What is Lead Generation in B2B Marketing? (+ Success Tactics)

What is Lead Generation in B2B Marketing?

 

A sales process will never be complete without leads. Your sales team needs potential customers to sell to, and that’s where lead generation comes in.

If you’re a B2B company, having effective lead generation campaigns should be a priority. Finding high-quality leads requires solid B2B lead generation strategies designed to connect and engage with potential customers along every phase of the buyer’s journey.

 

B2B versus B2C

The primary difference between B2B and B2C companies is their target customers. A B2B or business-to-business company primarily offers products or services to other businesses. In contrast, B2C or business-to-consumer companies sell their offerings directly to individual consumers.

Another difference between B2B and B2C companies that most people don’t know about is that the B2B sales cycle can typically be longer than B2C’s. According to a CSO Insight report, almost three-quarters, or 74.6%, of sales deals take at least four months to close. Of course, the length of the cycle may be shorter or longer depending on factors like the size of the deal, where the new leads are in their buyer journey, and so on. But one thing’s for sure: B2B sales and marketing teams must be well-prepared, patient, and persistent to convert prospective clients.

 

What is Lead Generation in B2B Marketing?

B2B lead generation is the process of identifying and connecting with potential customers or clients who can benefit from a company’s products or services.

Generating leads is the start of a B2B company’s sales process. These leads are then qualified and nurtured using various marketing and sales efforts with the objective of converting them into paying customers.

The Different Elements of the B2B Lead Generation Process

The B2B lead generation process may just be the beginning of the sales process. But it has plenty of moving parts, all designed to find and engage with businesses that fit the ideal customer profile. Here are the different elements of the B2B lead generation process that all businesses must be familiar with:

Target Audience

Knowing your ideal customers is crucial when creating B2B lead generation strategies. Your target audience needs to be well-defined, so your lead generation team knows the buyer personas they need to look for when generating leads. When defining your target audience, make sure to take note of the following:

  • Decision-makers and influencers
  • Demographics
  • Company profile
  • Industry
  • Purchasing behavior
  • Competitive landscape
  • Pain points
  • And other relevant data that can help you optimize your lead generation efforts.

Lead Capture Mechanism

A lead capture mechanism can come in different types. It’s the system or method you use to collect the contact details of prospective customers who have shown interest in a company’s products or services. Your method could be lead capture forms on your website and landing pages where inbound leads can sign up and express their interest in purchasing or at least know more about your offers.

Outbound and Inbound Lead Generation

Quality leads can come from various channels. Outbound lead generation is the more proactive approach where the company reaches out to potential leads. It requires direct and interruptive methods to generate leads. On the other hand, inbound lead generation goes for the more organic route. Inbound B2B lead generation efforts provide relevant and value-adding content to prospective clients and aim to create a credible and trustworthy brand image. This lead generation generally requires the potential sales leads’ permission to engage.

Outbound B2B Lead Generation
Inbound B2B Lead Generation
  • Social media marketing
  • Content marketing
  • SEO or Search Engine Optimization
  • Email marketing
  • Lead magnet creation
  • Paid advertising
  • And so on

Need more help with your B2B lead generation efforts? Schedule a free consultation call with our Growth Experts to learn more about what a top-tier B2B lead generation virtual assistant can do for you!

Lead Database

Every lead generation effort is never complete without a database and an active call list. Whenever the marketing and sales team generate leads, these should be added to an organized and updated database. This lead database should contain the necessary details of all leads. Depending on the volume and your preference, your lead database can be stored in an Excel spreadsheet or lead management software.

Measurement and Analytics

In a highly competitive business world, you need to ensure you’re doing your best to stay ahead. This includes making data-driven decisions. Monitoring and tracking the performance of your B2B lead generation strategies is crucial in ensuring you’re making the right moves to get high-quality sales leads.

Measuring and tracking performance is crucial in getting more qualified leads, boosting sales conversions, and improving sales processes. Below are some examples of lead generation KPIs that you should be tracking:

  • Bounce rate
  • Website traffic
  • Customer acquisition cost or CAC
  • Lead conversion rate
  • Inbound response time
  • Average deal size
  • Cost per lead
  • Sales qualified opportunities
  • Marketing qualified leads
  • Continuous Optimization

Like any business process, your lead generation strategy should always be reviewed and improved. This is when things like performance tracking and A/B testing will be useful. You can gather actionable data and identify which efforts bring better leads to your sales pipeline and which ones need more tweaking.

