the definitive guide to lead generation workbook
Post on 19-Aug-2015
6.639 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TOLEAD GENERATION WORKBOOK
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TOLEAD GENERATION WORKBOOK
Lead generation describes the marketing process of stimulating and capturing interest in a product or service for the purpose of developing a sales pipeline.
WHAT IS LEAD GENERATION;WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
WHAT IS LEAD GENERATION;WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
WHAT LEAD GEN IS: WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:
Content marketing and blogging
Website and SEO
Social media
PPC
Content syndication
Direct mail
Telesales
Email marketing
Lead nurturing and lead scoring
Find more leads
Find better leads
Enhance prospect relationships
Close deals faster
Cross-sell and upsell to your current customers
Maximize your spend on all marketing campaigns
Be more strategic in your marketing strategy
Leverage cross-channel marketing
Align with sales for a closed-loop deal process
LIST A PRIMARY GOAL YOU BELIEVE LEAD GEN CAN HELP YOU ACHIEVE WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR.
Traditional lead generation has undergone substantial changes in recent years, thanks to new online and social marketing techniques. In particular, the abundance of information readily available online has led to the rise of the “self-directed buyer” and the emergence of new ways to develop and qualify potential leads before passing them to sales.
HOW HAS LEAD GENERATION EVOLVED?
HOW HAS LEAD GENERATION EVOLVED?To show how lead generation has changed, use the key phrases at the bottom to fill in the blank boxes on the right. The words on the left represent lead generation in the past, and the blank boxes on theright represent lead generation now.
TRANSFORMATION OF MARKETING
MISSION
Represent the company
Find customers
CUSTOMER INTELLIGENCE
Mass advertising
Demographic
MECHANICS & TACTICS
Point-in-time blasts
Few/isolated channels
MEASUREMENT
Third-party data (Nielsen)
Intuitive decision making
Being foundContinuous relationshipExploding/integrated channelsBehavioral
1:1 Targeting Represent the customer Owned, big data Fact-based decision making
KEY PHRASES
IN THE PAST NOW
STEPS TO DEFINING A LEADTo build out your lead generation strategy, you must start with the basics. Every organization will have its own definition of a “good lead”. If you don’t know yours, begin with lead generation 101.
STEPS TO DEFINING A LEAD
Sales and marketing teams must create and agree upon a universal lead definition.
Schedule some time to meet. Gather all your key stakeholders in a room, and pick each other’s brains.
Ask the hard questions. For marketing: What does your target market look like? Who do you have in your system, and what are they engaging with? For sales: What prospects are you speaking to? What types of buyers are closing?
Decide how good is “good enough”. Set a base level. What does marketing consider a good enough lead to pass to sales? Conversely, what does sales think is a lead worth following up on?
Get the flip side of the story. What leads does marketing consider bad? And what leads does sales consider not worth their time?
Agree on a definition, and write it down. Once you have written down your definition, abide by it. Add it to your marketing automation system; post it up on walls—do whatever is necessary to keep both teams on point.
Iterate. Meet regularly to review this definition. You should iterate and change your definition as your company grows and priorities shift.
1
2
3
4
5
6
DEFINING A LEADUse the 6 steps below to help shape the definition of a true lead.
1
2
3
4
5
6 Iterate. Meet regularly to review this definition. You should iterate and change yourdefinition as your company grows and priorities shift.
Write down when and where the sales and marketing teams will meet.
What does your target market look like?
What type of leads are in your system currently, and what are they engaging with?
What types of leads are closing? What size companies do they work for? Where are they located?
What does marketing consider a good enough lead to pass to sales?
What does sales consider a bad lead?
Agree on a definition, and write it down.
CREATING YOUR BUYER PERSONASContent is the foundation of your inbound marketing e�orts, and a great way to generate leads. The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as “the marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience—with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”
Your content marketing will be what fuels most, if not all, of your lead generationcampaigns, so you need to make sure you get it right.
BUYER PERSONA EXERCISE
Conduct interviews with customers, prospects, sales, and your customer service teams to come up with at least 1-2 personas. Focus on the following topics when creating each persona:
• Background: Basic details about your ideal customer and his or her company
• Job details: Key job responsibilities, likes and dislikes about job
• Main sources of information: Where your persona does his or her research
• Goals: Persona’s primary and secondary goals
• Challenges/pain points: Your persona’s challenges, and the emotions which accompany those challenges
Don't dive into content marketing without a strategy. You need to understand your buyer so you can set the tone, style, and delivery strategy for your content.
