A

GUIDE TO
EFFECTIVE
LEAD
GENERATION
The Journey from List
to Lead With Markable
Solutions

Markable Solutions
21451 Continental Circle, Saratoga, CA 95070
Phone: +1 (408) 799 4081, Fax: +1 (408) 868 0333
Email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
The process of identifying a person who has shown
interest in your product and/or service and converting
him/her into a prospect is lead generation. This usually
involves gently ‘warming up’ the person to ultimately
buy your product. Lead generation can be carried out
in a multitude of ways, such as generating a list of
potential prospects, engaging them through compelling
offers and converting them into qualified prospects.
Compelling offers could consist of coupons, gated
content, contests, email/newsletter subscriptions,
podcasts, webinars – each one of these can form a
part of your lead generation strategy. B2B inside sales
typically consist of promoting and selling your products
online, a strategy that uses sales nurturing tricks and
techniques to promote lead flow and boost revenues.
The onset of real-time business solutions has changed
the landscape of marketing, making it more amenable
to targeted offerings. Everything begins with a great

methods while leveraging technology struggle with

clunky purchased databases and poorly designed
campaigns. This is where effective lead generation
steps in using CRM, Content Marketing, and Digital
Marketing to stem the rot, and create enticing ‘inside
sales’ leads and converting these into sustainable lead
generation models.

WHERE IS
LEAD GENERATION TODAY?
Digital marketing has pushed lead generation to a new
level. Companies now employ precise technological
advancements that shift traditional marketing to what is
known as targeted integrated marketing – a science that
uses real-time business solutions like CRM, Content
Marketing, and other such digital techniques. Lead
list. However, most organizations end up barking up
generation, as a process, is extremely critical to an
the wrong tree by using cluttered databases sourced
organization’s sales strategy creating what insiders term
from vendors, thereby diminishing their chances
as the ‘sales funnel’. Customized mailer campaigns can
of producing the desired results. This white paper
do wonders by shortening the sales cycles, improving
delineates Markable Solutions’ high impact lead
tele-sales figures and aligning one’s database marketing
generation techniques to develop marketing qualified
efforts for better and more impactful results. However,
leads for an organization’s sales pipeline.
it is important to note that not all lead generation is
necessary and nurturing the captured leads is equally

WHAT IS important to maintain an effective sales strategy.

Research seems to indicate that 79% of marketing
LEAD GENERATION? leads never make their way through the sales funnel
(Source: Marketing Sherpa) and only a meager 25% are
Simply put, lead generation involves a series of
considered ‘legitimate’ (Source: Gleanster Research).
techniques to develop interest and inquiry in the
The good news is that companies that nurture their
service or product of your business. Online marketing
leads generate 50% more sales ready leads at 33% lower
costs (Source: Forrester
Research).

EVOLUTION
OF LEAD
GENERATION
Independent research
seems to suggest that
78% of marketing
professionals feel that
generating high quality
leads is the most important
business challenge they
face. Technology-based
modern marketing
techniques, as we know
them today, comprise four
distinct stages – Content
Auditing, Lead Reporting,
Lead Scoring and Lead
Nurturing. Each stage,
when executed well, helps
strengthen the relationship him about the product or service category, the
when transitioning from a prospect to a customer. In benefits and the attributes, and implicitly suggest
today’s world, marketing professionals should strive to the name of the brand. That is possibly the only way
‘be found’ via their content strategies, rather than by to convince a buyer to spend more time in analyzing
hammering out email blasts to solicit likely consumers. your proposition – and that can lead to a conversion.
With so much information floating on the internet, most Your digital presence, and smart digital presence
consumers’ attention span is getting more limited. What is extremely critical to lead generation today. Gone
is termed as ‘attention scarcity’ is now reaching gigantic are the years of proclaiming product ‘A’ has certain
proportions, enough to make marketing professionals qualities in newspaper advertisements. You are
seriously consider revising their age-old strategies of better off talking about product category, and how it
pushing out content explicitly and making ‘sales pitches’. benefits the consumer. And, weave in your own brand
For buyers it is a simple process – eliminate the noise with subtlety. According to research by Forrester, a
that is slightly off the mark. Once a buyer treads that buyer may be 75% to 90% through the sales journey
path, you can forget about a lead conversion. before conversing with the company, making it doubly
Today, it is all about educating the buyer. Tell her/ tiresome for the sales force to swing into action early.

