Lead Generation is more important now than ever before, but with so much noise out there, it’s difficult to be heard. A lead generation strategy is the crucible moment for a b2b agency to know what’s to come. Lead Generation is an important facet for any agency to hone down on the prospects that they would love to work with rather than end up casting the net far and wide.
To do this, it’s important to take a few things into account:
1. Company Culture
Who do your employees want to work with? Company culture is a buzzword for any creative agency and for good reason; listening to your employees has never been so rewarding. Going for a business development strategy together will make the company grow in the way that everyone wants. It’s a balancing scale of course, but for a machine to work well, each component needs to be working to maximum capacity, and as humans, we typically need to be passionate about something to work hard. Find out which brands Freya in Marketing, Nicole in Finance and Dave in IT get excited about and push your strategy towards them.
2. Low hanging fruit vs Long-term company growth
What is going to be low hanging fruit and what is going to grow your company? You cannot focus solely on the big campaigns that cost a truck tonne of money and resources to pitch on, otherwise, no ones getting paid, equally, you cannot keep foraging from the same tree forever. Having a set plan in place means that you give yourself the best chance of success in the long term.
3. Getting in at the right time
Walking the floorboards of companies will get you noticed. You have to be in the room to win the work. Although you should not go to meetings for meeting’s sake, I am a firm believer in an introductory meeting. Pick a time when the brand’s workload has lessened and think about their annual cycle so they have the headspace to listen. This will give them the chance to see where you might fit into their plans.
4. Winning the right clients
Not every win will push your company forward, they may pay the bills in the short term but it’s about getting to a point where you choose your own clients, and that starts with a targeted approach to lead generation. Some clients can even be detrimental to the long term ambition so it’s all about finding the right clients. This might feel counterintuitive if up to this point you’ve been taking any work that comes your way. I can say from experience that if you utilise your lead generation correctly, you can choose the clients you want to work with and you’ll have a company that people want to work for.
Henry Regan
Managing Partner
Carbon Global