Top 4 Tips for Startups that Really Generate Targeted Sales Leads

Top 4 Tips for Startups that Really Generate Targeted Sales Leads:from Business 2 Community by Matt Ford

Small B2B startups face not only stiff competition in attracting a steady stream of customers but also in finding and luring the right marketing talents to help them generate targeted sales leads on a consistent basis. Lead generation, for any business, is already a full-time commitment in itself. That’s why it’s typically delegated to one or more individuals within or outside the company. But how can small fledgling businesses convince potential hires to join their struggle?

Snatching talented and experienced marketing folks from the grip of large organizations is almost a thankless task that leaves many startups shuddering as soon as the thought comes to mind. It goes without saying that small startups generally find it difficult, if not impossible, to stand toe to toe with their gigantic counterparts in offering compensation, benefits, and perks to captivate potential marketing employees.

But this doesn’t mean that small companies are destined to lose in the talent-hunting game. Small startup businesses do have certain advantages over larger competitors when it comes to job satisfaction. All startups need to do is to focus on these benefits in order to draw in the marketing people they need to succeed in generating targeted sales leads. The following tips can help you achieve this goal:

1. Consider outsourcing. Although this point deviates from the whole premise of this post, it’s still worth pondering over especially with the constraints that most startups have to live with.

Outsourcing typically translates to doing away with the hassles of actual hiring, having the ability to scale the workforce up or down, and staying focused on the business core. B2B sales prospecting, specifically targeted cold calling, is one of the many business processes that can be outsourced to a service provider. But, if outsourcing isn’t an option for your business, consider the next tips on attracting marketing talents.

2. Know the candidate intimately. Startups need to become familiar with the potential hires well before communicating with them. For example, interested employers need to know a candidate’s current position and job description to figure out potential match and develop the pitch for hiring. Executives, middle managers, and entry-levels obviously have different motivations that you should become aware of upfront.

3. Pitch your company’s potentials. Small startups have distinct advantages in some aspects of employee satisfaction and job fulfillment when compared to large well-established companies. For instance, employee responsibilities in small businesses tend to be broader than those in big organizations which are typically highly specialized. Also, small businesses offer less bureaucracy, higher degree of autonomy/initiative, greater potential for growth, and a closer relationship with management than in large institutions. These points could be the incentives that attract your target candidates.

4. Mention appealing job highlights. Surely, there are aspects of the marketing vacancy that you can use to tempt your potential hires without relying on compensation/benefit packages too much. You can cite things such as schedule flexibility, job diversity, etc. to ignite their interest. The items you include here largely depend on the current or previous position held by your target.

Finding and hiring marketing talents is a lot like marketing itself. In both situations, you need to convince your prospects/candidates that your company has what they’re looking for in a job or in a product/service. This challenge is even more pronounced when it comes to startups as both prospective hires and potential customers usually approach them with more caution than they would with established employers and companies. But, with the right message and delivery, small startups can triumph over large businesses in attracting both customers and employees.