You’ll often hear these days that outbound lead generation is dead, or that outbound marketing -which creates outbound leads – is so invasive that today’s prospect will be offended by outbound marketing tactics and respond only to permission based marketing, aka inbound marketing.
There is some truth in this if you are discussing the B2C business environment, but the B2B world is very different from the B2C world.
There are fewer customers, and the vendors are selling higher-priced things. Typically, whatever is sold assists businesses in making more money, which is a strong selling point in and of itself.
When done correctly, an inbound lead generation machine works great with B2B – it’s organic, brings passive leads, and the leads seem to be more likely to convert.
Outbound sales strategies, on the other hand, can be very powerful when employed in other businesses.
If your service or product will help them make more money, paying you is a no-brainer, so it doesn’t always matter if the lead is cold. Assuming your targeting and campaign were spot on…which is where an expert outbound lead generation agency like Pearl Lemon Leads comes in.
As a leading outbound lead generation agency – and as a team that has helped build numerous businesses within the larger Pearl Lemon Group to which we belong from start ups to six figure businesses making use of it – we know that outbound lead generation offers not just great results but significant benefits for those companies looking to make B2B sales:
The first reason outbound lead generation is still relevant and effective in the B2B marketing world is that it produces results far faster than inbound techniques.
As an example, consider SEO and content marketing. These two inbound marketing approaches are indeed often very effective, both for B2C and B2B lead generation. But the results often come slowly. Not only would the investment take weeks or even months to pay off due to competition and the way search marketing works, but developing the content takes time and a lot of resources.
This is when outbound lead generation strategies come into play. Instead of writing a blog article and waiting for it to rank on Google (an inbound technique), you could send cold emails to a selected pool of qualified leads and receive responses almost immediately. Assuming you know how to conduct an effective cold email marketing campaign.
When you contact a potential prospect, you’ll need a particular customised message that resonates with the lead in order for them to reply.
Personalization is essential in outbound marketing to differentiate oneself from the low-value spam communications that people get on a daily basis. Using an outbound strategy allows you to make a connection and create rapport early in the sales process, often far earlier than when making use of an inbound strategy.
When you deal with an outbound lead generation agency and they work with you on outbound lead generation campaigns, you get to control the type of prospect you get and have as many prospects as you want.
Yes, you have some control over who you target in an inbound search-focused campaign, but there are some things you don’t. One of these factors is the size of the companies reaching out to you, and where they operate.
However, when selecting the companies to target in, say, a cold email campaign, you can easily weed out any leads that are too small or too large or whose geographic location you can’t realistically serve.
Choosing the right lead pool will be critical to the success of your efforts.
If your communications or efforts are being directed at people, businesses, or organizations that aren’t your ideal prospects, it’s all for naught.
You must narrow down a lead pool in your desired industry, niche, and size. After that, you must ensure that you are specifically targeting the individual who makes the decisions. This is especially crucial in business-to-business transactions and something that our lead generation agency team focuses on from day one to ensure we get it right.
Working with an outbound lead generation agency can be an excellent way to generate qualified leads at scale fast so that your sales team has the full sales pipeline they need to do their stuff – i.e. close big deals and make more sales. Sounds good, right? But no doubt you’re wondering just how a successful lead generation agency like Pearl Lemon Leads generates those leads. Which is a fair question.
While what we do, and how we work, varies with each client – as every business and the products and services they sell are unique – there are some basic lead generation best practices and strategies we follow that we can tell you about to help answer the big question “how can Pearl Lemon Leads help with outbound lead generation?”
Thought cold email was dead?
You might want to reconsider.
According to several research studies and statistics, 59% of B2B marketers believe email is their most effective revenue-generating channel. It’s so effective that some businesses utilize cold email as their primary lead generation channel.
And when done correctly, it may be for you as well.
Email is far from dead, especially considering how frequently individuals check their business email during the day.
The adaptability of email as a weapon of choice for B2B outbound operations is possibly its most significant advantage. Everyone you may possibly want to contact has an email address. One that they check themselves, rather than handing the duty to a gatekeeper. One that they can make an immediate decision about whether or not to respond to.
The Pearl Lemon Leads team have been making great use of cold email to generate B2B leads successfully at scale for a long time, and thanks to our expert understanding of just how to craft emails that resonate with B2B recipients rather than annoy them, we can do the same for you.
If you thought cold email was dead, you definitely thought cold calling was extinct as an effective B2B lead generation strategy.
However, believe it or not, cold calling is highly important for reaching the right people in some firms. In 2021, 69% of B2B buyers reported accepting a cold call, according to RAIN Group.
While cold calling isn’t the most elegant or scalable method of outreach, it does have some big advantages.
