Every business decision you make should have one simple goal – to help you generate leads. You should always strive to do so if it enables you to generate more leads, boost brand awareness, and establish yourself as a leader in your niche. It doesn’t matter whether you’re thinking about introducing a new company’s product or service, reimagining your logo, or jazzing up your marketing strategy.
However, it’s not enough for these goals to just sit at the back of your mind as you’re doing other things. You’ll need to prioritize achieving them, which is often an uphill battle.
A large company with record profits will rarely struggle with this. It can easily invest in building robust marketing and sales teams with dedicated professionals whose only task is perfecting lead generation.
If you’re running a small business with a limited marketing budget, you’ll likely encounter more obstacles than your larger counterparts. The good news is that you don’t have to overcome those obstacles alone.
Outsourced B2B lead generation can help you stay on budget, attract attention from your target market, and boost conversions. Learn how outsourcing your lead generation can help determine whether it’s the right choice.
What is B2B Lead Generation?
B2B lead generation is the process of identifying potential customers who would be interested in your products or services, contacting them, establishing and nurturing a relationship with them, and ultimately, converting them to loyal, buying customers.
At first glance, it seems easy enough. All you need is a list of names, email addresses, and phone numbers, and you can start cold-calling leads and slowly guiding them through the sales pipeline.
In practice, it’s all much more challenging.
You’ll first need to identify the types of leads you have – marketing, product, and sales-qualified leads. Then, you’ll need to develop unique approaches to each of them, hire and train employees to develop B2B lead generation strategies, develop an effective sales cycle, and more.
It takes a lot of effort to ensure that your lead generation works and results in conversions, which is why more and more small and midsize businesses (SMBs) prefer to have the help of an independent lead generation company.
Top B2B Industries for Lead Generation
Lead generation is critical for businesses across niches and industries. However, virtually every independent lead generation agency will specialize only in a few industries. Most commonly, agencies will work with brands in the:
- Business services industry;
- Healthcare and life sciences;
- Financial services;
- Retail;
- Manufacturing;
- Telecommunications;
- Hospitality and leisure;
- Real estate;
- Media;
- Advertising and marketing.
That isn’t to say you won’t find lead generation assistance if your business is in a different field. It’s to say that these industries are most commonly the ones that need outside help.
Outsource Lead Generation: Is it Right For You?
Not every company that outsources B2B leads will innately benefit from it. In some instances, in-house lead generation could be the better choice.
If you already have (or can afford to create) a dedicated marketing team made up of experienced professionals who can identify qualified leads and nurture relationships with them, you might not need an outside agency. The same goes if you’re already working with an inbound marketing agency.
However, if you don’t have the means to create an in-house team, have no clear-cut strategies for lead generation, and rely solely on techniques such as cold-calling, you should hire a sales development agency to help you generate and qualify leads.
READ: 6 B2B Lead Generation Strategies that Really Work (With Special Tips and Hacks)
5 Reasons Why You Should Outsource Lead Generation
Independent agencies for lead generation don’t simply provide you with a list of names and contact information. They perform many critical tasks and processes that will benefit you in the long run.
1. Lead generation agencies bring experience to the table
B2B lead generation doesn’t come easy. If you’re to be successful in it, you need to know what you can do to grab your audience’s attention, how you can pique their interest, and how you can guide them through your sales pipeline.
Many SMBs go through years of trial and error to pinpoint how they can improve their lead gen processes.
However, with an agency by your side, you don’t have to wait around to figure it all out. Agencies bring an unmatched experience to the table, allowing you to start generating leads from day one.
After all, the best lead gen companies have already spent years perfecting their crafts so that you can reap the rewards almost immediately.
2. They hire experts across categories
If you were to do lead generation in-house, you’d need to hire and train at least a handful of employees. They would need to become proficient in B2B content creation, social media marketing, PPC campaigns, lead nurturing, and many more tasks and processes.
Unsurprisingly, it would take quite some time and money until your in-house teams could reach productivity.
No such issues could arise with outsourced B2B lead generation.
Independent agencies already have teams of experts across categories – from content creators to PPC campaign managers. You would receive immediate access to a diverse talent pool you wouldn’t have been able to work with otherwise.
3. They deliver indispensable services
As mentioned, you won’t solely be getting a list of names when you partner with a lead generation agency. You’ll get a long list of valuable services.
Because independent agencies have experienced teams with experts in many fields, they can help you with B2B SEO strategies, email marketing campaigns, content creation and marketing, event planning, and more. When partnering with an agency, you’ll have access to indispensable services that can help you generate leads and establish yourself as a leader in your niche.
READ: Outsourced B2B Lead Generation: How to Choose the Best Lead Gen Agency
4. Agencies develop tailor-made strategies
When taking on the task of lead generation by themselves, many SMBs make the same fatal mistake – adopting strategies that aren’t suited to them specifically.
You’ve likely experienced the problem yourself. You have a strategy that should, by all accounts, work. It’s a proven strategy that countless companies swear by, but it’s seemingly not enough.