Then Now
Companies went looking for prospects by showcas- Prospects are attracted to quality content specif-
ing messages and ads ic to their needs

Companies used mass advertising which was viewed Today, targeted marketing techniques that are
by all viewed by a niche audience are used to entice
potential customers
Decisions were based on demographic preferences Decisions are based on behavioral preferences

Companies held an upper hand by showcasing use Companies attempt to build and nurture relation-
and need of their products ships where consumers are at the forefront

Purchases were based on intuitions Purchases are based on fact-based decisions

Today’s buyer knows what she/he wants. via registrations – all such add-ons and more can be
The customer must always be interested in what you have effectively achieved.
to offer, without the company intruding upon her/him. Achieving all the concepts discussed above is not an
easy task – it requires some of the best talent in the

LEAD MANAGEMENT
industry. Very few firms are able to pull this off on a
sustained basis. Adept campaign managers, dextrous

STRATEGY AND database co-ordinators, talented telemarketing folk and

the like – each forms a critical cog in this wheel.
TECHNOLOGY
Developing a customized strategy through high impact
targeted lists and follow up telemarketing calls is an
COMPANIES NEED TO
effective way of crossing the hurdle of bulk and clunky
blast e-mailers that lead to nothing but frustration
DEFINE WHAT A LEAD
for all. The database needs to be ‘clean’ and up-to- MEANS TO THEIR
date. Solutions that offer validation are invaluable
assets in the entire list-to-lead process. It yields an ORGANIZATION
accurate collection of prospects with relevant details, A lead is an individual who has expressed interest in
eliminating the ‘stale’ ones. This invariably leads to your product or service in some manner. It may be by
the lead generation process which is nothing but
capturing the requirement of your prospects in an
efficient manner. Sales-ready leads are an asset to
any sales force. Solutions that provide an ‘integrated
marketing approach’ have been found to generate
very high quality leads, often offering a phenomenal
50% conversion rate. The entire lead management
strategy, also known as customer acquisition
management involves the entire cycle, right from
finding new prospects to rejecting unwanted inquiries
and dovetailing perfectly with the organization’s CRM.
Different companies may use different processes
and resources as part of a similar funnel structure
for their lead management strategies. An additional
hors d’oeuvre in the form of event marketing is bound
to add to customer delight. Educating customers,
offering promotional content, updating databases
filling out a form via gated content, engaging with your 2. Call-to-action (CTA)
social media content, or expressing a desire to enter
The next part of the process involves a Call-to-Action
your sales funnel in any manner. Every organization
(CTA), which encourages the consumer to take an action
though, has a different perspective when defining
to further interact with the brand. Even something as
a lead. To some, a lead may be someone who has
simple as a ‘Click Here’ button acts as a CTA. This helps
engaged with the brand more than ‘X’ number of
direct the consumer further, to get more information
times, whereas for others, a lead may be someone
about the brand. CTAs can also take other forms, such
who showcases a distinct behavior, typical to someone
as a 3-minute demo or explainer video, a free trial or
inclined towards a purchase. Some element of contact
information is a prerequisite to the definition of a
‘lead’. More often than not, the definition needs to be
‘quantifiable’ to be able to address the requirements
satisfactorily or help the consumer move to the
next stage of the funnel. A number of systems and
technologies prefer to define a lead as somebody who
exhibits a certain ‘buying behavior’. However, there are
a number of examples of sales teams that do not define
a lead in this manner, often leading to contretemps
with other departments within the same firm. A
uniform definition, is a must. The BANT (Budget,
Authority, Need and Timeline) theory is also a good
place to begin the definition of a lead.

Leads can also be based on demographic or psychographic a ‘contact us’radio button. A caveat for the ‘contact us’
profiles. Knowing the consumers’ problems, behaviors, though – make it as simple as you can for the buyer’s
needs and interests, help define what content will attract query to reach you. Else, frustration can get the better
them and which channels are the most effective to allow of her/him. A live chat section is quickly gaining ground
them to consume this content. Once these details are among the CTA modes, as are short 2-minute surveys.
determined, they can be used as parameters for preparing
an effective lead generation strategy.
3. Landing Page
When the consumers click on the CTA, they are directed

SETTING UP A LEAD to a landing page. This is one of the most crucial parts
of the lead generation process as it is the platform that