 

Success Tactics for Successful B2B Lead Generation

Successful B2B lead generation strategies are important for helping your sales team fill the sales pipeline with quality leads. Here are some practical and effective tips to help you with your own B2B lead generation strategies:

Know Your Target Audience and What They Look For

The saying “Fortune favors the prepared mind” rings true when it comes to lead generation. You need to equip yourself with the right information about your target audience for you to get to know them better. Once you do that, you have a better idea of who they are and what they’re looking for.

Knowing your target customers and what they value the most helps you fine-tune the messaging you use in your lead generation activities. This makes your efforts more value-adding and engaging for the right people.

 

Knowing your target customers

 

Dominate Local Search Results

A great way to establish credibility and thought leadership is to dominate local search results. When working on lead generation, consider starting within your community first. Create and optimize your Google Business Profile listing for free. This can help boost your ranking on search engine results pages or SERPs.

Additionally, make sure to create content that targets businesses in your area. Perhaps reference local news in your area in your blogs or make your business more visible by joining relevant events in your community.

Dominating your area can help you gain credibility and even reviews from new customers. Plus, the learnings you get when building your local lead generation strategies can be useful once you expand to new markets.

Read our article on how to achieve local SEO success, or visit the 20four7VA blog for more practical business tips. If you’re considering alternative staffing solutions, schedule a free consultation with our Growth Experts to get started!

Target Leads in All Phases of the Buyer Journey

While it can be tempting to channel all your efforts to sales leads that are further into the buyer journey, you may miss valuable business opportunities. Make sure you have efforts to target leads in all phases of the sales funnel (awareness, consideration, and intent).

Targeting leads, even those at the top of the funnel, can help you secure future sales, even when it means you may need to have strong lead nurturing efforts. But remember, your communication and messaging should be personalized depending on where the leads are in their journey.

Map Out The Customer Journey Meticulously

Since the sales cycles for B2B deals are relatively longer, you will need more effort to keep sales leads warm. But as your database grows, you may need more and more time and effort to manage the lead nurturing efforts. A good way to handle this is by using marketing automation tools.

However, it’s important to note that you should properly map the customer journey. You’d want to ensure you’re sending the right emails to the right lead at the correct time or buying phase. If you’re not yet sure if your automation is on point, try doing it manually first to make sure your approach is correct. Then, once you’re able to map out the process manually, you’ll be more confident with using digital marketing tools to help you automate and cater to more leads.

Read our article on the top automation tools for your marketing and sales teams. And if you’re considering hiring a remote assistant to help you navigate your marketing automation tools, schedule your free consultation with us to get started on your remote staffing journey!

Evaluate Performance Through Lead Generation Metrics and KPIs

Getting more leads is the main goal, but you need to measure other key metrics. By tracking and analyzing these lead generation metrics, as well as conducting A/B testing, you can make more informed decisions and maximize your budget and efforts. Additionally, you gain actionable insights to help you further improve your lead generation processes.

To do this, create a robust KPI dashboard that tracks key performance metrics of your lead generation campaigns. Make sure to revisit your KPIs every now and then to ensure they’re still aligned with your business goals.

Solicit Feedback

Soliciting feedback from both existing customers and potential ones is a great way to get qualitative data. Plus, you can get information straight from the source. The respondents can give valuable insights that can help you identify gaps, address pain points, and improve the customer experience. Ultimately, improving different parts of your efforts will result in a better lead generation strategy and more closed deals.

There are several ways to find feedback from your customer base. You can send a quick survey link via email or through your customer relationship experts. You can even get insights from users commenting directly on your website or social media profiles.

Stay Patient and Persistent

The B2B sales process can be as quick as a few days to a few months to close. It’s important for you, your sales teams and other supporting departments involved to be patient and persistent. At the same time, it’s also crucial to manage your time well, like putting in more time for more value-adding tasks.

However, routine, time-consuming tasks like cold-calling or data entry should never be left on the back burner. Make sure you have someone to handle these tasks so your lead generation process stays effective and efficient. This is where a lead generation virtual assistant (VA) can help.

 

Streamline Your Lead Generation Efforts with a Lead Generation VA

A lead generation VA is a remote professional who offers support on various tasks involved in lead generation, from admin and research to outbound and inbound marketing.

Why Hire a Remote Lead Generation Virtual Assistant?

Hiring a lead gen VA is not all about getting more leads. Doing so can also help you improve overall productivity and save money.

Generate High-Quality Leads

With the right tools and training, lead generation virtual assistants can channel all their efforts and attention into finding more leads for your business. Their main focus will be generating sales leads that your sales team can convert into actual paying customers.