While it’s easy to dismiss this issue as “there’s something that other companies are doing differently, they just won’t share it”, that’s not quite the case. In all likelihood, they’ve simply adapted the strategy to their unique needs – and that’s what a lead generation agency does for you.
It creates tailor-made lead-generation strategies that meet your expectations and address your brand’s strengths and shortcomings, turning any old strategy into one designed specifically for you.
5. They can help you perfect your USP
A lead generation agency would never be successful if it didn’t know how to help you stand out from the crowd.
Some of the tasks of a lead gen agency aren’t simply to find potential leads. The company also needs to understand them, identify what they’re looking for, and assess their desires and interests. Additionally, it needs to understand your entire brand – with all its strengths and weaknesses.
By assessing your brand and understanding your audience, your lead gen agency can help you perfect your approach to leads and customers, reimagine your unique selling points (USPs), and find ways to resonate with your target markets.
How To Choose the Right B2B Lead Gen Agency?
To enjoy the benefits of outsourcing your lead generation, you must choose the right independent agency.
Though you can never know with the utmost certainty whether an agency is right for you until you’ve started working with it, you can increase your chances of success by following these tips:
- Examine case studies – case studies can inform you about the types of clients an agency typically partners with and about the techniques and strategies it implements to improve lead generation;
- Look at the reviews – reading through customer reviews and third-party site reviews is critical if you want to find a reliable lead generation agency, as they can give you a better idea of what you can expect;
- Learn about the stages it covers – different agencies will cover different stages of your sales cycle. Learn whether an agency handles only customer acquisition or devotes itself to lead nurturing, maximizing conversions, and more;
- Assess the team’s expertise – as mentioned, agencies hire experts across categories, and it’s in your best interest to find out precisely what kind of experts will work with you. Ask about the team’s experience and certifications, and find out how they’ve helped brands in the past;
- Find pricing information – a lead generation agency is more cost-efficient than building in-house teams. However, it can still be expensive. Before you partner with an agency, find out precisely how much you’ll be expected to pay, as you don’t want any unpleasant surprises down the line;
- Find out what lead generation strategies it uses – learn how a company targets your leads, how it reaches out to them, and what techniques it uses to help you convert them.
It’s critical to choose an agency that you feel comfortable with and that you can rely on. You might want to contact a few different companies to learn more about your options and make an informed decision.
What To Expect From Outsourced B2B Lead Generation
Outsourcing your lead generation for the first time can be confusing and overwhelming. However, the process is quite streamlined.
When you first partner with a lead generation company, you’ll need to introduce your account manager to some of the main intricacies of your brand.
You’ll want to give details about your general industry and niche, some background information on your business, explain your brand voice and persona, and your main USP. Additionally, the agency will require you to go into detail about your target audience and buyer persona – it will help to ensure you get in contact with qualified leads that make sense for your business.
In some instances, you might have to share details about the current marketing strategies you’re using, as well as explain how your sales funnel works.
Once you’ve provided this information, the agency will have its team develop the best approach to lead generation that suits your brand. You can sit back, continue your normal daily processes, and let the agency handle the rest.
How do lead generation companies work
The strategies lead generation agencies will adopt to help you connect with your target markets will differ. However, the best ones will always prioritize developing long-term plans that continue delivering results long after clients have implemented their strategies.
They won’t only provide you with statics tactics that temporarily increase your lead generation, such as PPC campaigns.
Instead, they will take on a more comprehensive approach, and that includes creating strategies that improve:
- Lead generation;
- Brand awareness;
- Customer acquisition;
- Customer retention.
They will help you understand your leads’ decision-making processes, then create a detailed buyer’s journey that meets their needs. They’ll help you not only attain new customers but retain them as well.
Lead generation agencies will create and capture demand, spread your brand awareness, and ensure you have everything you need to nurture relationships with your leads and better manage your customers.
Benefits of Outsourcing Lead Generation
As your business (and its marketing budget) grows, you should invest in an in-house lead generation team. However, regardless of the size of your company, there’s no denying just how beneficial outsourcing your lead generation can be.
Some of the main benefits you’ll enjoy include access to:
- Experienced lead generation teams;
- Tried and tested lead generation strategies;
- Streamlined sales content;
- Relevant audiences;
- Cutting-edge tools and technologies.
Outsourcing lead generation will ensure that you get in touch with the right people at the right time, improving conversions and ultimately increasing your bottom line.
Conclusion
Though retaining existing customers is certainly important, if you want to ensure the continued growth of your brand, you need to devote yourself to B2B lead generation. For many companies, outsourcing is the only solution to finding qualified leads that can make a difference.
Outsourcing can give you access to proven lead generation strategies – you can read our previous blog to learn about some of the best ones – connect you with your target market, and help you boost your conversions.
If you need help improving your lead generation and developing strategies for success, OneIMS can help you. Rely on our solutions to acquire new customers, retain existing ones, and grow your business.
