The Challenge of Generating Sales Leads

Before we can sell, any company needs a pipeline of new prospects to sell to. Yet generating sales leads is a daily challenge for most companies and according to Forbes Magazine, more than 60% of the marketers polled in a recent marketing survey said their greatest marketing challenge for the year ahead was generating more sales leads, and nearly two-thirds (63%) reported that their marketing mix either doesn't meet sales demand or they’re unsure of whether their mix is effective. Nearly 40% of those polled cited accurate measurement and attribution of on-line marketing as their biggest challenge.

Remarkably, a quarter (26%) of respondents said they do not track leads to any marketing program at all or they only attribute leads to one program. The old saying about “They know half their marketing spend works but not which half” seems to still ring true more than ever.

I believe the role of every sales and marketing leader in a company is to boost sales leads. This needs to be attacked on two fronts, online marketing (push,pull,inbound, lead nurturing) and good old fashioned sales work as lead generation cannot be the function of marketing alone.

It is all about implementing social media, inbound marketing and online marketing tactics that work hand-in-glove with the sales development work including hunting activities around customer acquisition and channel development. Successful companies know how to build then fill a sales funnel. Most small companies fail not because they can't sell but because they can't build big enough sales funnel to drive revenue.
To find out more about lead generation services from The Bitter Business, click the link.

Internet Marketing and SEO Advice

Does your Go-To-Market strategy channel include SEO, Social media and internet marketing as a way to reach with your customers? Today, the internet is the sales lead enabler and brand driver for most businesses be they selling online or using the internet to drive awareness.

 Internet marketing and SEO is hard work, it’s not inspirational, it’s about perspiration and to have a constant approach where it’s the number 1 task every day. Be careful how you delegate internet or social media marketing and how much you pay for it. A few posts on twitter does not internet marketing make, it is all about using all the social media channels (most which are free) to build momentum behind your main website so it leads to long term SEO reward and drives customers towards your brand and website.

Outsourcing internet and social media marketing along with SEO to a 3rd party is fine but in my experience the vast majority of these companies over promise and under deliver. Ask how many of them have got a company of the 1st page of Google, bet not that many. The old saying of the proof of the pudding is in the eating has never been more relevant when it comes to online marketing.
If you would like a chat on delivering performance based marketing and sales solutions without the bull, then feel free to contact me. And yes, I have got companies on 1st page in Google for multiple keywords
Brian.