And because you’re hiring remote workers, you can choose from a vast global talent pool. This means you will only be concerned about finding the one with the most suitable skills and job fit instead of proximity to your location.

Manage the Workload of Your Sales and Marketing Teams

If you want to improve business productivity, hiring remote staff for lead generation is the way to go. You can delegate more routine, time-consuming tasks to your lead generation VA. Doing so allows you to check off more things from your to-do list and regain control of your time to do your core functions.

Save Money

Hiring remote talents helps save you more money. They can do just about everything in-office staff can but at a fraction of the price. Adding remote talents to your team can also mean saving up to 80% on labor costs, all while growing your business. You don’t have to worry about spending on office equipment, supplies, travel allowances, and other expenses related to hiring full-time, in-office staff.

Want to know more about the different benefits of remote staffing solutions? Visit the 20four7VA blog or schedule a no-strings-attached consultation with our Growth Experts today!

 

What a Remote B2B Lead Generation Specialist Can Do For You

A B2B lead generation specialist or VA can work on various tasks in the lead generation process. Here are a few of them:

Admin and Research

  • Data entry
  • Database updating
  • Performance tracking
  • Email management
  • Calendar management
  • Appointment setting
  • Profiling target audiences
  • Market research
  • Competitor research
  • and other admin tasks

Outbound Lead Generation

  • Finding cold leads
  • Cold calling
  • Cold emailing
  • LinkedIn B2B lead generation

Inbound Marketing

  • Email marketing campaigns
  • Content writing
  • Creation of lead magnets
  • Landing page creation
  • Running ad campaigns

Your lead generation strategies require the right support to generate leads and allow your business to flourish. Hiring a lead generation VA can help you do just that!

Ready to hire a lead generation VA to give your B2B lead generation strategy a boost? Schedule a no-obligation consultation with our Growth Experts today to get started.

 

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Why Hire a Lead Generation Specialist: Your Key to Consistent Sales Success

Any sales team would appreciate a sales funnel with leads from various sources. But high-quality leads don’t come easily. Prospective customers rarely drop by a company’s doorstep on their own. A company needs the right people with suitable skills and tools to reach out to its target audience and find potential customers within that group. This is what a lead generation specialist role is for.

You might ask yourself, “Why hire a lead generation specialist?” The short answer is this: if you’re serious about beefing up your sales pipeline and setting up your sales team for success, you need someone who can focus on finding and qualifying leads to help improve your sales operations.

A lead generation specialist’s role is important to the sales cycle. They help sales and marketing teams find new business opportunities in the form of qualified leads (i.e., individuals or companies that can be potential customers).

The scope of work of a lead generation specialist largely depends on the type of business their client operates and their internal sales process. But typically, they work on outbound lead generation tasks like cold calling or cold emailing potential clients. They also support inbound lead generation campaigns from SEO content creation to executing social media marketing strategies. An experienced lead generation expert can also handle analytics tasks such as market research and report generation.

Because this role can be done remotely, businesses can hire remote talents or virtual assistants as lead generation specialists. Doing so helps them generate leads without breaking the bank or overshooting their budget.

Are you considering hiring a virtual assistant for lead generation? Book a free consultation with our Growth Experts to get top-notch virtual assistant services!

 

Why Hire a Lead Generation Specialist? [Top 5 Reasons]

Instead of using your time cold calling or scouring the internet for leads, why not hire lead experts to handle this part of your business? Yes, finding new leads is crucial for your business, but that doesn’t mean you can’t delegate this task, so you can truly focus on your executive responsibilities.

If you’re still on the fence about hiring a lead generation specialist, here are five reasons why hiring one is the way to go:

  • Get Quality Leads

According to a study by Ascend2, a B2B research agency, 43% of the responses identified collecting enough data on leads as a top barrier for successful lead conversion. This means not all leads that come in have enough information for sales teams to convert. Instead of becoming potential customers, they turn into wasted opportunities. To help avoid experiencing this fate, hiring a lead generation specialist is best.

They can focus on making sure each new lead is qualified and has complete information that salespeople can use to move them along the sales funnel. Your lead expert will ensure that you have information like a company’s decision maker, contact details, and so on. This way, there will be less need for rework, and move forward to the next stage of the sales process without a hitch.

The biggest challenges to successful lead conversion

  • Save Time

You can get leads for your sales funnel through various methods like cold calls and emails. But doing so can take up much of your time. Luckily, you can hire lead generation specialists who can do that on your behalf.

Lead generation specialists support both your marketing and sales teams. Depending on their experience and skill level, they can handle a wide variety of tasks, from routine admin work to more specialized ones like paid advertising and analytics. By hiring the right candidates, you can delegate these tasks to save more time and focus on other more high-level duties.

