7 Ways To Help Increase Lead Generation

by Roger Leyden | Oct 1, 2018 | Business Development, Communications, Marketing

What is Lead Generation?

According to Marketo Lead Generation can be defined as the marketing process of stimulating and capturing interest in a product or service for the purpose of developing a sales pipeline. When a stranger initiates a relationship with you by showing an organic interest in your business, the transition from stranger to customer is much more natural. Hubspot recommends that your organisation should create a landing page for capturing leads, a good landing page will capture prospects name, title, company name, phone number, email address and may have a text box for comments.

There are numerous ways to increase lead generation, both online and offline, here are 7 of the most popular Lead Generation methods used by Marketers today:

Content

Content is a great way to guide users to a landing page. Typically, you create content to provide visitors with useful, free information. You can include a call to action (CTA) anywhere in your content — inline, bottom-of-post, in the hero, or even on the side panel. The more delighted a visitor is with your content, the more likely they are to click your call-to-action and move onto your landing page.

Email

Email is a great place to reach the people who already know your brand and product or service. It’s much easier to ask them to take an action since they’ve previously subscribed to your list. Emails tend to be a bit cluttered, so use CTAs that have compelling copy and an eye-catching design to grab your subscriber’s attention. A/B testing will help with this before you release your campaign

Ads and Retargeting

The sole purpose of an ad is to get people to take an action. Otherwise, why spend the money? If you want people to convert, be sure that your landing page and offer match exactly what is promised in the ad, and that the action you want users to take is crystal clear.

Blog

The great thing about using your blog posts to promote an offer is that you can tailor the entire piece to the end goal. So, if your offer is an instructional video on setting up Google Search Console, then you can write a blog post about how to select your marketing metrics … which would make your CTA highly relevant and easy to click.

Social Media for Lead Generation

Social media platforms make it easy to guide your followers to take action, from the swipe up option on Instagram stories to Facebook bio links to bitly URLs on Twitter. You can also promote your offerings on your social posts and include a call-to-action in your caption. Learn more on how to use Social Media for B2B Marketers here.

Free Product Trials

You can break down a lot of barriers to a sale by offering free trials of your product or service. Once a prospect is using your product, you can entice them with additional offers or resources to encourage them to buy. Another good practice is to include your branding in your free versions, so you can capture other potential customers, too.

Tradeshows and Referrals

Although these two may be seen as ‘old fashioned’ or the ‘grand-daddy’s’ of marketing. They are still as relevant in today’s Lead Generation and Marketing world of IoT, AI, VR….. as they were in the 19^th Century. Going to a trade show can be quite a costly expense for any organization, learn how to maximise your returns here. Likewise referrals are always a wonderful way to engage with new prospects. For any sales team it is always wonder to answer any with a prospect opening, “Hi, is that xxx xxxxx, I was recommended to call you by your customer…..” Do not be afraid to ask customers and partners to make recommendations for you to their contacts.

If you would like help with your businesses Inbound Marketing & Lead Generation campaigns please contact RML Marketing & Business Development Solutions today.

Customer Prospecting, ugh, do I have to?…………..

by Roger Leyden | Oct 23, 2017 | Business Development, Communications, Marketing

The simple and easy answer is no you don’t need to do new customer prospecting. However, for those of us who would still like to have a business this time next year, the irrevocable answer is yes!
Customer prospecting is key to sustaining, growing and making a success of your business, whether you are a start up or more mature organization. According to Continuity Programs, customer prospecting delivers the following benefits:

• Higher Sales

This one is a bit of a no brainer and most likely the number one reason that any organization creates and executes a customer prospecting program. Gaining more sales will increase revenue and ultimately should lead to greater profitability if managed correctly.

• Customer Prospecting can lead to Decreased Costs

Very often organizations can become so focused on advertising as the key means to generate new business that they forget or overlook other lead generation opportunities. Having targeted customer prospecting campaigns can often be delivered at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising and deliver a better yield.

• Customization

Highly targeted prospecting campaigns allow you to customize your message to your intended audience, focusing on a need or solution that is highly relevant to them. Use customer success stories to back up your product or solution.

