4 Ways to Enhance Your Lead Generation Efforts Blog Feature
Molly D Protosow

By: Molly D Protosow on March 8th, 2019

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4 Ways to Enhance Your Lead Generation Efforts

Sales Tips | Pipeline Management | Social Selling

More than 40 percent of salespeople say prospecting is the most challenging part of the sales process, followed by closing (36 percent) and qualifying (22 percent) (HubSpot).

But if you look closer, you can see that these three steps are all very related.

If you're unable to generate good, quality leads then you won't be able to close the deal because the lead wasn't a good fit in the first place.

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If you’re like most sales professionals you probably despise prospecting. But prospecting is a critical part of sales. And just like every other aspect of the process, you need to put in the effort, thoughtfulness, and focus required to succeed.

Unfortunately, the majority of sales reps use ineffective and outdated prospecting techniques instead of adapting their efforts to sell in a digitally connected world.

What's a sales professional to do?

Test your techniques. The only way to learn what works and what doesn't is to test, test, and test some more. This way, you can identify the best approaches for your unique business and audience. 

Get started today by testing these 4 simple, yet effective ways to enhance your prospecting efforts:

1. Referrals & Word-of-Mouth

Word of mouth is one of the most powerful and cost-effective ways to propel referrals for your company. However, it's largely dependent on loyalty, which means that this is something you really have to earn.

Go above and beyond for your customers not just by achieving goals with them, but by sharing their content on social media, citing them in your blog content, and proving to be an indispensable resource for them. Then, the case will be made for you why they should tell their network about the great work you do.

However, a referral is only valuable if it’s a quality one. Don’t ask customers to recommend just anyone to your company. The people they recommend should be ones with similar interests, who would be genuinely attracted to your business and what it has to offer. A list of random names will do nothing for you.  This is where a buyer persona profile will come in handy.

2. Prioritize Personal Connections

List your opportunities by writing down the name of every single person you know who could potentially help you get a sale.

This should be someone that you currently have some kind of a relationship with. Then, take that list and break it into “A’s,” “B’s,” and “C’s.” 

Now, the “A” list, this is the people that you have the best relationship with and who are most likely to be the best match for potentially buying from you. Call those people to schedule a meeting and they will meet with you because that’s the kind of relationship you have with them. Don’t try to sell directly to them or put them in an awkward situation, use this as a chance to discuss opportunities. 

Watch the video below to hear our very own CEO and Lead Trainer, Steve Bookbinder, explain more on how to build a better lead list and who should be on your "B's" and "C's" list:

3. Leverage Social Media

Arguably one of the best social media networks for salespeople, LinkedIn is a professional-focused platform by nature. It may be your very best prospecting tool because of the mindset its users have, and the vast amount of information it can provide.

So, how can you make best use of it to crush your prospecting?

  • Demonstrate Your Knowledge and Thoughtfulness through Content Creation

  • Join Relevant Groups and Actively Participate
  • Research Prospects and Their Company
  • Assess your social selling persona
  • Look at the "People Also Viewed" Sidebar
  • Reach Out to Prospects in New Roles
  • Investigate Your Competitors' Networks
  • See Who’s Commented On Your Prospects’ Posts
  • Browse Users Who Have Interacted With Your Posts

4. Use Data-Driven Thinking

 The more you know about your leads and prospects, the better. You can use your data to improve your lead generation efforts in these three ways:

Personalization - Having transparency into what leads, prospects, and customers are doing on your website allows you to create more personalized and relevant messaging.

Prioritization - Based on data about how a prospect is interacting with your brand, whether the interaction has increased (or decreased), you can change lead scores and use these scores to make decisions about who you should spend your time on.

Patterns - Prospecting and lead generation requires a lot of trial and error. Testing to see what messaging and communication channels get the best response, or not, and then learning from those findings is an important step in refining your approach.

Start Testing!

Lead generation should be thought of as a long-term and continuous process. If you get an efficient system in place using the sales lead tips above, you can streamline the lead generation process and increase your opportunities for business growth.

What's next? Well, now that you've got a pipeline full of opportunities. How do you ensure those prospects are moving through the pipeline effectively? Join our free webinar next month to learn how to run the perfect pipeline review meeting!

Webinar CTA Pipeline Management - April 2019

 

 

About Molly D Protosow

Molly Protosow is the COO and Training Strategist for DMTraining. She manages the day-to-day business and training operations while helping research and develop new training programs as well as refreshing signature programs to reflect the newest sales trends, technology, and best practices. Molly utilizes her wide-range of skills to create sales and marketing assets focused on delivering value to DMT’s clients. Molly has a passion for learning and leveraging new knowledge and experiences. Outside of DMTraining, Molly is a hard core Pittsburgh sports fan, enjoys staying active by running and golfing, and unwinds by reading and playing the piano.

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