Like a paintbrush or a golf club, a B2B sales lead is only as effective as what you do with it. Used properly, B2B leads for your company can bring increased sales and success. But if you don’t treat them the right way, you won’t get much out of them.
Here are five mistakes you should avoid when it comes to B2B leads:
Chasing old leads
Remember that the age of a lead is only determined by how frequently you reach out to them. Just because you got a lead two years ago doesn’t mean it’s old, as long as you have stayed in touch. But if you have leads that haven’t been contacted in 12 months or longer, they need to be requalified if you want to keep them in your sales funnel.
Not engaging them continuously
Like tiny seedlings, B2B sales leads must be nurtured over time before they can grow into happy customers. It’s not enough to send them one message and hope they’ll buy – you must contact them consistently. There are varying opinions about exactly how many times you need to reach out to a prospect, but the key is making sure you provide leads with compelling content over the long haul.
Not having a well-defined sales process or funnel
It doesn’t matter how many leads your top-of-the-funnel marketing activities bring in if you don’t know what to do with them. It’s critical to have a buyer’s journey that defines how your business handles new leads and what you will do to nurture them towards a sale. Without this process, leads will slip through the cracks, and you’ll miss out on potential business.
Trying to sell upfront
A B2B lead is someone qualified and interested in buying: there’s no guarantee. Don’t assume that because someone signed up for your email list or downloaded a piece of your premium content, it’s okay to fill their inbox with offers or pushy sales messages. You still need to nurture them with valuable content and build a relationship with them by learning more about their needs and goals as a buyer.
Offering irrelevant content
You wouldn’t expect an auto mechanic to be interested in receiving emails about the history of ballet. Likewise, ensure your email subscribers are getting what they signed up for, and don’t underestimate the power of segmentation. Even if your list is small, there’s a good chance you can provide better content to your subscribers if you divide them up based on what kinds of messages they are interested in receiving.
Want to learn more about prospecting successful sales leads?
Learn about YesData’s B2B solutions.