BUYER PERSONA EXERCISE continued
• Preferred content medium: How your persona likes to absorb content
• Quotes: Bring your personas to life. Gather actual quotes during interviews
• Objections: The objections you anticipate from personas during the sales process
• Role in purchase process: Persona’s influence in the decision making process
• Marketing message: The messaging that speaks directly to this persona
BUYER JOURNEY EXERCISETo map your own persona buying journeys, create a spreadsheet with a separate tab for each buying phase, and fill in the following items:
BUYING PHASE
ACTIONS &QUESTIONS
BUYER ACTION QUESTIONS BUYER ASKSBUYERDOING(Y/N)?
KEY BUYERACTIONS
EVENT #1
EVENT #2
EVENT #3
PROBLEM #1
PROBLEM #2
PROBLEM #3
EVENT OCCURS
PHASE EXIT CRITERIA
PROBLEMSURFACES
CONSEQUENCESOF PROBLEMIDENTIFIED
CONSIDERALTERNATIVESFOR SOLVING
THE PROBLEM
CONTENT MARKETING WORD SEARCHContent marketing comes in many forms. See how many you can find below.
Kits PodcastsInfographicsEmailGuides
Slide Decks Surveys Templates Videos Webinar
eBooksArticle Blog Posts Case Studies Checklists
When it comes to converting leads and making lasting impressions, your website is where the magic happens. Analytics and testing company KISSmetrics stated it best on its blog: “Your leads are only as good as the website that produces them.”
WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION FOR LEAD GENERATION
WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION FOR LEAD GENERATION
Below is a handy SEO checklist for the different types of content on your site.Use this as a reference while reviewing your website content.
HOMEPAGEWEBSITECONTENT
LANDINGPAGES
PRODUCT/SERVICEPAGES
RESOURCESPAGES
Highlight the latest /hottest content
Use eye-catchingvisuals
Write catchy copy
Include ways for peopleto opt-in to content
Use strong calls-to-action on each product page
Make contactinformation clear on the page
List pricinginformation (ifapplicable)
Address customer pain points
Organize your contentlogically
Make your contenteasily accessiblewith one click
Include visual thumbnails of each asset
Make sure each pageis optimized for SEO
Use attention-grabbingheadlines
Include your logo
Write a great headline
Focus on a singlecall to action
Entice readers to respond to your offer
Use plenty of bulletpoints
Feature relevantvisuals
Include a short formto capture leads
Display a “Thank You”page that points to a related offer
Tie customer needs to solution benefits
Make calls-to-action clear and prominent
Use consistent voice
Write clear andconcise copy
Copy edit for typos and grammatical mistakes
Keep paragraphs short
Use easy-to-read font
Make contentscannable
Use compellingimagery (little or nostock imagery)
Landing pages are customized pages that your leads are directed to from social media pages, received emails, event invitations, paid ads, or search engine results. For e�ective lead generation, specifically create new landing pages for each program.
LANDING PAGES
LANDING PAGESUse the tips below to create landing page
content that is guaranteed to convert.
WRITE YOUR LANDING PAGE COPY USING THESE 5 STEPS AS A GUIDE
Set up the problem.1
Talk about the solution.2
Add a clear call-to-action.4
Point out the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me).3
Deliver the goods (such as an ebook, video, or webinar registration).5
Your prospects are searching for what you sell, but will they find you? Search marketing is about prospects discovering you through search results and converting them into opportunities. The higher you rank in organic searches, the more people will find you.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Write 5 keyword phrases that are valuable to your business. Then use the Google Adwords Keyword tool to research CPC, CTR, and Conversion Rate.
KEYWORD COST PERCLICK (CPC)
CLICKTHROUGHRATE (CTR)
CONVERSIONRATE
URL
1
2
3
4
5
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
The MOZ guide below is an example of a perfectly optimized webpage.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Use the MOZ guide on the previous page to create your own perfectly optimized webpage.
HEADLINE
BODY COPY
IMAGE NAMES
URLMETA DESCRIPTION
PAGE TITLE
TARGETED KEYWORD
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Use the clues below to find the most important aspects of on-page SEO.
1. Text supporting the keyword focus for the page2. Google uses these to understand what your webpage is about3. What shows up in Google SERPs4. _______ is king
1. The explanation of a webpage; also shown in SERPs2. Direct path to a webpage3. Abbreviation for a link4. Time it takes to open a page5. Synonymous with picture
1
1
2
3
2
3
4
5
4
CLUES
DOWN ACROSS
Using social media to brand your business isn’t groundbreaking anymore. Been there, done that. Although social is still important for branding and generating buzz, it’s also increasingly used for lead generation.
SOCIAL MEDIA & LEAD GENERATION
FACEBOOKFacebook ads provide highly targeted opportunities to reach your audience. They appear on the right side of a user’s screen and are similar to traditional PPC ads: you place a bid on how much you want to pay per click, or you can pay per thousand people who see your ad.
TAKE SOME TIME TO CREATE 3 DIFFERENT FACEBOOKADS FOR VARIOUS ASPECTS OF YOUR BUSINESS.
