What’s the ONE thing I should do in B2B Lead Generation?

If there was just one thing I could do to improve the quality of sales leads, what is it?

That question is at the top of many minds and I’ve given it a lot of thought. In fact, a study by MarketingSherpa found lack of quality leads was the #1 problem for 8 out of 10 CMOs.

What’s the answer?

B2B lead generation is a science — and thus cannot be distilled down to a single

answer.  How

ever, there is one glaring problem in B2B Demand Generation that I want to shout from the roof-tops.

The biggest mistake I see in B2B Demand Generation is the lack of a:

Deep understanding of target customers

Case in point, I’m talking with the President of a PPC search marketing company.   His company is very successful — with many clients and lots of articles.  His co-founder has even written two books.  So why is his business struggling?

If you say it’s the economy, you’re only half right.

Look at his website through customer eyes and ask yourself these questions as if you were the buyer:

• Why am I here?  What led me to here?  What am I looking for?
• What am I thinking  – based on where I am in my decision making process.
• Who are you?  (And you better answer in about 20 seconds or less.)
• Can I find an answer to my business problem?  How have others solved my business problem?
• Is the answer specific for me and my role in the company?
• Do you discuss the answers in terms I understand or are you using acronyms from your industry?

Can’t tell you who it is, but if  one quickly sees that that President’s website answers none of these questions. As a result, prospective buyers are not interested.

Here’s what a great prospect persona looks like. (Thanks to Stephanie Tilton of TenTon Marketing for this graphic.)

In B2B Lead Generation, your goal is to build trust and move prospective buyers though their buying process — so you can provide high quality sales leads for your salespeople.

What do you need to build trust and move them through a buying cycle?

Get out there and talk to them.