Lead Generation for Dummies

Lead Generation is essential for any business to succeed in today’s market. But what is it? How long has it been around for? And how do you utilize it properly?

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WHAT IS LEAD GENERATION?

Lead generation is a term you’ve probably seen pop up in almost any discussion regarding sales or promotions of a product or service. It is the art of drawing possibly interested clients to your business and converting them into buyers. If that’s a subject you vaguely understand but can’t feign expertise in just yet, then keep reading. 

I’ll be covering the basics of what lead generation is, using some clear and concise examples, discussing in-depth the difference between good and “spammy” methods of lead generation, and how you can come on top of the bustling pile of messages people naturally ignore and delete every single day.

So, how does one “lead generate”? What are the tools you’ll need to bring along for the job? Which website is ripe for the plucking of leads, where they’ll fall generously into your uplifted hands? Unfortunately, there are no straightforward answers or easy methods to create a large database of viable or “hot” leads. Converting possible clients (the “leads”) into valued customers used to get done with direct and straightforward interactions. This method is nothing new, dating back to when human beings first started communicating with each other and wanted to make a sale. It started with being done in person or through written and printed forms; like yelling your wares along the street market, advertising your services on posters, throwing a messaged bottle into the ocean, etc etc.

The entire point was to get your message across to someone who would pick up on what you were selling and go, “Hey, I DO need that!” This rough design went on for quite some time, with salespeople screaming into the void and praying the void would occasionally perk its ears in interest. It was barbaric, but it needed to be done.  Over years, the technique became more refined. Delegated spaces meant people were looking in the right spots, and you could be a little bit more sure that what you were selling was not going to fall on too many deaf ears. Specific industries and businesses began setting up shop in clearly demarcated districts, ensuring that those who wanted to find themselves some decent-

Mediterranean cuisine, weren’t going to be hassled by reps specializing in Middle Eastern glassware (although if the districts were set up alphabetically, this confusion could be forgiven).Once communication devices such as the telephone came into existence though, the end was nigh. Cold calling had come to the world, and no-one was safe; you could be in your “sheltered” home and offers from all walks of life and proposing all manner of wares and services would be figuratively shoved down your throat/ears. Suddenly the void was being screamed at all over again.Then the online web came into existence, and the capacity for being screamed at had expanded from how loud you could make your voice and how many numbers you could dial in a day, to how far your bandwidth reached. 

Fast forward to today, salespeople now utilize mail campaigns to find new marketable sources of money, along with contacting the myriad of people using the internet via social media platforms. So how do we generate leads then? With so much screaming and yelling and minute-by-minute offers from a myriad of sources we have no interest in pursuing, how does one make a decent and refined sale in an era more bloodthirsty than the Viking Age?

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LEAD GENERATION VERSUS SPAM MESSAGES

There is an art form to make sure your messages – those sent to potential leads – aren’t tagged and bagged as spam among the hundreds of others people get sent every single day. Let’s go over some Golden Rules.

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BE SPECIFIC

“Hello, you! I'm here to help your company with bla bla bla…” 

 - Lame, boring, uninspiring and very clearly sent to around 7000 other people that day.

This message proves that you don’t care about them, and you’ll go about absent-mindedly bashing them around with your sales pitch, hoping your blind attacks will hit something in a vital spot. Make sure you are messaging someone in an industry that pertains to what you’re trying to sell. And ensure they’re in a position to make use of it too. Say you’re selling high-end cyberware security options; the sous-chef of a family bakery is not going to care at all. You need to target the Heads of Security or IT at large corporations in this case. Make sure to call them by their first name, and even mention the company’s name they work for. This perks the interest far more than generic messages with no specifications.

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CASCADE YOUR MESSAGES

You’ll probably have to send more than one message. That’s fine, it’s part of the process. But don’t send ten different messages spaced two days apart that aren’t cognizant with each other. Have inconsistent timings between sending these messages (two days, then three, then two, then four etc. etc.) and ensure there are clear patterns and an ebb-and-flow between your messages. Mention that you’ve contacted them before, make sure there’s some link between the current message and the last one, and use a consistent tone and style of voice. This method will help them gather that you’re talking specifically to them, and not just firing into their inbox as often as legally allowed.

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ALWAYS BE RESPECTFUL

At the end of the day, you’re the one approaching them. Make sure to always keep a jovial but respectful tone, and if at the end of the day (or month) you don’t connect and make a sale, thank them for their time and move on. You’ll be surprised at how often that’s the part that sticks in their mind, and might prompt them to contact you in the future if they have a change of heart.

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WHY YOU SHOULD TRUST HANGAR49 FOR VIABLE LEAD GENERATION

Lead Generation Services and Demand Generation

We've built an engine for outreach optimization known as HANGAR49 – a system that accelerates and amplifies outreach for marketers such as yourself. 

We’re your friendly local (with global branches) marketing tech company that boasts a vast and continuously growing database of exciting enterprises and innovative industries. We process volumes of faceless targets; so that you can focus your energy on converting real leads into deals. We work with you as a partner to successfully refine and hone your lead generation techniques, and we do this because we want to grow together – as a team – and not a once-off partnership deal.

Send us a message today, and let’s see how we can get your business to the next level. Together.