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Lead Generation Best Practices: When to Use Outbound vs Inbound
| Guest post by: Dan McDade |
Article Overview:
- Use outbound to assure C-level executives and late adopters are covered.
- Use outbound to uncover immediate sales opportunities and assure timely coverage.
- Use outbound to discover complex internal buying landscapes.
- Use outbound for long sales cycles and high-investment solutions.
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Free Download - Marketing Tip: If You Only Do One Thing, Qualify Your Leads By Dan McDade |
Lead Generation Best Practices: When to Use Outbound vs Inbound
While there are benefits for using inbound marketing to nurture prospects until they self-qualify as sales-ready buyers, make sure you include outbound calling for prospect development in situations where inbound is less likely to be effective. The right outbound/inbound balance depends heavily on variables like company size (larger solution providers continue to spend more on outbound initiatives) and, more importantly, a combination of factors that include complex decision making processes, long sales cycles and high solution investments. This is where it remains critical to ground core strategies in outbound marketing.
Executive work styles and late adopters: Many C-level decision makers have not yet embraced—and may never—the role of self-education via social media. In an earlier blog, I talked about the chief executive of a large utility who finally responded positively on the 42nd touch and later signed off on a $1 billion deal for one of our customers. His was not a self-educating work style, and there was no way he was going to search blogs or websites to download white papers. He responded to a proven outbound methodology driven by an experienced prospect development professional.
Timely market coverage: Because inbound marketing generates contacts and supports self-education over a period of time, it's easy to miss qualified sales opportunities that could be deep in the current pipeline. We consistently find 5% of the market in an active buying stage and narrowing the list of competitive solutions. Many times, we've interrupted these scenarios to secure wins for our clients. And betting too heavily on inbound marketing providing 100% market coverage is a risk not worth taking.
Complex internal buying landscapes: Outbound marketing and its emphasis on personal, direct and regular contact with prospects assures correct assessment of decision maker roles and influence early on. Evaluation and buying dynamics are constantly in flux, and a personal relationship generated and maintained with outbound efforts provides immediate response to shifting prospect landscapes. Selling tactics can be immediately tailored to reinforce the laser-like relevance of a solution.
The return on complex sales is too high to place the care and feeding of potential high-value opportunities anywhere but in the hands of a skilled professional employing a proven outbound regimen of multiple touches using multiple media across multiple buying cycles.
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Referred by: http://www.findnewcustomers.com
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About the Author: Dan McDade RSS for Dan's articles - Visit Dan's website Dan McDade founded PointClear in 1997 with the mission to be the first and best company providing prospect development services to business-to-business companies with complex sales processes. He has been instrumental in developing the innovative strategies that drive revenue for PointClear clients nationwide. In addition to serving as president and CEO of PointClear, Dan is the author of The Truth About Leads, an insightful book that sheds light on the little-known secrets that help focus B2B lead-generation efforts, align sales and marketing organizations and drive revenue. Prior to starting PointClear, Dan served as president of UST, The Business Marketing Group, a high-tech B2B marketing services firm. The company, serving leading technology companies including Sun Microsystems, Texas Instruments, Oracle and SAP, grew over 500% during his tenure. From 1989 to 1991, Dan was an independent consultant providing direct marketing, telemarketing and new business development consulting services. Clients included Sears, Exxon, Rodale Press, R.J. Reynolds, and The Ritz-Carlton. Dan also served as vice president of marketing with Jackson & Perkins in Medford, Ore. Dan is chairman of the board of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) Education Collaborative, an organization promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education in Georgia's middle and high schools. He is a member of TAG, and also serves on the boards of TechAmerica Southeast (formerly AEA); the Business & Technology Alliance, a TAG society; and TAG Marketing. The Sales Lead Management Association named Dan one of the 50 most influential people in sales lead management in 2009 and 2010. Dan is also the author of ViewPoint | The Truth About Lead Generation, a blog exploring issues related to B2B sales, marketing and lead generation. Click here to visit Dan's website   Lead Generation Best Practices Measure Beyond CostPerLead Sales Process Even a Man Lost Knows Where He Wants to Go 3 Good Reasons Marketing Should Qualify Leads Before Passing to Sales Ten Critical Questions to Ask about Your Marketing Strategy Marketing Tip If You Only Do One Thing Qualify Your Leads |
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