GENERATION PROCESS tells the consumer more about the product or service
offering, thereby influencing their purchase decision.
As part of the ‘capture’ and ‘nurture’ phase of a lead A recent survey indicates that one has 0-8 seconds to
generation management strategy, an organization needs make a mark on the consumer with one’s landing page
to set up a customized lead generation process to help (Source: KISSmetrics)!
the business grow. A lead generation process involves
the actual methods of engaging with and getting
noticed by prospective customers. As mentioned earlier
4. Forms
The last stage of the lead generation process involves
in this document, there are many different ways of
determining whether a consumer will convert to a lead
lead generation. Here are a few processes that can help
or not. This is especially true for most gated content, i.e.
organizations build their database of leads:
white paper downloads, webinar transcripts, long form
journalism, and others. Typically, a form is required to
1. Offers be filled, with various descriptors of the potential lead.
When promoting a brand or service, a company needs An invaluable source of information for sales teams, this
to make an offer that will catch the eye of the user. It is a clear indicator of interest in the product or service.
may be a sale, discount, exclusive first look at a product. The number of questions posed using forms is likely to
This is how brands can stand out amidst the digital influence a buyer, either positively or negatively. This must
clutter. The offer is the first thing that will attract a be weighed with the product/service. The moment one
prospective customer. Subscriptions and contests can goes beyond a threshold, as far as questions are concerned,
also be weaved into your website. one runs the risk of the buyer providing false details.
LIST TO friendly, classy and uncluttered manner. You need
to attract your consumer, not turn them away. Stay
LEAD TACTICS away from blast emails. They can be dangerous for
your campaigns. Finally, refrain from combining the
Whether it is B2B or B2C lead generation, businesses
form technique in gated content with e-mailers. The
need to use different kinds of tactics to draw the
two do not gel.
attention of prospective customers. Given below are
Best in class email processes generally follow these
some of the industry best practices in converting a
techniques:
database to a lead:
a. Define the campaign including targets, offers,
frequency and follow ups.
Database Marketing With b. Validate your e-mailer list. This is critical.
Targeted Prospect Lists c. Create relevant content that resonates with the
Database marketing starts with collating audience. Having a battery of great content writers
previously used data, existing in-house data helps.
and/or purchasing data through credible
sources. Yet, this is usually not enough. The d. Design a classy user-friendly template.
database must be validated and cleansed to be of value, e. Seek out experts to design and manage the
lest you run the risk of annoying both potential leads as campaign.
well as people who are not interested, resulting in bad
f. Analyze the results in a mathematical fashion
publicity. ‘Dirty’ databases can hurt your efforts to the
using parameters such as CTRs, subscribes, and
extent of a whopping 66%. Outdated and duplicated
unsubscribes.
data is damaging to your campaign. A recent study
suggests that 30% of prospect data is outdated in 3
months. That gives an idea as to how frequently one Telephone-based Lead
needs to monitor the database. Your existing customers Generation
can be frequent re-purchasers of your offerings; this Receiving unwarranted calls, whether it is
data must also be purged regularly. So, in a nutshell, the about an unsolicited product or about credit
message is – scrub and validate frequently. card, at the wrong time can be annoying to
Industry best practices dictate validation followed customers. Instead of cold calling, sales and
by appending missing information. This is swiftly marketing representatives can call the relevant target
followed by tele-marketing teams swinging into audience and try to provide additional information about
action and getting all co-ordinates of potential leads the product/service rather than attempt to make a sale
and customers down pat. This can further be followed on the telephone. Best in class processes usually involve
by resorting to CRM tools. tele-calling using a scrubbed database and can have a far
higher success rate with existing and repeat consumers.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is a time tested lead Social Media Marketing
generation tactic, where highly targeted and Social media marketing helps educate and
personalized emails are sent to a list of attract prospects to your site via your social
potential clients. The best feature of this handles. It is changing the way in which
technique is that it is very cost effective. It helps attract brands communicate with their target audiences. It is
new leads into the sales ecosystem. Email marketing an important tool in every firm’s arsenal. However, it
helps build trust and awareness, besides re-enforcing is very easy to get trapped in the excesses of this
brand loyalty. Template design used for this tactic form. Too many posts, a million hash tags, irrelevant
needs to be well crafted. Some interesting numbers posts and the works, all can damage one’s brand.
reveal the importance of email marketing – 59% of B2B Another issue marketers grapple with is the ROI of
marketers call it the most effective source for revenue social media content. It is difficult to quantify this.
generation (Source: HubSpot). Email marketing has also Dozens of analytics are available to confuse the
been cited regularly, as the most effective channel for details. Yet, it is critical to select the ones that match
digital marketers to showcase their wares. your campaign and provide the information to build
“EmailExpert” went as far as to say every dollar spent on your efforts. Some key metrics include likes,
on this channel leads to an ROI of 4,300%! followers, shares, and others. Innovative metrics such
But here’s the snag – your list must be accurate and as scroll depth can also be used effectively.
targeted and templates must be designed in a user- Industry best practices follow the below method:
a. Goal Setting – this involves setting measurable as creation of original content, content syndication and
goals clearly such that ROI can be defined in an sharing and developing visual content via ‘infographics’.
unambiguous manner.