Here are some examples of tasks lead generation specialists can work on:

Administrative Tasks

Administrative tasks can seem routine, but they still take time. Your lead generation specialist can take over this part of the lead gen process to check off time-consuming desk work from your to-do list.

  • Database Management
  • Appointment Scheduling
  • Email Management
  • File Management
  • Calendar Management
  • Updating Customer Relationship Management Systems

Outbound Lead Generation

Your lead gen specialist can focus on finding and qualifying leads through various outbound efforts. These include the following:

  • Cold Calling
  • Cold Emailing
  • LinkedIn Outreach
  • Crafting Sales Scripts and Messaging for Lead Generation
  • Updating Active Call List

Inbound Lead Generation

There are a lot of tools you can use to automate inbound lead gen tasks. However, you still need someone with the right skills to navigate such tools and do things manually when necessary. Here are some inbound marketing tasks you can delegate to your lead gen specialist:

  • Managing Queries on Website Forms and Landing Pages
  • Qualify Sales Leads from Inbound Marketing Campaigns
  • Creating and Optimizing Lead Magnets
  • Content Creation
  • SEO Strategy Execution
  • Paid Advertising Campaigns
  • Handling Social Media Marketing Efforts

Research and Data Analysis

You can delegate research tasks to your lead generation specialist. They can help you and your team turn data points into actionable insights that you can use to make data-driven decisions.

  • Market Research
  • Progress Tracking
  • Performance Metrics Reports
  • Tracking Lead Generation Performance Metrics
  • Competitor Check

The above list is just a preview of what a lead generation specialist can do for your business. Make sure to assess your needs and objectives to find the most suitable lead generation experts.

  • Increase Productivity

With the right training and tools, lead generation specialists can generate and qualify leads. These new leads will then be handed over to you or your sales team so you can nurture them and eventually close the deal.

An excellent lead generation specialist can improve productivity across the board. First, they’re helping you free up your to-do list so you can focus on executive duties like finding new business opportunities or strategies. At the same time, your sales team can focus on its core function. Instead of spending the majority of their workday finding leads, your salespeople can work on converting them.

Taking out the time-consuming tasks involved with lead generation from your to-do list frees up your schedule to focus on more executive responsibilities.

  • Save Money

If you’re thinking of adding a lead gen specialist to your sales team, why not consider hiring remote talents? Hiring remote talents is an excellent option for small business owners or companies who just want to find effective yet cost-efficient staffing solutions.

Remote professionals can do the job at a fraction of the cost of hiring full-time, in-office staff. A remote lead generation specialist works using their own tools like a laptop and internet connection. This means you don’t have to set aside a budget for additional workspace, office equipment, insurance, and other expenses related to a new in-office hire.

Schedule a free consultation with our Growth Experts to learn more about how you can save up to 80% on labor costs!

  • Beef Up Your Bottom Line

Lead generation specialists kickstart the sales process. They make sure your sales funnel has a steady flow of qualified leads or potential prospects. More qualified leads mean more business opportunities or potential paying customers.

Hiring a remote lead generation specialist means getting the same lead generation services but at a fraction of the cost of hiring in-house, full-time employees. When you work with remote professionals or virtual assistants, you don’t have to worry about costs like buying additional office equipment, insurance, or transportation allowances. They can help you save on expenses which can help increase your bottom line even more.

In summary, a lead generation specialist for your sales team can be just what you need to boost both productivity and revenue. And when you hire a remote professional for lead generation services, that could equate to even more savings and process improvements.

What Makes an Effective Lead Generation Specialist?

You can find lead generation specialists with varying degrees of experience and skills. To help you hire the right candidate, you must narrow down the list of lead generation tasks you’re planning to delegate to your lead gen specialist. The list can then help you zero in on the specific skills needed for the scope of work.

Having said that, you need to ensure that your lead generation specialist, regardless of their duties, possesses the following essential qualities. These are basic qualities that any effective lead generation expert should have:

Strong Communication Skills

It’s crucial to find someone with great communication skills. Lead generation specialists act as the first point of contact for customers. Their communication prowess will come in handy to help you make an excellent first impression with potential clients.

Aside from interfacing with leads, lead gen specialists also need communication skills when coordinating with sales and marketing team members. Having strong communication skills will ensure smoother workflow and process efficiency.

