The effectiveness of traditional methods for gathering information and securing appointments has decreased threefold in under a decade. In the 2000s, a day of calls would yield a minimum of two to three appointments.
Today, it's clear that most salespeople who make cold calls barely get one positive response!
Why? Because the internet has profoundly changed behavior! With search engines, prospects themselves carry out their initial information search and have access to almost all available offers. They no longer need salespeople to get information.
However, the challenges of sales management for the company remain the same: how to obtain enough contacts with prospects? How to maintain reasonable sales costs to continue to develop profitably?
To answer these questions, a new approach has been developed: with "lead generation".
Literally, « lead » means « track ». It is a term initially used in CRM software and which, in practice, now refers to a sales lead. Lead generation is all the actions taken to identify potential customers.
Your market today consists of hundreds or thousands of buyers who, from the moment they have identified their problems and needs, will begin searching for information using the most practical and cost-effective tool: the internet. All these Internet users, as long as they have not clicked on your site, are unknown and invisible to you. You know that they exist, that at some point they will have a need that you can meet, but for now you do not know them! The challenge is therefore to get in front of their radar during their research phase and turn them from anonymous visitors into active visitors on your site. For this, two prerequisites are necessary:
- first, be well referenced and well identified so that, whatever the user's search methods, they end up on your site (see our article on the attractiveness of websites on this subject),
- Next, offer attractive content in order to increase opportunities to obtain information from the visitor and encourage them to interact.
To generate leads, you should focus on high-quality and targeted content that positions you as a key "Consulting" player in your sector and geographical area. By doing so, you increase the chances of multiple visits, as users will associate you with their "favorites." You will generate leads that are in various stages of progression. First, there's the "unknown lead," which is limited to a location or even an IP address, but lacks sufficient qualifications to be useful. The second is the "identified lead," where we know, for example, their email address or phone number. The third is the "qualified lead," who has increased their activity: a higher number of pages visited, several articles read, multiple visits, and has provided usable information. At this stage, if this lead is passed on to a salesperson, it can become a prospect.
To encourage visitors to take action, you must create triggers so that they leave their contact information or even express their needs. White papers, webinars, video conferences, online questionnaires to conduct a free audit... there are many solutions that must be defined according to your market and the specific needs of your clientele. After several visits, reassured by the quality of the content and the match between the offer and their needs, the user will become an active visitor.
Generating a lead means converting a contact from an unknown to a qualified status.
The problem for companies today revolves around the management of three strategic phases.
It is clear in this new approach that the preliminary work to capture contacts mobilizes significant resources (technical mastery, available time, monitoring, information sharing, etc.).
Lead generation doesn't stop at qualifying a prospect. There are three key phases to this sales strategy that companies must master.
- The "lead acquisition", which consists of qualifying the lead through scenarios, specific targeted actions, and which we have described above.
- Lead nurturing involves creating and developing a strong connection by engaging the lead, prompting reactions, offering content, and inviting them to offline events. The key is to find the right balance, avoiding being too pushy or not engaging enough. The connection should be a dynamic but not overly strained thread.
- Lead conversion is the critical moment when the salesperson comes into play. This is a delicate stage because it involves direct interaction and requires the right sales skills, the right attitude, and the right distance to avoid mistakes.
Management and monitoring
Of course, all these steps happen simultaneously. At any given moment, a company has leads, prospects, and customers, a whole volume of contacts at different stages of progress, with a lot of data to manage. All of this creates a complex and constantly moving environment that requires new skills and a different approach, a new perspective.
KESTIO Live, with its pragmatic and tailored approach, helps SMEs structure a customized Lead Generation strategy and be effective in three key phases. First, we help define buyer personas, then develop the most effective interaction scenarios, and finally, assist in managing the entire process with regular contact that emphasizes long-term monitoring and performance.
Adopt a tool tailored to your business and expectations: choose the right CRM. To better understand its usefulness and choose a suitable CRM, watch this webinar:
