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Just because you’re selling to a lot of people doesn’t mean you’re selling to everyone you could be. Maximizing every possibility, and making more possibilities happen, is what lead generation is all about.

There is conversion potential in far more leads than you might think. Speaking from our own experience, up to 40% of so-called ‘dead’ leads still have some possibility within them. And it’s by partnering with the right lead generation company that you can unlock a better quantity and quality of leads.

But the tricky part is knowing where to start.

After all, there are so many lead generation companies out there and they’re all doing things ever so slightly differently. So to help guide you towards making an informed decision that works for your goals, here are some key things to bear in mind when looking for a lead-gen partner:

Find a partner that knows your industry

For a moment, imagine you’re a technology company trying to generate leads for selling your new, innovative product. Your target audience is agile, youthful start-ups like FinTech businesses and you want to create a piece of content that will grab their attention.

Together with your lead generation company, do you:

(a) create an energetic, fast-paced video that explains all the cool features of the product in 60 seconds?

(b) hit Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram with some eye-catching social media tiles?

(c) run off a ten-page whitepaper exploring the technical innovation of your product in mind-bendingly precise detail?

The answer is obviously (a) or (b). In fact, (a) and (b) would probably be best so you can target people in different ways. (If you answered C, get in touch to seek our help immediately!)

This hypothetical scenario illustrates why it’s critical to work with a lead generation specialist that knows your industry. The expertise of how your target audience thinks makes it far more likely that people will move down the funnel towards converting.

They will know the kinds of messaging and content that will resonate with the people you want to talk to, backed up by experience and data. For example, they will understand that younger audiences are far less likely to read a long, dry, technical whitepaper

There is absolutely no point in enlisting the services of a company that doesn’t understand the ins and outs of your industry. You might as well throw all your money in a big pile and set fire to it. Please don’t do that.

Find a partner that can score and qualify right

Lead-scoring and qualifying leads is the key part of giving sales teams leads that are worth pursuing, and keeping them from wasting time on those that aren’t. But there’s a lot more to it than just saying ‘user X has filled in Y, so they’re interested in Z’.

Think about what you’d like to find out from a lead to assess their potential. For example, you might want to know whether they’re high up enough within their company to be making purchasing decisions.

As they fill in forms on landing pages, which they may do to access some interesting content you’re offering them, you can find that out and score it based on how important it is to you.

Obviously, the software managing this scoring doesn’t speak or have feelings. But if it did, it’d be saying: “Well, she’s an IT technician, so that’s only worth ten points, but they’ve downloaded our eBook, which is another 15, so 25 makes her a warm lead.” Alternatively: “Ooh, this person’s a Chief Information Officer, that’s 50 points! Let’s pass their details onto the sales team!”

From your perspective, a good lead generation partner will work with you to determine what’s important in your lead-scoring. Just as crucially, they will also determine the level a lead needs to reach to become a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) and go to the sales team for further exploration.

Find a partner that can maximise buyer intent data

The dream for any sales and marketing operation is to know who is (or isn’t) going to buy before the sale happens. Now, there’s no crystal ball that can make that dream a total reality. But thanks to buyer intent data, you can make very educated guesses, which is pretty much the next best thing.

Put in simple terms, buyer intent data looks at the actions and behaviours of people who purchased in the past. Patterns and trends are then identified which indicate certain actions people tend to do on the road to purchasing.

Armed with that information, future leads trigger signals when they carry out those actions themselves so that sales and marketing teams know they’re more likely to convert.

Behind the scenes, there’s a lot of data, technology and analytical power that goes into making this process happen. So it’s the stuff that’s behind the curtains that you want to see when looking for a lead generation company.

Ideally, they’ll have a strong buyer intent engine that can deliver refined insights, and reliable lines of communication so that you can understand the data and act on it accordingly.

Anything else to consider?

Of course. While the three points above are all critical, they are by no means an exhaustive list.

It’s also worth investigating a prospective lead generation company’s reputation and track record, and whether their approach and data really does deliver the results they say it does. Connected to this, find out to what extent they’re willing to tailor their approach to your specific needs and goals. One size doesn’t fit all.

Finally, make sure you’re happy with the charging terms available. Some firms charge a fixed fee for their services, while others will bill according to how many leads they deliver. Depending on the nature of your business, either may be suitable, but it’s certainly something to think about.

Experienced in all aspects of lead development, Creation Agency is best-placed to make sure your best future customers don’t slip through the net. Learn more about what we do and how we do it here.