities created and opportunities created to wins. Only then can you see where your revenue is coming from.

Test, test and test again

Whilst you need a baseline of core activity, always allow for testing new ideas and approaches within your lead generation approach; trial and error is one of the most efficient ways to learn. Your strategy may be working for you at the moment but external circumstances and market conditions are constantly changing so you need to continuously learn, adapt and evolve your approach.

Be reflective

Pressure to hit target can be all consuming, especially when you are required to deliver a steady stream of revenue-generating opportunities. It is easy to get caught up in executing the plan and lose sight of the big picture. Take time out to reflect, listen to feedback from others and keep an open mind. Allowing time to clear your head will help you stay creative and keep your approach fresh.

Whether cold calling, qualifying inbound leads, nurturing pipeline opportunities, or providing high-performance Inside Sales, we offer a range of specialist services to enhance all lead generation efforts.

If you would like to discuss how we can support your lead generation strategy, get in touch today.