Long story short, lead generation is the process of attracting people to your business by making them naturally interested in your product or service.

A smart lead generating strategy tailored to your potential customer will help you find new prospective customers and keep your pipeline full of qualified leads.

Sales is like the fuel that keeps your business running.

To keep your sales tank full, you need to work on how you can attract visitors to your business and how to convert them into leads.

The answer depends very much upon your audience and your business needs. While there is no industry that is completely out of reach to inbound techniques, there are certainly occasions where outbound tactics feel like a better fit.

In reality, both outbound and inbound lead generation strategies can probably produce results for your business and, if you can afford it, we recommend utilising both. Inbound lead generation is a long term play that has the potential to bring in leads at a lower cost per lead. Meanwhile, outbound lead generation, if planned correctly, can produce a welcome spike in opportunities.

Outbound lead generation is a direct marketing channel, whereby you identify your target customers and then directly reach out to them and introduce them to your company, its products, and its services.

Outbound lead generation for B2B companies in its simplest form is essentially 1) compiling a list of companies and people in those companies that you believe are the best target prospects for your company’s products and services, and 2) calling those prospects to introduce them to your company and discover if they are indeed a good fit. 

The output from Old School Sales, in its simplest form, is the hand-off of qualified leads or sales opportunities to your sales team. The leads might be handed-off during scheduled meetings or through your sales automation system. In some instances, an outbound prospector might end up taking the prospect all the way through the buying process to close the sale.

Outbound lead generation programs can include the following:

• E-mail marketing program that enables you to send e-mails to warm-up prospects prior to the first call.
• Website content that your prospector can direct the prospect to during or after the call.
• Events, website content, outside (social media) discussions, and/or newsletters that your prospector can offer to your prospects — content that will provide prospects with ongoing value and improve their understanding of and relationship with your company.
• Periodic follow-up calls from the prospector to further build the relationship and determine how the prospect is progressing in their readiness to purchase.
• (For B2B) Using the first calls into a company as a springboard to help identify other people in the company who might be additional prospective buyers, or who might be better suited for your company’s products.
• Outbound prospecting as part of a coordinated multi-channel marketing program, which is very effective given that it generally takes a few impressions from different angles to warm-up a prospect. Outbound prospecting tends to cut through the marketing clutter better than other marketing channels and helps to prime prospects for marketing contacts through other channels. For example, in a B2B situation, e-mailing and then calling a prospect who will probably be attending an event where you’ll be exhibiting has proven to be an effective marketing strategy; while the person is walking the floor, he/she will probably stop by to “meet the people who were nice enough to call.”

Inbound lead generation is about creating valuable experiences that have a positive impact on people and your business. You attract prospects and customers to your website and blog through relevant and helpful content. Once they arrive, you engage with them using conversational tools like email and chat and by promising continued value. 

Unlike outbound lead generation, with inbound lead generation, the potential customers’ attention is gained indirectly. By creating content designed to add value to the potential customers’ problems and needs, you attract qualified prospects and build trust and credibility for your business.

If adding lots of new tasks to your marketing plan doesn’t freak you out? Go for trying the in-house approach. Be aware though: you’ll need a lot of work hours to cover the research, analysis, strategy planning and execution. If time is not the luxury you can afford, you can always give your sales team external support.

No matter if you’re a startup or a business veteran. Sometimes a little help from a lead generation company like Old School Sales may be exactly what your business needs to get the right traction.

Needing help with building a contact base, increasing social media interaction, executing a content strategy or taking care of your live chat support? Old School Sales will be thrilled to do it for you.