  • Highly-Organized

Being organized can help ensure that files and information are stored in a way that can be easily found and understood by the working teams. You need a highly-organized lead generation specialist to help you make sense of the multiple data points coming in from different lead sources. Additionally, organized data is easier to understand, allowing the sales team to move seamlessly onto the next phase of the process.

  • Expert Time Management Skills

Lead specialists should also be excellent at time management. They know how to prioritize tasks to be able to meet deadlines. Any hiccup or bottleneck in the lead generation step of the process can negatively impact the path forward. A lead generation specialist that knows how to manage their time well can help you and your team stay efficient and productive.

  • Tech Savvy

Your lead generation specialist should be tech-savvy, especially when they’re working remotely. A lot of the lead generation activities are done online, so it makes sense to have someone comfortable navigating the internet to scrape leads. Plus, their comfort level and openness to learning new systems will be useful when you’re training them to use your preferred sales and marketing tools.

  • Persistent

Staying persistent despite rejections or roadblocks is a key trait of any successful lead generation specialist. They should have the grit to stay focused and determined when finding and interacting with prospects. Persistence can not only generate leads but ensure that you’re not leaving any stone unturned.

  • Relevant Experience or Training

When you’re working for remote lead generation specialists, you can come across candidates with varying levels of experience. Of course, the one you choose will highly depend on important factors such as your budget and the scope of work. However, it does help if you look for someone with relevant training or work experience in a similar role.

Lead generation experts that have enough experience will have a better idea of how the process works and can help cut down training time and shorten the learning curve.

Did you know? 20four7VA offers training and upskilling sessions to virtual assistants (VAs). These sessions help equip VAs with the skills necessary to perform well in roles, including lead generation positions.

Hiring a Lead Generation Specialist Through 20four7VA

If you’re ready to hire lead generation specialists for your business, then you need to be prepared. You must have a thorough screening process to ensure that you’re getting the best candidate for the role. Ensuring a good job fit is an excellent way to avoid high turnover rates and longer learning curves.

If you don’t have the time and energy to spare on screening candidates or if you just want expert remote staffing assistance, let 20four7VA help!

Why Choose 20four7VA?

20four7VA has over a decade of experience helping businesses grow by providing cost-effective and highly-scalable remote staffing solutions. At the same time, we connect talented remote professionals to rewarding career opportunities they may not be able to find locally.

To date, we’ve connected over 2,900 clients with the most suitable virtual assistants or remote talents. Here are the top reasons why we are the leading remote staffing partner of choice for businesses across multiple industries:

Global Talent Pool

Our 8-step vetting process ensures that our talent pool is filled with top-tier remote professionals. Doing so means our clients will be connected with the best VAs for their business needs.

Dedicated Client Support

Each 20four7VA client is assigned a dedicated Customer Support Officer to ensure every query and concern is handled quickly. We make sure all our clients have access to the right support and dependable services.

Award-Winning Remote Staffing Company

20four7VA is committed to delivering the highest quality remote staffing solutions possible. Our commitment and efforts have been recognized by several respected institutions. Below are some of our most recent awards and recognitions:

End-to-End Remote Staffing Solutions

Our services don’t end at the recruitment phase. All our clients have access to our end-to-end remote staffing solutions, which make remote work work for both clients and VAs. Our solutions include:

  • VA Management: Our support officers will help you review VA performance to ensure the best output.
  • HR Assistance: With 20four7VA, you receive HR support on top of your VA’s service! We’ll help you with HR tasks like time-tracking and VA payroll processing.
  • Free Training and Upskilling for VAs: To ensure your VA’s skills are up-to-date, 20four7VA offers free training to all VAs. These training sessions also help the VAs with their personal and professional development.

Fast Turnaround Time: Find a VA in Four Easy Steps!

Upon approval of the VA job description (JD), we can connect you to your VA in as fast as 72 hours! This is possible thanks to our global talent pool and our streamlined process. Here’s how it works:

  1. Simply fill out the 20four7VA consultation form, then choose your preferred schedule. Our Growth Experts will hop on a consultation call to get to know your business and requirements better. The consultation call is completely free and no-strings-attached!
  2. We’ll search our talent pool for the remote talent that matches the approved JD.
  3. Our team will schedule interviews with you and the shortlisted candidates to help you with the selection process.
  4. Once you’ve selected the most suitable candidate, we’ll work on setting up your account. And just like that, your remote lead generation specialist can start the next day.

A lead generation specialist can work wonders for your business. They can help kickstart your sales team’s process and deliver valuable business opportunities. Make sure you make the most out of this role by letting 20four7VA find the best person for the job!

Ready to work with a remote lead generation specialist for your business? Book your free consultation today to get started!

 

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