So now that you are hopefully convinced to start a customer prospecting campaign, here are some steps that Geoffrey James, contributing editor with Inc.com recommends you take:

1. Get a Decent List of Prospects

You can make up a great prospecting list from referrals, web site enquiries and networking (both online e.g. LinkedIn User Groups and offline e.g. Business Associations and Trade Fairs). You could also purchase a prospecting list that is focused on your target customers or industry niche.

2. Create a Qualifying Script

Define a conversational way to ask during the initial conversation if (a) the prospect has a need for your solution (b) the budget to purchase same and (c) the authority within their organization to do so.

3. Set Reasonable Goals for a successful Customer Prospecting outcome.

Set a target for how many prospects in your pipeline that you will need. For example, if you would like to achieve 5 new sales every week and you know from experience that you generate 1 sale from every 50 or so calls, you will need to make approximately 250 new calls every week.

4. Get into a Positive Mental state.

I cannot over emphasize the importance of this one. You will need a positive balanced approach. No one like to do business with a ‘Debbie Downer’, likewise this is hopefully going to be a business transaction, you do not have to try and be the prospects new BFF within the first 5 minutes of the call. Throughout the call be positive, optimistic and stay focused on what the prospects needs are.

5. Make The Call!

Work from a place where you won’t be interrupted or distracted. Always listen to what the prospect is saying and be aware of signs or indications where the prospect is letting you know they are ready to purchase right now “we’ve been looking to buy something like this”, “I was going to contact your firm about this”, “yes, we definitely need to talk”. These are key indicators that can help you move straight to the close of sale.

If you would like to know more about how RML Marketing and Business Development Solutions can help your organization develop successful customer prospecting campaigns contact us today.

10 Steps to Help Kill your Trade Show ROI

by Roger Leyden | Sep 21, 2017 | Business Development, Marketing

The humble Trade Show offers organizations a wonderful opportunity to promote products and/or services, gather leads, develop fruitful partnerships, entertain clients and increase branding/exposure. All this sounds wonderful, however, Trade Shows usually come at a high cost (booth rental, staff, travel, accommodation, materials, giveaways, entertainment….) and must be planned and executed properly to maximize ROI.
To get the most out of your next trade show, here are ten steps that will help your organization achieve maximum results:

10 Trade Show Steps to Help Kill ROI

Trade Show Booth Selection & Design

Try to pick a booth that will have maximum exposure – close to entrance, main stage, beside coffee dock, lunch area etc. Make sure you get a copy of and study the booth floor plan carefully, avoiding large pillars and obstacles that may hinder your visibility where possible.

At a busy show you have about 5 to 10 seconds to grab the attention of passing traffic. Make sure your booth walls have your logo, main keywords and products listed. Also, some visual aids and video demonstrations can be very effective in attracting the attention of potential prospects and partners.

Accommodation

If the Trade Show is taking place in a hotel try to book accommodation in that same hotel. They may have preferential room rates for show attendees and you will be able to network afterhours in the hotel’s bars and restaurants. If the Trade Show takes place in a stand alone convention centre, try to book the closest possible hotel, this will likely become an after show focal point. It also allows staff time to return to their rooms to take calls in private if necessary.

Staff Selection

Make sure that the staff you send to represent your organization are not alone highly versed in your solutions, but are also highly personable and approachable by the public. There is nothing worse than seeing a booth person constantly looking down at their shoes or trying not to engage with potential customers. Make sure that staff wear branded clothing at all times showing off your organization’s logo and key message.

Preshow Plan

Meet with your show staff and marketing team 6-8 weeks prior to the show start date. Make sure show staff are aware of the exhibition hours and logistics. Agree on promotional materials, swag and giveaways to bring. Study other exhibitors attending and try to arrange meetings with organizations that may be of benefit to your product or solution. If you have a speaking or presentation slot make sure that your slide deck is prepared according to the rules and regulations of the show organizers. Devise a promotional campaign announcing your organizations attendance through press release, email, blogs and social media, making sure that you use the show’s hashtag where possible.

Trade Show Start & Exhibition Hours

Try to arrive the day before the show officially opens to make sure your booth is well presented and all power points, lead capture and audio-visual equipment works. Make sure to have staff present for all exhibition floor opening hours. There is nothing worse than seeing an empty booth during a show, not to mention the wasted opportunity and cost to the organization.

