How to Generate the Right Sales Leads?

Introduction To Sales And Leads 

Most successful small business owners are constantly looking for ways to increase their customer base and grow their businesses. It can be challenging to grow a business in the long run. There’s a need to have access to a steady flow of sales leads for the growth of a business. Let’s learn about lead generation and how to generate leads through digital marketing like Facebook and LinkedIn. 

What Is Leads In Sales? 

The term “lead” refers to an individual who shows interest in a company’s product or service in some shape, way, or form. Rather than receiving a phone call from someone who bought their contact information, leads usually hear from a business or organization after opening communications (by submitting personal info for an offer, trial, or subscription). 

Consider an online survey asking you how to care for your car. Within a day or two of completing the survey, you receive an email from the auto company offering help with car maintenance. Wouldn’t it be better if someone called you by chance and asked if you cared about car maintenance? In terms of business, the information an auto company gathers from your survey responses helps them target their opening communication to your existing problems – rather than wasting time talking to prospects who aren’t interested in auto service. 

During the transition from visitor to customer, consumers follow a broader lifecycle. There are different types of leads (and only some are qualified the same). According to their qualification and lifecycle stage, there are different types of information. 

Importance Of Leads In Sales 

The sales lead is someone or a business that might purchase your company’s products or services. Once you identify a lead’s level of interest and fit for your business, they become a prospect. In addition to advertising, cold calling, marketing, social media, outreach, referrals and networking, product/service trials, and consultation, you can use different methods to identify sales leads. Every lead you generate in B2C or B2B sales has the potential to turn into a paying customer.  

Here are some recent facts on sales leads: 

• Recent studies show that only 10% to 15% of sales leads convert into sales.  
• According to a Hubspot report, 61% of marketers find it challenging to generate traffic and leads. 
• 53% of marketers spend more than half of their budgets on lead generation, according to BrightTALK.  
• Lead generation accounts for less than half of the marketing budget for only 34% of marketers.  

What Is Lead Generation? 

A lead generation process involves attracting prospects to your business, nurturing their interest, and converting them into customers. Online content, job applications, blog posts, coupons, and live events are some ways to generate leads.  

Lead Generation Process 

You can understand the lead generation process in the following four steps. 

• The first step is for a visitor to find out more about your business by visiting your website, blog, or social media page. 

• Clicking on a call-to-action (CTA) encourages website visitors to act, whether an image, button or message. 
• CTAs redirect your visitors to landing pages, which are web pages that capture lead information for an offer. 
• As soon as visitors arrive at the landing page, you ask your visitor to fill out a form to receive the offer. You can embed a form anywhere on your site, but usually, landing pages have it. 

Ways To Generate The Right Sales Leads 

Now, let’s answer the question, “how can you improve sales lead generation?” Below are some ways to generate suitable sales leads for your company. 

1. Identifying The Right Audience 

Identification of your target audience is the first step in lead generation. You need to know your ideal customer to successfully reach and sell to them. Hence, it is crucial to research and get a clear picture of your audience, including where they live, what they enjoy, how much money they earn, what their lifestyle is like, etc.  

This step should also include creating a comprehensive marketing plan if you still need to create one. 

2. Creating Sales Funnel  

It would help if you had a plan for collecting contact information once you have determined whom you are targeting and how best to reach them. The first step involves funneling prospects to a form or landing page that invites them to provide their contact information, usually in exchange for a gift, a coupon, or a sample. 

You will need a customer relationship management (CRM) database to keep track of potential customers at this stage. 

3. Facebook Lead Generation 

Lead generation has been a feature of Facebook since its inception. Companies would include outbound links in their posts and bios to attract strangers to their websites. In 2007, however, the Facebook Ads algorithm began to favor paid advertising accounts, changing how businesses used the platform to capture leads. For this purpose, Facebook created Lead Ads. You can also use Facebook’s call-to-action feature to channel followers directly to your website with a simple button at the top of your Facebook Page. 

4. LinkedIn Lead Generation 

Since its early days, LinkedIn has steadily increased its stake in advertising. Using Lead Gen Forms, LinkedIn makes capturing leads with auto-updating profiles easy when a user clicks a CTA. More than 84% of corporate executives and vice presidents use social media platforms when making purchasing decisions. Connect with people on LinkedIn, chat live, join groups in your niche, follow influencers, run ads, and utilize Sales Navigator. 

