How can you turn lead gen ‘speed-dating’ into a lasting relationship?

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We’ve all seen it happen. Your best friend is newly single, and they embark on all sorts of knee-jerk strategies to quickly find a new beau.

And we see businesses do it all the time too. They run a short-term lead gen campaign to find an instant solution for a current problem.

For example, there’s the ‘I’ve been keeping myself so busy redecorating my new apartment-for-one, that now everything is done, I don’t have anything to look forward to’ problem (aka: “I’ve been so busy doing ongoing work that I took my eye off the ball – and we have nothing new in the pipeline”).

And the ‘I’ve spent all this money on expensive tickets, a designer outfit and a stretch limo but I don’t have a date!’ moment (aka: “We’re running an event, but hardly anyone has accepted our invitation, and we urgently need to round up more attendees to make all the money we invested worthwhile”).

Then there’s the all too common ‘I’ve kept myself so wrapped up in a whirlwind of work-sports-family that I haven’t made room for my old friends, let alone let anyone new in my life’ scenario (aka: “help! I’ve been so focussed on just one client that I’ve neglected my loyal clients and don’t have any prospects lined up”).

And of course, there is always the ‘hey stranger, do you know anyone who would like to go out with me on a blind date?’ challenge (aka: “I’m new in town. How do I meet new clients and establish credibility and profile?”).

A quick fix

While I am being a bit tongue-in-cheek, using a professional lead generation service is a great way to quickly get your message out there and get fast results (think of us as your speed-dating gurus). And of course, the more defined and refined the list of prospects, and the more targeted your messaging and offer, the better outcome your campaign will have. We’ll have you run off your feet with new dates in no time at all.

But we can add even more value by helping you take it that bit further. For example, over the last few years, we’ve worked with the Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand to help them raise engagement and sponsorship for their Steptember annual fundraiser. After the first campaign, back in 2015, we rounded up so many ‘dates’ that the project was deemed a complete success. The lead gen budget for 2016 was increased, and we used the 2015 list of prospects and clients to drive even more sponsorship revenue. By taking a more strategic view of dating, and applying contact continuity, the Society was able to revisit old suitors on good terms and happily re-engage with them.

It’s all about timing

You see, just because someone doesn’t want to date you right now, it doesn’t mean they won’t reconsider you further down the track when their circumstances change. Especially when you show that you’re interested, serious, persistent and committed – and have something attractive to offer. That sort of behaviour impresses.

A short-term lead gen campaign is a stepping stone to a long-term relationship if your contacts are nurtured, loved and talked to at regular intervals. By having a team who do nothing but help your prospects (or neglected clients) feel the love, you build a pipeline of new and exciting possibilities, rather than leave behind a trail of broken hearts and missed opportunities.

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Is running an in-house lead gen team costing you more than you think?

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We get it. It’s tempting to bring your lead generation activities under the one in-house umbrella to help drive down expenses and maintain control. But before you race out and start recruiting, there are two things you should consider:

1. What is the actual cost of having internal resources that you pay week in, week out?

2. What is the measurable value of building up an in-house lead generation team?

Cost – an internal resource vs. outsourced resource $ checklist

The table below identifies all those costs that are easy to forget about. It’s never just about salaries. Anyway, do the math for yourself.

 

 

INTERNAL RESOURCE IN-HOUSE COST (PA) OUTSOURCED RESOURCE
Recruitment costs, including training, and initial downtime until resource is up to speed $ None. Included in hourly rate.
Benefits load (average of 17% of salary) $ None. Included in hourly rate.
Facilities – rent, power, furniture, internet, kitchen, and bathroom, cleaning, etc $ None. Included in hourly rate
Training and certification $ None. Included in hourly rate
Management overhead – including time taken by managers and sales teams to coach and improve the performance of team members (often at the cost of other sales opportunities)/td> $ None. Included in hourly rate
Hardware – phone, computer, monitors, etc $ None. Included in hourly rate
Software licensing – CRM, productivity software, telephone system $ None. Included in hourly rate
Sick leave and company healthcare schemes $ None. Included in hourly rate
Paid parental leave $ None. Included in hourly rate
Annual holidays and paid public holidays $ None. Included in hourly rate
TOTAL COST PER YEAR $ None. Included in hourly rate
TOTAL COST DIVIDED BY 2000 WORKING HOURS A YEAR $ PER HOUR $ PER HOUR

 

 

Once you’ve run through this checklist, we’re pretty confident that you’ll find running an in-house team is going to cost you more.

You may be paying for 2000 hours of lead generation activity a year, but can you guarantee that each and every hour is spent on driving sales and nothing else? What if only 75-80% of those hours are productive? How does that impact your cost of sale and bottom line?

But focussing on just costs can be misleading.

Let’s talk about value

Value isn’t about cost. It’s about the return on investment (ROI) you get for all the hard work that goes into building a successful, motivated and high-performing team who generate consistent and predictable telesales results.

It’s about the times between campaigns when there’s not a smooth transition to the next project, and your team is sitting around, trying to look busy and keep morale up. And the wasted hours you’re paying for when they aren’t working.

Or the effort of ramping up your full-time and part-time resource recruitment programme to tackle an extensive long or short-term campaign, and the expense and heartbreak of downsizing your team if you change sales strategies.

And then there’s the boredom factor. While you may find your own company and products endlessly fascinating, focussing endlessly on the same subject can be exhausting for staff, and burnout in these circumstances tends to be high. The results of burnout include increased absenteeism, waning commitment, falling productivity and effectiveness, more conflict with co-workers, and even disruptive behaviour. It’s not surprising that recruitment is a constant activity for some companies!

In a nutshell

We recruit, train and manage lead generation professionals, so you don’t have to.

Due to the variety of projects we undertake, our people are continually learning, so they remained challenged and interested – and stay longer. We provide real economies of scale, so you can run a campaign that spans weeks months, or even years without increasing your own staff overheads.

And most importantly – we make every dollar count. If you pay us for 2000 hours of effort a year, that’s exactly what you get.

lisa@hotleads.co.nz