A Short No-Nonsense Guide to B2B Lead Generation

We live in the digital age and there are more possibilities than ever to reach your customers online through B2B lead generation.

In this post, we want to highlight some tips on how to do this.

A Short No-Nonsense Guide to B2B Lead Generation

If you have a business, you likely also have a website.

Now, close your eyes for a minute and think about your website.

• How does it look?
• What is the first image that comes to mind?
• Do you find it attractive or only a functional thing that is a “must have”?
• Is it easy to navigate?
• Do you make an effort to share content that serves the interest of your customers?

Next, think about your business from the perspective of your customers. Without really making a conscious effort to cater to their interest, you will have trouble generating leads. So, this is where it all begins.

B2B Lead Generation

First, start by validating your assumptions about what your customers are interested in reading (e.g. topics of interest, etc.). This will bring about a natural flow of visitors to your website.

And please… don’t try to sell your product. Once you build credibility and authority on a topic you care about, those prospects will be back!

The truth is that many entrepreneurs and organizations simply don’t “get” what customers are actually looking for and make offers that nobody really wants to buy.

Another common issue is in terms of technology. Many companies are still pushing a once “great” offer that is now obsolete because of advances in technology. Oftentimes there is a better, more cost-effective or Eco-friendly solution. Or a new kind of competitor that has entered the market (ex. the taxi vs. Uber, mobile text message vs. internet-based Viber, the desktop computer “generation” vs. the tablet “generation).

But the issue with most websites is that they are built around a service offer only. This makes it very salesy instead of allowing visitors to really turn into potential leads after a while.

Creating a B2B Lead Generation Machine

So how can you turn your website into a B2B lead generation machine?

1. Make sure your site has web pages that convert
2. Make sure the web pages communicate your exact intentions
3. Focus on getting people to register on your database network (i.e. capturing leads via calls-to-action)
4. Use pop-ups to get more engagement
5. Implement retargeting tags and publish testimonials and reviews
6. Pitch your product or service to your niche market

One clever tip to follow: don’t get into the habit of thinking that you know everything customers may want. Employ people (or freelancers) to find out things about your market, your customers and their interest. And use a B2B lead generation tool, such as Leadberry. Leadberry is a B2B lead generation tool that helps you identify companies behind IP addresses (based on Google analytics data) that you can follow up later. So it does all the hard decoding work for you, which eases cold calls into already warm ones.

What About Prospecting?

Using a B2B lead generation tool can also aid in your cold email prospecting efforts.

Over 90% of the people you reach out to via email are not looking to make a change.

But over 70% of them aren't happy with their current system, provider, or product.

That's where the opportunity is! These unhappy people could be tempted to change IF they were approached in the right way.

So, what does it take? “Strong value propositions jolt your prospects out of complacency with the status quo and move them into action,” says Jill Konrath, a leading sales expert. So develop a sound cold email prospecting strategy and make a plan to execute daily, weekly, monthly outreach to prospects!

To track your lead generation efforts, make sure you have a proper CRM system in place. We believe that a great CRM software should be very much part of your business if you want a smoothly running operation.

Which B2B Lead Generation Methods Work Best?

As our final concluding point, let’s talk about B2B lead generation and how it works.

There are so many bloggers out there weighing in on this topic that it is hard to see the forest from the trees.

You have inbound, outbound, social media, direct marketing, etc., etc. At the end of the day, you would kind of wish (expect?) that you knew where your leads were coming from. But to a large extent, you don’t.

So, what really works in lead generation? This image below sums it up:

Source: www.crazyegg.com

Keep in mind:

• Social media should be used strategically – use LinkedIn to your advantage and avoid over-use of Twitter
• Launch a consistent content marketing plan
• Exploit marketing automation possibilities

Did you find this article helpful? Let us know your thoughts!

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I'm Adam Jankovits, CEO and founder of Leadberry, and also the founder of a next generation digital agency, called Brandlift. Leadberry is a B2B lead generation software that converts website visitors to sales leads and it was created by a group of developers, researchers, UX designers and creative thinkers whom operate as a startup within Brandlift. We call ourselves Brandlift Labs and we create prototypes that challenge currently used digital solutions of all kinds and help inspire innovation about what is possible and how it can be achieved. 

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