5. Instagram Lead Generation 

One of the efficient ways to create leads for your business is through Instagram. For instance. Comment and like ratios peak at around 1,000 followers when an account has 1,000 followers and accounts with more than 100,000 followers see a significant decline in engagement. Because celebrities and high-profile influencers tend to seem unrelatable, when people perceive others are similar to them, they are more likely to interact with them. 

6. Asking for Customer Referrals 

Happy customers are often happy to refer others. You can empower your customers to gather their leads by asking for referrals. The more satisfied customers tell their family and friends about you, the more credible your company becomes. The best way to generate leads is through referrals. Ask your buyer if they know anyone who might benefit from your product or service when closing a sale. As a result, you can generate leads quickly and easily. 

7. Lead Generation Via Networking 

As social platforms have become increasingly the preferred way for people to interact, it is easy to see why they have gained dominance. As a result, LinkedIn is the leading professional networking site that professionals use to keep in touch with people they meet. It is equally important to craft the right approach to cultivate your connections. When requesting to connect, only send generic invitations. Personalize your message by reminding them who you are and where and how you met. 

You can also generate your leads through other social media networking sites. 

8. Engaging Sales Leads At Events 

Individual sellers can generate many leads through events. Meeting people in your industry and market at large and small events can help you generate leads. Be sure to engage with people on a human level at these events. Avoid being the person trying to sell everyone on your product at smaller events and meetups.  

Describe your business in a short answer to the question, “So what do you do?” Include your target market and the pain point you resolve in your response. Keep it as short and straightforward as possible to open up a sales conversation if they are in your need and have the paint point. 

9. Lead Generation Through Blogs 

Blogs can showcase expertise, establish authority in an industry, and generate leads, which are all significant benefits. Getting people to your website is the key to boosting tips using this channel. 

B2B digital marketing relies heavily on content to attract, generate and nurture leads. Educate and inform your target audience with blog or article content to generate B2B sales in 2023. Make your content search engine-friendly. Increased visibility on search engines makes your content easier to find, drives organic traffic to your website, and generates more leads for your company.  

B2C blogging should be a significant part of your total inbound marketing plan. The majority of content marketers use blogs as part of their plans, and studies have shown that they are more influential than social media. But you can’t just publish a blog and call it excellent. You must ensure that it is coordinated with your other efforts. For instance, when you distribute an email newsletter, you ought to include a link to a pertinent blog article. Every time you publish a new blog post, include a link or a reminder about it on your social media networks as well. 

10. Lead Generation Through Webinar 

With webinars, you can increase B2B lead generation, build brand awareness, attract leads, and boost overall sales. You can use webinars as online workshops, panel discussions, meetings, or lectures. There is usually a discussion of a particular trend or issue within a specific industry followed by a Q&A. These virtual events allow you to interact with many prospects at once and get valuable feedback. 

Webinars will undoubtedly aid new customers in understanding the value of your business if they can assist B2B buyers in navigating complex solutions. B2C webinars are an excellent method to showcase your goods and services, draw in new clients, and expand your community.  

• Create a list of prospective webinar topics based on your ideal customer profile and keyword research.  
• Choose a day and stay with it for the presentation of your webinars.  
• B2C webinars should be treated similarly to blogs, podcasts, and other forms of content. It will be simpler for you to schedule your webinar and simpler for your audience to arrange their schedules around it if you are consistent.  
• If you plan to share the spotlight with other people by inviting them to speak, prepare beforehand. 

11. Revisiting Closed And Lost Opportunities 

Revisiting closed leads is a great sales opportunity! Knowing the reasons for a sales lead’s failure is priceless. People who say “no” can teach us the most valuable lessons. Despite this, 60% of marketing and sales executives admit they do not interview lost customers. 

A strategy that does not work for one prospect will likely work for another. Always ask lost sales leads for feedback to maximize this sales opportunity. You can request feedback questions such as 

• What made you choose a competitor? 
• What prevented you from making a purchase? 
• Did anything we missed make you change your mind? 

Conclusion 

Every marketer’s top priority is generating quality leads. Each year, marketers have new opportunities to improve past performance using various techniques. Implement the proper lead generation techniques for your business in 2022 to increase your lead generation performance. We hope now you’re aware of the essential tactics about “how to generate leads?” 

At UNext Jigsaw, you can learn Sales Management online. In collaboration with IIM Indore, UNext Jigsaw offers Strategic Sales Management Executive Program best suited for professionals seeking to excel in marketing and sales.