Almost all marketing faces this problem.

You work hard and reach numerous potential customers, but you don’t get the results you hoped for. Without results, quotas and sales targets are not reached.

Not a good place for the team, the boss, or your bottom line. How do you solve this problem?

You can use one of two solutions: enlist the help of a lead generation agency or employ lead generation tactics that have been proven to work. For this article, we will be dealing with the latter and number 1 might surprise you.

Get rid of cold leads

That….

Abandoning leads is counterintuitive, not to mention blasphemy in the sales and marketing industry.

But then again, cold leads are actually worse than no leads at all.

Okay, but they entered our channel for a reason. They were interested in our solutions at some point. Perhaps if we keep feeding them, they will convert.

We’re not saying, “Get rid of your entire list.” We are saying that there are leads that will not convert no matter what you try.

All they do is inflate your pipeline and keep your team “busy” when they could be looking for better leads. Even his team is afraid to contact them because it won’t do any good.

Characteristics of leads you may need to drop include.

• They don’t have the budget. This is often the biggest hurdle to closing deals. Without sufficient funds or the ability to obtain funds in the foreseeable future, no matter how good your solutions are, they will not advance.
• Your product is not the right one. Ultimately, your products won’t solve everyone’s problems. The prospect may have been interested in your solutions, but then decided they weren’t a good fit. They make unreasonable demands and complain about everything.
• The person is not the decision maker. They may love your solutions, but they may not influence your organization’s decision making. While he may continue to target the organization, he finds the real decision makers.

Create content that inspires confidence

It’s easy to focus all your marketing efforts on increasing sales and forget about building brand trust.

The sales we see are byproducts of the trust customers place in our business. This means that the more trusting prospective customers find us, the more likely they are to buy from you.

A solid way to build trusted relationships with potential customers is through content marketing.

Here are some content marketing ideas that can help build trust.

• Practical cases of exhibition. This content demonstrates to potential customers that you have successfully handled other customer issues. Telling the story from the customer’s perspective and using direct quotes helps build rapport.
• Co-create content with trusted industry influencers. We are programmed to trust those we admire, which means trusted industry influencers can influence the buying decisions of their followers. Partnering with these influencers can give your brand a boost in the eyes of buyers.
• Create content that meets customers’ needs instead of selling to them. People love to learn instead of being sold. Sharing educational content that explores their issues and shows how your brand can help makes them appreciate and trust you.

make cold calls

Many salespeople know what it’s like to get a list of potential customers, a detailed script, and the instruction to “Make the Calls.”

We would rather do something else than call. However, cold calling is still here, still a preferred communication channel for top executives, and brands use the strategy to connect with new customers.

Succeeding at cold calling requires more than an elaborate script and the ability to target the right people. The team making these calls should be equipped with soft skills that will help them connect and build a relationship with prospective customers.

These skills include

• Empathy. Companies have genuine problems that they want to solve, but only by those who show a genuine understanding of these challenges. You will need to show the prospect that you understand their frustrations and share their values.
• Charisma is king. Mix your statistics and selling points with stories and anecdotes that your audience can resonate with. They may not remember the stats, but they will take the stories into account and you will have a much better chance of connecting with your prospect.
• Tenacity. Cold calling is all about dancing around ‘no’s to get to a ‘yes’. It’s an abrasive field where you’ll probably call a prospect multiple times just to be heard. Take ‘nos’ willingly and be persistent. It will pay off in the long run.

Explain your unique value proposition

Now, unique value propositions are just that: they’re the special factors that set your organization apart from the competition.

It’s the special factors that make current and past customers say, “Hey, we picked your brand because of…”.

The proposal must be relevant (detail its ability to improve situations) and provide quantified value.

Ought

• be easy to understand
• Communicate the results the prospect can expect from using your business solutions
• Stay away from hype phrases like “Never seen before”, “Miracle Product”

When creating a strong value proposition, consider

• Identifying your ideal target customer. In addition to creating target customer profiles, create personas of the decision makers at those companies. Knowing what’s important to businesses and decision makers can help you create identifiable value propositions.
• List of its benefits and values. What value and benefits will users get from your solutions and how are they different from your competitors?
• Write your proposal. Focus on clarity, avoid technical jargon, and use jargon your target will understand and connect with. The goal is to get your message across to buyers quickly and easily.
• Testing and optimizing. Share your first draft with a group of trusted but unbiased clients and collect their first impressions. Does your proposal communicate benefits, value and differences with competitors? Use your feedback to revise your proposal

Direct mail

With brands trying all kinds of digital marketing tactics, adding direct mail to your strategy provides an added advantage.

One study showed that consumers preferred direct mail to digital ads because they are a more tangible form of communication.

We are posting so many emails that people automatically ignore them. The same study says that direct mail enjoys an open rate of up to 42.2 percent.

So, “Why aren’t you using direct mail?”

You may think you should only use it once you’ve made meaningful contact with your prospects—that is, they’ve expressed a desire to buy. It will maximize ROI, right?

Think about it… what is the one thing that B2B marketers are competing over? the attention of an audience. Without the attention of your audience, any lead generation tactic you employ will fall on deaf ears.

Direct mail cuts through the noise, reaches your audience, and holds their attention. With their attention on you, other tactics can now work. As you can see, this shouldn’t be a follow-up tactic, but one that sets the pace for all the others.

Direct mail done right can help shoppers recognize your brand, build a better reputation, and direct recipients to your online resources for more engagement.