Aside from meeting a lead in person, phoning them is one of the most personable things you can do and allows you to create a real time, immediate connection with your prospect.
But keep in mind:
You don’t want to sound like a spammy salesperson. You should be prepared to deliver a personalized message as well as some initial value to pique people’s curiosity. If you follow those two guidelines, you’ll be more likable than a telemarketer. Furthermore, in this day and age when everything is online, some B2B buyers find the human approach of a cold call more refreshing.
What is dead in cold calling is trying to generate leads without the confidence and expertise to conduct a cold call successfully. It’s something that scares even the best salespeople. However, when you work with Pearl Lemon Leads as your outbound lead generation agency you gain the services of a seasoned and successful cold calling team who have these qualities in spades, and can put them to work for you right away.
No, for B2B sales and B2B lead generation, a Facebook business page may not be the smartest way to connect with people who have the authority and budget to buy what you are selling. It can be a good branding tool, but for B2B lead generation? Not so much.
This is not to say that you can’t make use of social media to generate leads, you just have to do it the right way, and it can provide you with an excellent source of outbound lead generation.
Take LinkedIn. According to Statista research, 66% of B2B marketers regarded LinkedIn to be effective, with Twitter coming in second with 55%. Meanwhile, Facebook received only 30% approval.
Don’t get it twisted; social media may also be utilized for inbound initiatives, particularly if you’ve built up a following. However, since we are discussing outbound marketing, we are primarily discussing its use as a type of outreach.
There is one disadvantage to using social media for outreach, and that is spam. And LinkedIn is known for random strangers attempting to connect with you in order to offer you their services. The majority of strangers attempting to connect lack personalization. On the plus side, this can help people who perform high-quality outreach to stand out.
Not only are the Pearl Lemon Leads team proven experts when it comes to LinkedIn outreach and outbound lead generation – and have the client testimonials and case studies to prove it, we are willing to spread our lead generation nets in places others do not, when a client’s business or offerings call for it.
Online forums and communities are a great example. By “online communities,” we mean things like Facebook groups, Reddit Subreddits, and forums.
Unlike the previous outbound lead generation tactics, this one is distinct in that you are not contacting folks from a lead pool. Instead, you’re joining a community that serves as the lead pool. Usually a very qualified lead pool that are precisely the professionals you need to connect with.
However, you don’t just go into a Subreddit and start promoting your company. That’s just plain spammy, and it’s a quick way to make people dislike you.
The trick, like with other aspects of sales and marketing, is to deliver value first. So the proper approach is to join and observe the community for a period. Offer excellent advice and recommendations whenever someone talks about a situation that you can assist with. Providing this value will increase trust.
It will be much easier to sell and convince them to buy after some time and creating relationships (which is a significant component of sales) with the community members. It’s a tricky balance at times, but one that we have worked hard to perfect.
Ready to learn more about how outbound lead generation can work for you? Contact us today and we’ll be happy to discuss how our outbound lead generation team can help you.
Outbound lead generation refers to the process of reaching out to potential customers (leads) directly, rather than waiting for them to find your business (which is referred to as inbound lead generation). Examples of outbound lead generation tactics include cold emails, cold calls, and social media outreach.
While this may be true in some B2C contexts, outbound lead generation is still very effective in the B2B world. This is because there are typically fewer customers, and vendors are often selling higher-priced items that can significantly benefit businesses. Done right, outbound lead generation can produce fast, personalized, and controlled results.
While inbound techniques such as SEO and content marketing can be effective, they often take longer to produce results. This is due to the time required for creating and optimizing content, as well as the competition in search rankings. Outbound techniques, such as sending cold emails, can often produce immediate responses.
With outbound strategies, you can craft customized messages that resonate with each prospect, allowing you to stand out from generic spam. Moreover, with outbound campaigns, you get to choose exactly who you’re reaching out to, allowing you to focus on your ideal prospects.
Pearl Lemon Leads is a leading outbound lead generation agency. The team at Pearl Lemon Leads has extensive, proven expertise in various outbound marketing strategies, such as cold emails, cold calls, and B2B social media outreach. We can help businesses generate qualified leads quickly and at scale.
Both cold email and cold calling are vital tools in outbound lead generation. Research suggests that a majority of B2B marketers see email as a highly effective channel, while many B2B buyers have reported accepting cold calls. These methods allow for personal, immediate connections with prospects.
While platforms like Facebook may not be as effective for B2B lead generation, platforms like LinkedIn can provide excellent results. Pearl Lemon Leads has expertise in leveraging LinkedIn and other online communities to generate high quality leads quickly and effectively.
To learn more about how outbound lead generation can benefit your business, you can contact Pearl Lemon Leads directly here. We’ll be happy to discuss how our team can assist with your outbound lead generation needs.
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