Identifying The Best-Suited Lead Generation Agency For Your Business

Generating leads is a key process for growing your business. However, it can also be time-consuming. A growing number of companies are outsourcing lead generation to vendors, which can be a great way to get a steady influx of qualified leads while focusing on other tasks.

Here’s what to look for in a lead generation agency.

Lead Quality Matters

Did you know that, on average, 80% of leads don’t translate into sales? Prospects might decide not to make a purchase for a wide range of reasons. Your product might not be a good match for them, or they might end up buying something similar from a competitor.

However, a lot of businesses waste time and resources nurturing leads that have a very low likelihood of making a purchase. These prospects might not be ready to buy something, and in the case of B2B sales, they might not even be the person who will make the final purchase decision.

You can achieve a higher conversion rate by focusing on lead quality and choosing a lead generation company that offers qualified leads.

A qualified lead is a prospect who is close to making a purchase and who has a high likelihood of picking your solution. Look for a vendor who uses tactics and strategies that lead the way to determine if a lead is qualified, such as analytics and data mining.

Look For a Goal-Oriented Lead Generation Business

The right lead generation business could become a long-term partner who helps you grow and succeed. However, you need to choose a vendor you can hold accountable.

When you sign a contract with a lead generation service, you will typically agree on a certain number of leads that the vendor will deliver weekly or monthly. You should go further and ask if you can include additional KPIs in the contract.

You could ask the vendor to deliver leads with a conversion rate of 2 to 5% or use other KPIs such as order frequency, average order value, or the total lifetime value of a customer.

Before you choose a lead generation company, ask for some testimonials and case studies to get a better idea of the kind of performance the vendor has been able to deliver in the past.

Branding, Content Delivery, and More

Delivering a positive user experience can sway prospects and boost your conversion rate. You need to find a vendor you can rely on to provide a positive experience in the early stages of the sales funnel.

Ideally, the lead generation service you use should act as an extension of your sales team for a more consistent experience.

A good lead generation service should do a lot more than deliver a list of email addresses. Here are a few other things to look for:

• Look for a vendor who can do some data entry and create profiles for each prospect in your CRM system so that your sales team knows more about each prospect’s unique situation and where they are in the buying process.
• You’ll get better results if you work with a vendor who can use multiple channels to capture leads, including emails, blogging, social media, PPC campaigns, and more. Working with a vendor who doubles as a marketing communications expert will give you an advantage since you’ll be able to develop a presence on a broader range of channels to capture more qualified leads.
• Branding should be consistent to earn the trust of your new prospects. The vendor you choose should incorporate your branding into the content they deliver or even help you with branding.
• You can offer a consistent experience by outsourcing other processes like quality support to the same vendor. Some companies also offer consulting services to help you develop expert administrative strategies and improve your sales funnel.
• Pay attention to how responsive the vendor is when you ask questions about their services. Communication is essential if you want to work together and offer a consistent experience. Ideally, you should have a point of contact who also works as your project manager and knows everything about your goals and pain points.

Put the User First

Offering a positive user experience can give you a significant competitive edge. If you decide to outsource lead generation, you need to choose a vendor you can trust to deliver a great experience.

The lead generation company you choose should be able to adapt its approach to your target audience. Ideally, they should have market research capabilities if you don’t have enough data about your audience.

Besides performing premium research to learn more about the search trends of your target audience, a great lead generation company will also be able to develop relevant content for that audience. Your vendor should also help you select the best channels to reach out to your audience.

Ask about campaigns they have created in the past, if possible, for businesses in your industry. You should avoid vendors who seem to offer the same cookie-cutter solution to all their clients.

Privacy and Compliance Considerations

With new privacy laws like the GDRP or CCPA, marketers must take additional steps to comply with these new rules and respect users’ privacy. If you sell products on the European market or have customers in California, you could face hefty fines by not complying.

Even if you don’t have a presence in these markets, you should think about adopting these privacy standards to offer a better customer experience.

These new privacy laws require you to obtain consent before sharing content with users. It means that the lead generation company you use will have to get permission for you to contact prospects and should deliver records of users consenting to receive emails so you can create an audit trail.

Bring up compliance challenges before choosing a vendor. Find out what lead generation agencies do to comply with these new standards and whether they can deliver an audit trail.

Wrap Up

Outsourcing lead generation can help you save time and provide you with a reliable influx of qualified leads. However, it’s crucial to choose the right lead generation company. You should ask a few questions, look for reviews and testimonials, and even suggest a trial period to make sure a vendor will be a good match for your lead generation goals.