Building a Multi-Step Process in Lead Generation

Flashy marketing campaigns and pushy sales techniques are inconsistent with the image of a firm like yours. And cold calling is just out of the question. It is time consuming, unproductive and frustrating – and it can make you look desperate. So what do you do? What are your options?

Most business owners come to advertising and marketing with big hopes and expectations. They believe or want to believe that a single ad campaign or direct mail campaign is all they need to produce new customers. If only this were true.

Most consulting and professional services companies sell through a multi-step process, and marketing needs to support each step along the way.

1. It starts with an initial contact – either through lead generation efforts or referrals.
2. After the initial contact, qualification is needed to determine whether this new inquiry is, in fact, a serious and qualified prospect. With sufficient lead volume, you may need a lead scoring system in place to prioritize leads.
3. Once qualified, lead nurturing needs to take place to further educate the prospect and solidify the new relationship. The lead nurturing process could vary depending on the industry, job title or sales potential of the prospect.
4. Over time, if the lead does not covert right away, a follow up program is needed to stay in touch. Many prospects will buy eventually. You just need to be on their doorstep when they finally make that decision.
5. When you discover that a prospect has become serious, you have what is known as an opportunity, and you may want to create additional communications to support this step in the process.

A well-constructed advertising or direct mail campaign can produce immediate sales leads –and that’s a good start but one batch of new leads is not the way to build a new business program. You need a consistent flow of leads throughout the year and you need to stay in touch with those leads until they are ready to talk. And for that, you need a system not a campaign.