5 Sure-Fire Ways to Bolster Your Lead Generation

5 Sure-Fire Ways to Bolster Your Lead Generation:

from (title unknown) by Greg Klingshirn



As a sales professional, you’re likely one of the most knowledgeable people in the world regarding the power of your solutions.
It’s your job to help your potential customers realize your value. For many organizations, the answer is outbound lead generation.
In their latest ebook, Openview Partners describes outbound as:

A direct marketing channel through which designated members of your sales or marketing organization proactively reach out to target buyers within your target segments. The objective is to make these targets aware of your value proposition, interest them in your solution, and ultimately ensure that they are open to a call or meeting with a member of your sales team to further explore your solution.

As we read, we developed 5 ways to bolster outbound lead gen for your team:
#1 Understand Your Sales Target

What is your ideal customer profile? What common pains do they have and what’s the typical title of your best contact? Your product or service is not for everyone. You MUST identify early on who you’re aiming to sell to, and develop the best to approach to reach them.
#2 Establish the Team Dynamics

Structure is crucial. How many people are on your sales team? If there are more than four, managing them is a full time job. Don’t fall into the common trap of thinking this position can be handled along with other duties or by someone who is just getting their feet wet in sales. Hire a manager with strong communication skills and the ability to prioritize. Now, you can motivate well suited candidates to consider your company through an excellent compensation plan, built to reward success. Yes, it will add some expense, but the best candidates will earn it back and help your business thrive.
#3 Create Process & Training

Establish your numbers and track them. Create goals and measure progress. The manager should communicate successes and failures of the team, as well as facilitate improvement. Rather than letting a new hire stumble their way through rights and wrongs, put strong training practices into place. Educate the team on the target market, lead management, and sales methodology (just to mention a few) to quicken their productive output.
#4 Become One with your Sales Activity Funnel

If the goal is to get a specific pipeline, consider the amount of input needed to get there. This includes calls, appointments, and opportunities all tailored to your specific deal size and conversion rates. Remember to benchmark your competition and similar industry leaders. Consulting firms like CSO Insights, Sales Benchmark Index, or The Bridge Group are some great places to start.
#5 Provide the Right Tools & Technologies

Give your sales reps the best opportunity to sell. The customer relationship management system, or CRM, is known crucial to your lead generation. Salesforce.com is commonly used for software and internet companies. Keep your CRM system organized and inform your team how to best manage data. Additionally, sales intelligence, dialing and e-mailing tools will save your reps time and planning, and can have a huge long term impact.
With these five simple tasks completed, you’re well on your way to having a kick-ass outbound lead gen team. Let us know which areas are the toughest and any advice you have for making them easier.