Digital Revenue Generation Guide - (Page 13)

SALES STRATEGY [By Maureen Hrehocik] SEALING THE CRACKS Technology gives new meaning to closed-loop lead generation L ead generation has come a long way from business cards in a fishbowl. Technologies such as Webcasts, blogs, Webinars and podcasts have ushered in an era of high-tech tracking and accountability, one that precludes excuses on not delivering a high ROI on lead generation. And let’s face it: ROI is king. Salespeople will inherently gravitate toward the hot leads in anticipation of a quick close and quick compen- sation. Many times warm leads are left to languish or— worse yet—fall off the radar altogether, squandering business opportunities that may turn out to be viable customers with a little more effort. But with clear responsibility delineation via electronic lead generation systems, sales cannot point fingers at marketing for not providing enough qualified leads, and marketing can’t fire back at sales for not following through on the less-than-hot leads. The big winner is the company’s profit margin. MARCH/APRIL 2008 A white paper recently released by Ascend2 Consulting and Solutions, “Web-Centric Lead Generation Best Practices for B2B,” identifies four methods that drive highly qualified leads: 1) Search Engine Optimization (SEO); 2) Cost-per-click (CPC) search engine marketing; 3) Public relations programs that use specific keywords and phrases with anchor links back to your landing page; and 4) Offline marketing tools with URLs not just for the company’s home page, but to the specific information highlighted in that campaign. As the report states, “While the Internet offers endless lead generation potential, it is also wrought with unproven strategies, unproductive marketing practices and overwhelming spam abuse. To effectively target, attract and acquire a steady stream of new leads in today’s Web-centric business world, savvy marketers have learned to focus their limited resources on a few of the most productive best practices.” (For a free copy of the report, visit www.MyAscend2.com/l/leadgeneration/.) Differentiate by value. Electronic lead generation also simplifies segmentation of accounts into categories that determine their value in the company’s customer base. Segmentation, experts say, provides better costeffectiveness. Segmentation is a key attribute of the SmartPipe solution offered by Florida-based PRC. “With the high cost of sending salespeople into the field, we’re seeing more and more companies handing over hot leads to field salespeople and warm leads to telesales,” says Lori Sprague, PRC’s executive vice president of business-to-business solutions. In a survey done by Cahners and Gartner, 15% of customers are typically in a buy cycle (hot prospects), 43% will move into the buy cycle within 18 months, and 15% are not interested. Those warm leads in the middle category, according to Sprague, are what SmartPipe keeps and nurtures into hot leads and gives them back to the company or pursues them, depending on the client’s preference. “Many companies’ sales forces lack the discipline to optimize their data,” she says. “PRC combines the ‘science with the discipline’ to maximize leads and increase business.” Understanding data, according to Sprague, is a critical component of a successful sales organization. “We’re a very analytically driven company,” she explains. “Our www.salesandmarketing.com www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com 10 SALES &MARKETING MANAGEMENT istock photo

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Revenue Generation Guide

Digital Revenue Generation Guide
Sponsorship Positions
Flash Belly-Band
Tabs
Gate Fold
Ad-Jolt
Ad-Gen
Video
Flash Survey
Blow-in Card
Flash Animation
Flash Animation: Automotive Ad
Flash 360
Scroll Bar

Digital Revenue Generation Guide

https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/introducing_nxtbook4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/happy_holidays_2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/openHouse_invite2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/auction_2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/AOPA_texttest
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/ArchiveButton_overlay
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/ZerotoThree_test
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/TweaksDemo
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/holidaycard_2010_alt
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/nxtbookmarketing/OffRoadUnicycle
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/holidaycard_2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/casestudy_techsoup
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/casestudy_texastourism
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/casestudy_stokes
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/clienthandbook
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/intro_test_bestof2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_premierhealthcare
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/cookiepreview_test
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_realtor
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/2008revenuebook_gtw
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/hospitalityandesign
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/RiemserDemo
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_serendipity
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/nxtbook_holiday08
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_uli
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/webinar_nxtbook60
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/tourireland_nxtd
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/tiq_samplebook
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_missioncritical
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_greenville
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_csn
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/samplebook_golf
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_gpmedia
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_curve
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_engsys
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_sld
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_cpm
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_appliancedesign
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_btn
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_sfwb
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_assembly
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_officecomm
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_nxtbook
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/spnsrshp_smple
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/salesbook_eetimes
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/webinar_nxtbook30
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/2008revenuebook
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/2008nxtgendiged
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/NXTbook/nxtbook-casestudy
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com