So many companies find that lead generation is the most difficult aspect of the sales process. Sales people struggle to find enough qualified leads and end up wasting time on customers that are least likely to convert.
Trying to sell to a customer who’s not interested in the product is a waste of resources and can lead to a loss of productivity as well. Their managers in turn then end up having to manage sales people that are often under performing, and spend an unbalanced portion of their time on that.
Sales managers of sales departments with poorly-qualified leads struggle with their team and aren’t able to generate good results. They don’t reach the required targets and are forced to account to their own superiors for the low quality of leads and the difficulty in finding them.
Strategically, it’s better to generate leads automatically and provide your sales team with qualified leads instead of asking to seek out leads manually.
Why choose automated lead generation?
Many businesses run their sales and marketing units separately so the lead generation process is needlessly complicated. Modern automated lead generation tools connect marketing and sales so both aspects of revenue generation can influence each other, which has a positive impact on the overall productivity of your team. Here are some ways in which automatic lead generation can help:
1. On-going process
Automated systems run round the clock and rarely require human input so they keep bringing in leads even outside working hours. During working hours, the sales team has a large number of leads to process one after another, so there’s no delay in the lead generation and sales process. The team can jump directly to converting the leads instead of wasting time on the acquisition aspect.
Converting leads doesn’t take too much time, especially if they are properly qualified and go through several automated conversion points like custom landing pages and targeted CTAs (Calls to Action). The system keeps supplying leads for as long as the marketing team supplies emails, ads, and other content. This ensures there’s always a potential customer in the system waiting to be converted.
2. Well-qualified leads are easier to close
Automated lead generation systems will bring in well-qualified leads that the sales team needs to convert. This allows the team to focus on the final sales interaction and they’re more likely to succeed if they’re not distracted by the lead generation process. As the automated system sends mass personalised emails based on information sourced from marketing campaigns, the leads are already on the verge of conversion. The prospects have to click on the CTA buttons in order to reach the sales team.
Most prospects won’t click on contact links and CTA buttons unless they’re really interested in the product or service. A great sales team will have no problem converting these leads into customers.
3. A positive impact on the sales team’s morale
As mentioned before, the sales team has to spend less time and effort on the sales process if they get access to better-qualified leads. That is one of the most tedious and repetitive aspects of the sales process. With lead generation out of the way, the sales team just needs to actively engage the prospects, explain the qualities of the product and service, and convince them to make a purchase.
As the prospect is moderately interested in the product in the first place, they don’t dismiss the salesperson off the bat and listen to what they have to say. This has a big impact on the morale and productivity of the sales team. They’re more enthusiastic about work and committed to getting good results which has a positive impact on the productivity and success of the sales team.
4. It saves time and improves utilization of time
One of the biggest advantages of automating lead generation is that it saves time. Manual lead generation is a very time-consuming process. Salespeople have to make cold calls directly to the prospect in the hopes of getting a lead.
In the past, sales teams around the world made hundreds of similar calls on a daily basis and most of them were immediate dismissals or poor leads, which was a significant waste of time. Modern sales teams with automated lead generation have to deal with fewer calls and see more positive results, which is a better utilization of their time.
5. Easy to use tools
Modern automated systems are easy to use and can be incorporated into the current IT infrastructure without any problems. Tools like Hubspot and Mailchimp have user-friendly interfaces so sales and marketing teams can adjust to the platform quickly and understand how to use them well in a short amount of time.
These systems are also relatively affordable. Basic platforms are usually free of cost and have limited automation features. Business owners can subscribe to the service at a low cost and see an immediate impact on the overall productivity of the team.
How to use automated lead generation tools?
Marketing automation can be used in a number of ways to generate leads and bring in people that only need convincing to purchase a product. Here are some ways to generate leads and make sure the sales team has a good foundation to work with:
Automated emails
This is one of the best ways to generate leads because clients that click on product links in the emails are curious about the products and want more information. Software platforms like Mailchimp can be used to send these automated emails. Using them with pre-programmed tripwires that then generate the next email to that same client is changing the way that modern sales and marketing works.
Custom landing pages
Custom landing pages are the initial sales pitch and they work to increase a prospect’s interest in the product or service. Designers can use platforms like Hubspot to create custom landing pages that can be used to send custom emails to the clients as well. The clever use of CTAs can help move prospects through the sales funnel and closer to making a decision.
Personalization
Manually personalising all emails to the prospects is time-consuming and impossible if the business has a large database of prospective leads. Modern marketing automation software can add personalisation like names, tailored content, and even send automated emails on special days. This allows all businesses to accommodate personalised email content into their marketing and sales strategies, regardless of their budget.
Well-planned marketing and lead nurturing automation can go a long way to ease the burden on the sales team and improve their overall productivity. Marketing automation can make it easier for a company to get more revenue and grow over time.
Author Bio: Ashley Andrews is an Inbound Marketing Strategist at Activia Training, a UK-based training provider specialising in improving delegates’ workplace performance in business skills, management development and IT applications. Ashley is passionate about sales and management issues, and regularly blogs about these – and many other topics – on the Activia blog.
