Without fail, every client we work with has had a PTSD experience with a content marketing shop that said they had to write 25 blogs a month to solve their lead gen problem.
And I’m here to tell you that’s not true.
In fact, if your marketing agency tells you this, fire them immediately.
After more than 20 years in the business, working with all different kinds of leaders and companies, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t for lead gen.
We’ve developed a clear, three-step process for putting content into the universe that turns into revenue:
- Share good news
- Track interest
- Follow up
Let’s break down each step.
1. Share good news
Also called content marketing or GTM, “Share good news” is exactly what it sounds like: putting out a press release, sharing a new partnership or award you’ve received, or, yes, even an industry-focused blog post. All of these things drive awareness of you and potential value to your prospects, provided you share them where they spend time (i.e., in their social media feed or inbox).
We like “Share good news” because it keeps it simple. And with a B2B audience like supply chain, simple is best.
2. Track interest
Track interest means paying attention to who, what, where, when, and how someone shows buying signals.
But even before that, you must first identify who is in your total addressable market, or TAM. And spoiler alert: it’s probably smaller than you think.
A client might say their TAM is anyone who ships, but there are 20,000 shippers with $500M in revenue. Contrast that with a client who wants to market to companies that ship frozen food using Microsoft Dynamics. Their TAM? About 2,500 companies.
From there, you must determine your Ideal Client Profile or ICP. This often comes down to the demographics of a company or individual who’s buying. For instance, my dog walker is awesome, but she’s not buying an ERP. It’s important to narrow the field so you’re only marketing to the right people.
Once you clearly define your TAM and ICP, you’ll want to use intent data tools to track who’s showing active buying signals. And this step isn’t just for big companies. Tools like Demandbase will democratize your lead gen efforts. There’s been a shift from the big players, like Salesforce, to Hubspot, Active Campaign, and MailChimp. Now every business, regardless of size and budget, has access to the same tools to measure and track who’s interested.
3. Follow up
Following up means connecting with those who demonstrate interest. Yet most of the companies we work with don’t follow up fast enough.
When you track active buying signals from humans, it makes sense to follow up quickly.
Research backs this up: A 2016 study by Inside Sales and Harvard found that if you can talk to someone within five minutes of them showing buying signals, you have a 900% better chance of closing them.
Think about it: People buy from people, so why not pick up the phone? If they’ve literally just shown you they’re interested, calling them is the best way to close them.
In B2B, it’s less about the volume of leads and more about getting in front of your ICP. It’s important to know the value of each person you’re connecting with—are they the right buyer? Remember, it takes as much effort to close $2,500 in business as it does to close $25,000. Most of our clients would rather have fewer high-value leads than a bunch of lower-value ones.
You can spend a lot of time and money on lead gen, but ultimately it comes down to these three simple things:
- Share good news in the right medium with the right people
- Track buying signals in the tech stack
- Follow up with prospects who fit your ICP
When you get these things right, you’ll make your whole revenue engine sing.