AD TITLE:
CALL-TO-ACTION:
BRIEF BODY COPY:
AD TITLE:
CALL-TO-ACTION:
BRIEF BODY COPY:
AD TITLE:
CALL-TO-ACTION:
BRIEF BODY COPY:
TWITTERWe’ve had great success placing Promoted Tweets in user feeds, targeted to followers and users who fit our criteria. We use Promoted Tweets to create demand for new content assets, upcoming events, or demos. Every Promoted Tweet that we run leads to a form, which improves our chances of gaining user data.
CREATE 3 PROMOTED TWEETS THAT YOU CAN USE ON YOURCOMPANY’S TWITTER ACCOUNT. REMEMBER, ONLY 140 CHARACTERS.
PROMOTED TWEET:
PROMOTED TWEET:
PROMOTED TWEET:
AD TITLE:
CALL-TO-ACTION:
BRIEF BODY COPY:
AD TITLE:
CALL-TO-ACTION:
BRIEF BODY COPY:
AD TITLE:
CALL-TO-ACTION:
BRIEF BODY COPY:
LINKEDINLinkedIn ads give companies the chance to target their audiences in powerful, unique ways. The information found on a user’s LinkedIn profile is di�erent from other social networks, and it’s particularly helpful for businesses.
CREATE 3 LINKEDIN ADS, AND REMEMBER LINKEDIN’S AUDIENCEIS MORE PROFESSIONAL. MAKE SURE THESE ADS ARE DIFFERENT
FROM YOUR FACEBOOK AND TWITTER ADS.
Email is a cornerstone and key component of many marketing campaigns. Whether you’re hosting an event, publicizing a new piece of content, or promoting a new service o�ering, email can deliver relationship-building communication at every stage of the funnel, especially to those leads already in your database.
EMAIL MARKETING
EMAIL MARKETINGFollow these pro tips to write the perfect subject line for your email.
FRAME YOUR SUBJECT LINE AS A QUESTION.
Questions compel readers to open your emails as they pause to consider the answer.
BE CONVERSATIONAL.
Don’t be afraid to use conversational language in a subject line.
TRY A LIST.
This is where your “Top 10”, “5 Tips”, etc., subject lines come in. People gravitate toward short, easily digestible information.
MAKE A PSYCHOLOGICAL APPEAL.
According to Copyblogger, the subject line “You are not alone” gets an average open rate of 90%. As you write your subject lines, keep basic human psychology in mind.
TRY WRITING A FEW SAMPLE SUBJECT LINES FOR YOUR NEXT EMAIL SEND HERE:
1
2
3
4
PAID PROGRAMSInbound marketing has been getting a lot of buzz lately, but a well-rounded marketing mix should include both inbound and paid techniques. Inbound marketing alone can’t always drive people to buy, so smart marketers use outbound and paid techniques to introduce their businesses, amplify their messaging, and expose their content to leads.
KEYWORD ORPHRASE
AD COPY URL
PAID PROGRAMSUse the table below to create 5 pay-per-click (PPC) ads. You only have
25 characters for your headlines, and 70 characters for your copy. Remember to research keywords and track conversion rate regularly.
TELEPHONE-BASED LEAD GENERATION
Telesales, or inside sales reps, can contribute greatly to successful lead generation. Your sales team qualifies your leads and adds a personal touch.
An important distinction here: Telephone-based lead generation isn’t the same as telemarketing. Telesales provides the human interaction needed to turn your marketing leads into opportunities and sales.
TELEPHONE-BASED LEAD GENERATIONUse the worksheet below to help set expectations within your sales team.
How many meaningful activities (email, calls, etc.) do you want each sales rep to perform per day?
How many business days, on average, does your sales team work?
What percentage of the day does your sales team work on their inbound queue?
A
B
C
Figure out how many meaningful activities each inside sales rep should complete every month.
A B C The number of activities an inside sales rep should complete every month:
(A x B x C) / 2.6 = The number of quality leads an inside sales rep can work per month:
Now, divide that number by 2.6 (the number of times, on average, an inside sales rep will call each lead).
Once you’ve invested in your lead generation strategy, you’ll want to get the most out of every lead. Many companies do a great job of generating Top-of-Funnel (TOFU) leads, but most new leads aren’t yet ready to buy. That’s where a solid Middle-of-Funnel (MOFU) strategy comes in.
LEAD NURTURING
CREATE A STAY-IN-TOUCH LEAD NURTURING CAMPAIGN
DAY 1: INTRODUCTORY EMAIL
Draft an email that provides an interesting look into your business.
DAY 10
Draft an email o�ering new content related to first download and Web activity.
DAY 15
Draft a sales email that explains your products and services.
DAY 30
Draft an email o�ering a best practices ebook or video.
