Lead Generation Quick Start Series

Workshop #6

The Science of Converting More Leads Into Deals

Today’s Speakers: Featuring:  Henry  Bruce  President  The  Rock  Annand  Group  @hebruce  

Moderator:  Andrew  Gaffney    Editor  DemandGen  Report  @agaffney  

Welcome Webinar Attendees Your  GoToWebinar  A6endee  Viewer  is  made  of  2  parts:  

1. Viewer Window 2. Control Panel

Type your question here

About DemandGen Report -­‐  Launched  in  2007  to  track  best  

pracDces  in  lead  generaDon  

-­‐  NewsleHer  has  grown  to  more  than  25,000  readers  

-­‐  We  also  offer  a  menu  of  research  and  best  pracDces  reports    

-­‐  New  audio/video  podcasts  at  DemandGenReport.com       @DG_Report  

linkd.in/DG_Specialists    

LeadGen Quick Start Series: The Science of Converting More Leads Into Deals

Henry Bruce, President The Rock Annand Group June 28, 2011

About The Rock Annand Group

■  My Focus: B2B Software and SaaS solution companies

■  Typical engagement scope/deliverables:   Client acquisition strategy/program development   Go-to-market strategy/positioning/messaging   Sales and marketing alignment

•  Strategic sales tools to drive pipeline performance/execution

  Interim VP/Director of Marketing

■  My Background: VP Sales/Marketing/Strategy   Extensive sales and field ops/exec management experience   Check me out:

•  www.rockannandgroup.com •  LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/henrybruce •  Twitter: @hebruce

Some interesting stats to consider …

■  Only 3 to 7% of new lead inquiries are “sales-ready”

■  70 – 80% of “inquiries” have “latent” demand and therefore go uncalled on by the sales team

■  87 out of 100 deals were initially left behind by sales

■  Takes 7 – 9 proactive communications to get attention

■  Best-in-class sales and marketing teams generate 4x closed deals than average teams

Focus on Lead Quality … NOT Quantity

Source: Sirius Decisions 2010

Demonstrate Thought Leadership

■  Focus on your buyer’s problems … NOT products  Start with the primary problem you solve

■  Break the problem down into 3-4 main themes  Why multiple themes? Buyers each have their “hot-buttons”

■  For example: eSignature Process Automation  Audience: Financial Services (banks, lenders, debt services)  Problem: Customer service expectations and regulatory

compliance strain operational efficiency and increase costs  Themes: Focus on process areas

•  Automated account opening •  Loan origination and consolidation •  Debt consolidation •  Customer account management

Program Fundamentals: Focus on 1 Theme for First 90 Days

■  Develop one good white paper   Usually involves re-purposing an existing collateral piece   Focus on the problem as it relates to the buyer   Talk about the recommended solution as it relates to you BUT

don’t mention your product   Relate a client case study and highlight the results they achieved   No more than 1000 words, ideally 500-600 words

•  Hint: the length of a good blog post

■  Develop a 90 day campaign focused on that theme   Month 1: Promote the white paper (email, BLOG post, tweet)   Month 2: Webinar on the white paper (ideally with client)   Month 3: Recap with white paper, webinar and client case study   Create a separate landing page for all program components

Program Fundamentals: Focus for Next Two Quarters

■  Repeat the campaign cycle for theme #2 in Q2, theme #3 in Q3, etc ■  Other recommendations:

  Optimize for search for each campaign   If permission-based contacts is a problem, consider using reputable

third party publishers (like DemandGen Report)   Drive themes to other media channels

•  LinkedIn •  Twitter •  Syndicated sites, guest blog posts

  Re-purpose each white paper into other formats •  Blog posts, Voice-over slides, YouTube video, etc

  Provide links to theme #1   Establish “Welcome Campaign” for Inbound leads:

•  When someone hits the web site or opts-in for newsletter or downloads content as part of specific campaign

•  Qualify interest (preferences)

Telemarketing Online Marketing Direct Mail Web site Email Trade Shows

Sources

Database

(CRM System)

Targeted Communications

& Qualification

Lead Evaluation & Scoring – How

sales ready?

Sales

External Partners/Sellers

Automated Ongoing Communications

Sales Ready (Yes) Not Sales Ready (Maybe)

Lead Gen & Management

Relationship Management

Drive to Buy/Refer Build Relationships Influencers/Buyers

Source: Forrester, Aberdeen Group, Sirius Decisions

Program Fundamentals: Establish Lead Management Platform

Summary and Take Aways

■  Focus on lead quality NOT quantity

■  Demonstrate thought leadership to gain credibility

■  Focus beyond the immediate quarter

■  Establish platform that fosters community

■  Test and measure everything ,,,

Thank you … Any questions??

henry@rockannandgroup.com Twitter: @hebruce LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/henrybruce Blog: www.rockannandgroup.com/blog

1. Viewer Window 2. Control Panel

Questions

Type your question here

Thank you for attending! Watch  the  full  series  on-­‐demand:  

#1  Lead  GeneraDon  A  to  Z  #2  Selling  Lead  Gen  Internally  

#3  The  Role  of  Content  in  Driving  Leads  

#4  Transforming  Your  Company  Into  A  “Lead  Magnet”  #5  Building  A  Lead  Funnel  

Spread  the  word!    -­‐>  bit.ly/LeadGen-­‐QuickStart  <-­‐