9 Hidden Secrets of Lead Generation
9 Hidden Secrets of Lead Generation:
Using Your Social Media Network as a Lead Generating Machine
By: Thomas R. Reich PhD
1) Have a clear CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVE – As with any marketing activities, companies should first develop a clear objective for their lead generation campaign. This gives the campaign direction, against which you will be able to gauge progress throughout its duration.
2) Contact all LEADS Directly – A lead must be contacted as soon as possible, but a business
will derive great value from nurturing leads long after the lead generation process and the initial contact phase is complete. Keep in mind that each consumer will be at various stages of the purchase cycle when they submit their details.
3) CHEAP LEADS ARE NOT ALWAYS the BEST Lead generation – We believe that not all leads contribute equal value for a company. 1,000 leads from one supplier might be totally different in origination, method and quality to another. While it is human nature to want more for less, it is better to generate one lead that converts into a sale than one million leads that don’t generate any revenue at all!
4) OFFERING THE LEAD TOO MUCH to respond is not good Lead generation – An incentive is often required at the ‘lead capture phase’ to entice the lead to provide their correct contact information. While they are sometimes necessary, those undertaking a lead generation strategy need to find the right balance between consumers who are interested only in the incentive and those that actually want to engage with your product. A news letter or white paper should be all you need for lead generation.
5) DEVELOP A FOLLOW-UP campaign in your lead generation STRATEGY – By 
nature the modern consumer is time-poor and expects a response in merely a few minutes not hours. The time from when the lead is captured to when the company makes first contact could be the difference between a lost or converted lead.
6) lead generation Requires that you UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF YOUR LEADS – 
The value of each lead captured through your lead generation campaign varies greatly depending on the marketing message and origination method. There is a place for leads at both ends of the spectrum but you need to know which is which in order to prioritize your spend.
7) DON’T WASTE BUDGET ON lead generation of DUPLICATE LEADS – To ensure that companies are not paying to communicate with the same lead twice, there are various platforms that ‘dedupe’ lead supply in real time. This means that duplicate contacts are removed so that your company is not wasting budget on a lead that has already been contacted.
8) When using lead generation PERCEIVE LEADS AS OPPORTUNITIES – Instead of 
possessing a ‘shortsighted view’ that a lead equates to one sale, perceive every lead as possible of providing multiple opportunities to your business. These opportunities could include cross selling, repeat sales or even business referrals.
9) SUPPORT LEAD GENERATION with HIGH QUALITY CONTENT – Quality, relevant sharable content supports SEO rankings which increases online visibility and consequently improves the number of visitors to your website. Once on your website engaging content can serve as your key advantage point between you and your competitors. This basically means that engaging, informative and interesting content is likely to enhance your credibility within your field and consequently improve your chances of gaining leads through your website.
