Find Potential Customers

Finding potential customers is the first step in the lead generation process, and the step most people think of when they hear this “lead generation”’ To find potential customers, you’ll need to implement an outbound lead generation campaign or an inbound lead generation campaign—ideally, both. As mentioned, leveraging outbound and inbound strategies together can maximize your results. Rather than focusing on targeted outreach, inbound lead generation strategies bring potential customers to your business. Think of strategies like search engine optimization (SEO) or pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. These strategies attract customers through engaging, valuable content or advertisements. SEO and PPC campaigns are typically managed by marketing or content teams.

Convert Potential Customers into Leads

Once you make contact with a potential customer, whether through your outbound or inbound campaign, the next step is to convert potential customers into leads. Just because you reach out and make contact with a potential customer, that doesn’t mean they’re going to turn into a valuable lead. We’ll talk about qualifying leads in the next step, but beginning the conversation with the potential customer is important to build engagement and understand their needs. At that point, you can effectively market your product as a solution to their problems.

Qualify Each Lead

Once contact has been made, it’s up to the sales team to qualify each lead. As we mentioned, not every potential customer you have will end up being a qualified lead. A lead is typically qualified by fully understanding their needs and how your product or service can fulfill those needs. The process also involves analyzing their general engagement and readiness to purchase.

Turn Leads into Customers

Once a lead is qualified, it’s time to make the sale. This is where your sales team truly shines. Contacting and qualifying potential customers is one thing; closing the sale is another. B2B sales work differently than B2C sales. Instead of having a brick-and-mortar location for your products or services, B2B sales typically involve a more formal contact method, such as a sales meeting. This can be a great opportunity to personalize your sales pitch.

Continually Provide Value to Turn Customers Into Brand Ambassadors

Just because the sale has been made, it doesn’t mean the lead generation process is over. Your customers deserve high-value relationships, ongoing value-adds, and a high-quality customer experience. Continue to provide value to your existing customers, whether they just purchased from you or have been customers for a long time. While it’s not a direct lead generation strategy or part of the initial sales funnel (which we will discuss momentarily), nurturing your customers can turn them into brand ambassadors. Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool for future lead generation. Potential customers rely on existing customer testimony when making decisions, so providing a great experience for your existing customers is a simple, effective way to generate future growth for your business. Whether you have dedicated account managers or inbound customer service teams, it’s vital to prioritize the customer experience.