5 Secrets to Successful Online Lead Generation

In most business-to-business or complex sale situations, online lead generation will get you more good leads, faster and at far less cost than offline tactics. But you have to do it right.

Here are five steps to ensure your online lead generation efforts deliver the greatest results.

1. Be very visible.
   
   Your goal should be to become highly visible and easy to find anywhere your prospects are hanging out or looking for products or services like yours. Unlike most offline advertising, you don’t have to hit your prospects over the head to get their attention. They’re already looking for you. Just be easy to find.
   
   That means implementing organic search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search programs (PPC). Even banner ads on industry websites still deliver some good results.
   
   




2. Get your prospects to take action.
   
   Just as with conventional offline marketing programs, the goal of an online program should be to get your desired prospects to do something.
   
   Ultimately you want them to buy your product or talk to a sales person, of course; but often there are smaller steps your prospects will be more comfortable taking first. Maybe it’s registering for a newsletter or webinar, downloading a special report or viewing a demo.
   
   Figure out what you want your prospect to do – in a logical order – and then tell them to do it. This always works better than a running a message that doesn’t have a call to action.
   
   




3. Be prepared to convert the leads you generate.
   
   Only a small percentage of prospects will be ready to talk with a sales person when they first make contact with you. Sending traffic or leads to your website is the first step in a multi-stage process.
   
   Many people who respond to your lead generation efforts will be in the early phases of their buying process. It’s your job to engage them, provide them with the answers to their questions, and guide them through the education process.
   
   Just as your lead generation efforts should motivate the prospect to take action, your website should also be optimized to get them to move further through the buying process.
   
   If you ignore those people who are not ready to buy just yet, you’ll vastly reduce the power of your lead generation programs.
   
   




4. Participate in the community.
   
   Your target audiences – prospects, customers, journalists, employees and investors - are talking online. Find the online communities, websites and forums where your customers and prospects go – and participate. Comment on relevant blogs. Answer questions. Offer your opinion and expertise.
   
   But leave the marketing-speak at home.
   
   There’s much to be gained by participating – correctly – in those conversations. You’ll give your target audience a chance to get to know you, and you’ll be increasing your visibility.
   
   




5. Test, measure and adjust.
   
   The ability to quantify and compare results from nearly every aspect of an online marketing program is a key advantage of online marketing; and it’s possibly the main reason online lead generation can be so effective so fast.
   
   You can test words and offers and images and forms and buttons and just about anything else to get the combination that produces the most results. No more guessing. Your prospects will tell you what works best. But only if you test.
   
   Online lead generation is truly the fastest, more efficient path to growing sales opportunities today. But these programs don’t run themselves. If you keep the above secrets in mind as you plan and execute your program, you’ll increase your chances for success.

© 2009 Tatum Marketing Inc.