Lead Capture

Use or hire lead capture scanners if offered by show organizers. This scanning equipment is very effective for a busy show and it is usually very easy to import the lead capture data into your backend system at the end of show. If you do not have a lead scanner always give a prospect your business card and ask for theirs in return. If the prospect states that they do not have any cards with them, ask them to write their contact details on the back of one of your cards. Attract prospects to your booth with swag or giveaway raffles that they must submit their business cards or details to enter the draw.

Walk Floor

Walk the floor during slow times (key note presentations, early mornings, class times….) to meet other exhibitors and see what the competition is offering. However, never leave your booth fully unattended and always have at least one staff member present.

Keynote Address

Make sure some staff attend the keynote address to learn what is new in your industry and what future opportunities your organization may be able to benefit from.

After show hours

Once the exhibition hall is closed for the evening make sure to attend the after show party or the hotel bar. These represent wonderful opportunities for networking and expanding your prospect and contact base, you can also use after show hours to bring important clients, prospects and partners to dinner.

Follow Up

Follow up, follow up, follow up……….and then follow up. When the show is over and you are back in the office make sure that you contact each and every lead that was captured during the event. Allow attendees a couple of days to get back and caught up on their own pressing needs, then make sure to reach out with emails and calls to further on the conversation from the show. You can also schedule a webinar, inviting all leads to a demonstration of your product or solution. Make sure all leads are entered into your database or CRM system and tag them to the show for future reference and ability to measure ROI.

For help on how to get the most return on your Trade Show investment contact RML Marketing and Business Development Solutions today.

10 Short Tips for Running a Successful Webinar

by Roger Leyden | Sep 8, 2017 | Business Development, Communications, Marketing

The webinar is taking the digital marketing world by storm. Also known as web conferencing, webinars are services that allow real-time, multicast video conferencing events to be broadcast live. Participants can join live from any location in the globe, provided they have an internet connection and login details.

Marketers are realising that webinars drive high quality leads and provide organizations with great opportunities to offer value and knowledge to prospective clients and associates.

In order to run a successful webinar, we at RML Marketing & Business Development Solutions, have come up with the following:

Top 10 Tips for a Successful Webinar

Topic: Choose your topic and title carefully. Consult with members of your organization and concentrate on topics that will be of interest to your target audience. Make sure the subject matter can be explained in a short presentation.
When to Run: Tuesdays and Wednesdays have been recognised as the best days to host a webinar. Always remember to think about time-zones and where you expect your audience to be based. A 12pm EST start in New York will be 9am PST in Los Angeles and 5pm GMT in London.
Promotion: A three week lead-in promotional campaign (email, social media, blogs, paid ads, news articles, etc.) with a final day before reminder is best practice according to ReadyTalk
Content & Presentation: Keep words to a minimum on your presentation deck. Use images, graphs and infographics to highlight talking points. If possible use 2 presenters to alleviate the monotony of a single voice. A guest presenter of a happy client or partner can also be a great addition.
No Hard Selling: Do not turn your presentation into a hard sell of your product or service, you will lose the interest of your audience. Instead come across as a knowledge leader, addressing a solution to a problem. The fact that your organization sells that solution should be kept to a minimum.
Dry Run: Dry run and practice, practice, practice……. Always do a dry run a couple of days before the webinar is scheduled. Ask work colleagues to sit in and give feedback. Test all equipment, links, audience chat boxes, audio links and phone lines that will be used.
Make it Light: Try to introduce some humour or tell a customer success story.
Duration: 30-45 minutes of presentation with an additional 15 minutes at the end for Q&A is a good rule of thumb, but this will greatly depend on your content and target audience.
Audience Participation: It is wise to mute your audience during the main presentation, but actively encourage them to participate and ask questions at the end. Tell them at the start of the presentation that you will be opening up the on-screen chat boxes or phone lines at the end. It makes sense for the presenter to have help from a colleague who will read/field the questions as they come in.
Follow Up: Always make sure to follow up with your audience the day immediately after the webinar was presented. Send them a thank you email and if possible a recording of the presentation or a copy of the slide deck. You can also ask questions to open up future conversations.

Roger Leyden is CEO of RML Marketing & Business Development Solutions and has been creating and presenting webinars for many years. If you would like to know more on how RML can help you create and present cost effective webinars please contact us for further information.