DAY 75
Draft a personal email from sales rep o�ering a demo.
DAY 45
Call from your sales rep to “check in”.
Check the boxes after you complete each step and begin tostrategically think about nurturing leads through the sales funnel.
When it comes to lead generation, the more you test, the more you know. You can’t optimize your lead generation without first testing it, but many marketers don’t know where to start testing. You need a clear plan of attack.
TESTING & OPTIMIZATION
TESTING & OPTIMIZATIONUse the 5 steps below to identify a testing strategy relevant to yourbusiness in order to increase the success of your campaigns.
STEP 1: DEFINE SUCCESS.What are your ultimate success metrics? List 3 macro-conversions (end goals like clicks, conversions, and leads) and 3 micro-conversions (smaller steps you want leads to take, like watching a video or sharing a blog post).
STEP 5: TEST.Testing is crucial! Turn to the next section to decide what type of tests you'll perform.
STEP 2: IDENTIFY BOTTLENECKS.Identify what isn’t working. Perhaps you’re getting a lot of tra�c to a key website page, but people aren’t actually converting or downloading your gated ebook. Ultimately, it’s the bottleneck that you will want to test.
STEP 3: CONSTRUCT A HYPOTHESIS.If no one’s filling out your form, maybe you need to shorten the number of fields, move the form to a di�erent part of the page, or change the download button color. Your first hypothesis might be that your forms will work better with 3 fields instead of 5.
STEP 4: PRIORITIZE.Prioritize your hypotheses based on predicted impact. For instance, you might predict that moving your form will have more impact than shortening it, so test the new form location first. Depending on your resources, you can always run multiple tests.
1
1
2
2
3
3
TESTING & OPTIMIZATIONNow that you know the steps to take before you test, choose one of these types of tests for a few of your current campaigns.
A/B TESTING MULTIVARIATE TESTINGTYPES OF TESTING:
WHAT YOU WANT
TO TESTTESTING TYPE
Compares the conversion rates of two assets by splitting the tra�c or email sends.
Compares a much larger number of variables to show a statistical significance.
If you can confidently identify how your lead generation campaigns truly deliver financial returns, you’ll lift your marketing team’s influence and credibility even further. If you understand how your campaigns perform, you can also make the right strategic investments to improve results over time.
METRICS
METRICSBelow are some common metrics used when tracking lead generation.
Check all below that could apply to your marketing campaigns.
Marketing % of contribution to sales pipeline: The % of revenue in the sales pipeline (opportunities) that originated from marketing e�orts
Marketing % of contribution to closed revenue: The % of revenue in closed won deals that originated from marketing e�orts
Quantity of Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs): The number of SQLs passed on to your sales teams
Quality of SQLs: The % of SQLs not rejected by sales
Investment per Inquiry: Total lead acquisition investment, divided by the total number of inquiries
Cost per Lead: Total campaign costs, divided by quantity of leads
Inquiry to Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL): Conversion of initial inquiry to MQL
MQL to Sales Accepted Lead (SAL): Conversion from MQL to SAL
SAL to SQL: Conversion from SAL to SQL
SQL to Opportunity: Conversion from SQL to Opportunity
We know that marketing is a tough job—after all, we’re marketers ourselves. Marketing to marketers is no easy task, but it’s one we love. That’s why we’re happy to share our knowledge about lead generation via both inbound and outbound marketing. There’s
no perfect, one-size-fits-all approach to lead generation. Just use the channels and tactics that help you reach and engage your target audience. Keep their challenges,
goals, and concerns top of mind; deliver information and content that solves their pain points; nurture those relationships, and engage them over time. You’ll soon be filling
your funnel with high-quality leads.
About Marketo:Marketing Software.Easy, Powerful, Complete.
Marketo (NASDAQ: MKTO) provides the leading cloud-based marketing software platform for companies of all sizes to build and sustain engaging customer relationships. Spanningtoday’s digital, social, mobile and o�ine channels, the Marketo® solution includes a complete suite of applications that help organizations acquire new customers more e�ciently, maximize customer loyalty and lifetime value, improve sales e�ectiveness, and provide analytical insight into marketing’s contribution to revenue growth. Marketo’sapplications are known for their breakthrough ease-of-use, and are complemented by the Marketing Nation™, a thriving network of more than 190 LaunchPoint™ ecosystem partners and over 40,000 marketers who share and learn from each other to grow their collective marketing expertise. The result for modern marketers is unprecedented agility and superior results. Headquartered in San Mateo, CA with o�ces in Europe and Australia, Marketo serves as a strategic marketing partner to more than 2,700 large enterprises andfast-growing small companies across a wide variety of industries. For more information, visit www.marketo.com. Marketo, the Marketo logo, Marketing Nation and LaunchPoint are trademarks of Marketo, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
top related