Issue 3 - December 2002

 

 

 

 

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Marketing Matters

Lead Generation in IT Consulting: What's Working and What's Not

We were asked to speak at the ITA Collaborative held in Charleston, SC this past November on a number of topics including one on lead generation. Instead of preparing a session to cover the basics of lead generation, we decided to ask members of our IT community for their answers to a number of questions designed to uncover what lead generation techniques are working, and not working, today.

We conducted a web-based survey using the super-cool, on-line survey tool Turbosuvery.com (an ITA "find" with a special ITA-member discount!). We sent an e-mail to our IT friends and members of the ITA's Group T asking for participation. Out of the approximately 95 people we polled, 32 (33%) completed the survey.

Our findings, which are detailed in ITA Lead Generation.PPT found in our Coaching Solution Center are as follows:

  • No one single lead source is the answer. The top response to every lead activity tested indicated that those activities were either "Somewhat effective" or "Neither effective nor ineffective." Simply put, there were no real winners!
  • An integrated marketing approach is needed. To make multiple impressions and develop mindshare, as well as to hedge your bets, you should invest in a marketing mix with several different activities designed to generate leads.
  • Time consuming strategic alliance and referral network development is paying off and seminar selling is worth exploring. Alliance developed received the highest rating for lead generation with 88% of the respondents rating it somewhat to very effective. Seminar selling received the 2nd highest rating with 69% rating it somewhat to very effective.
  • Advertising is being seen as a lead generation technique but it is a brand building investment. 41% of the respondents rated advertising as somewhat to very ineffective for generating leads. Only use advertising in your marketing mix to develop name recognition and develop your company's brand image.

Our experience tells us that lead generation should be an outcome of your overall marketing plan and should support your company's value proposition and unique competitive differentiation. When developing your lead generation program:

  • First focus on your existing client base - client surveying and cross selling are the foundation for your growth and stability!
  • Next focus on the prospects in your current database. For more information on database mining, contact Tamera@convergencecoaching.com
  • Focus LAST on developing new leads with "strangers." Create lead generation campaigns that are very specific to the initiatives you have in your business. Be sure you've defined your "ideal target" for each initiative (often defined by time and size of business) and that your campaign is designed to appeal to the unique needs, issues and pain points of each constituent.
  • Employ a multi-faceted mix of:

    - Fax and E-mail to "warm" prospects and existing clients;
    - Web surveying techniques;
    - Teleprospecting;
    - Attention grabbing direct mail;
    - Be sure to offer something to the respondents of your lead generation effort. Consider offering attendance at a seminar, web seminar, briefing or lunch and learn. Or consider offering a "give away" like a white paper, book, premium gift or a no-charge consultation.

Lead generation campaigns consistently succeed when you educate your internal team and set expectations before you launch any campaigns. Be sure that roles and responsibilities for opportunity follow-up are clearly defined and incentives are in place to reinforce assigned behaviors. Hold regular accountability meetings (pipeline review, etc.) and be sure that systems are in place to monitor and track the source of all of your incoming leads - especially those that close.

When you know what's working, you can invest more resources in those vehicles. Even more importantly, when you learn what's not working, you can reallocate resources, try other avenues and adjust your marketing mix to maximize success.

For more information on how the members of the ConvergenceCoaching, LLC team can be of assistance to you in your lead generation efforts, please contact Tamera Loerzel at tamera@convergencecoaching.com.

To download a copy of the presentation, Do's and Don'ts of Lead Generation, by Jennifer Wilson, as presented at the ITA conference in November, please click here.