b. C
 reation of Social Handles – Many a company falter
Paid Advertising
Paid advertising such as pay-per-click ads,
at this stage by using wrong methods of creating
banner ads, video ads, search engine ads, etc.,
social handles. This can be damaging.
were, until recently, the fundamental unit of
c. Creation of Social Content – Harvesting and re- lead generation tactics. The new age era has
purposing of existing collateral is an essential introduced the concept of native ads or sponsored ads.
attribute of any social media strategy. These are essentially advertisements published on
d. Editorial Calendar – Timing of posting is an oft- websites, made to look like they are a part of the site,
neglected and abused facet. Best in class marketers constructed in exactly the same design as the site. The
and experts know how to navigate through this web. ads often dovetail so perfectly with the site that it is
difficult to distinguish the ad from the original
e. Reporting – Finally, aligning with your pre-defined
publisher content. This ultimately results in a higher
goals helps measure efficacy.
CTR and a higher chance of conversion.

Content Marketing and SEO Event Marketing

The art of educating and communicating
Event marketing involves providing event
with clients without the intention to
attendees with valuable information and
sell is content marketing. Every growth-
content that will stimulate interest in the
oriented company is trying to foray into this realm.
brand. The tricky part often is nurturing
Few, however, are successful at it. Content marketing
event participants and training them to provide leads
can take on various methods like implicit blogging,
to the sales teams to follow up. Best in class solutions
infographic marketing, storytelling, interviewing, etc.
help tide over this with ease, often resulting in high
The key is being consistent with what your brand is
quality events characterized by top notch audiences
attempting to project. Content marketing was born out
through social channels and increased attributable
of the excessive ‘junk’ floating around on the internet
revenues. Although it sounds obvious to the
about everything. Thus, the mart folks invented
untrained, many top firms make mistakes at this
this new and highly attractive concept of attracting
stage. Using the wrong channel to send invites, not
consumers by providing them a 360 degree view of the
selecting the right prospects as attendees, providing
product’s characteristics without really attempting to
wrong and badly worded messaging, poor timing of
sell it. It is as tricky as it sounds; yet, once you have
the invite and most of all, refusing to take outside
experts on board, it is possibly one of the most effective
agency help. Event marketing is a specialized field and
and explosive methods of marketing in this new digital
needs experienced personnel to execute.
era. It makes a lot of sense to outsource this activity.
Statistics reveal interesting numbers – more than 50%
of marketing professionals struggle with in-house
Search Engine Marketing /
content while almost 40% struggle with budget. Couple
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the process
that with the fact that content marketing is possibly
one of the most expensive formats to outsource, and of increasing website traffic through Content
you can see why it’s a tightrope walk. Every content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
marketing activity must begin with a content strategy and Paid Adverts. Effective SEO often calls for
that clearly defines the goals and objectives of the a specialized team and aims for high website rankings
campaign, quantitatively as well as qualitatively. Then on search engines, typically on Google.
you come to the content itself. Re-purposing old A slew of statistics reveal that SEO is more effective
existing content, as well as creating new content, are as compared to Pay-Per-Click (PPC) models, yet,
both time consuming activities. However, they are PPC does make its presence felt in a few cases.
the most likely ones to give you that bang for your Most industry experts promulgate a combination
buck. Content promotion, syndication and content of the two. SEO methods are typically measured over
amplification follows, whereby the reach of our content time (minimum of 6-8 months) and require identifying
is multiplied. Finally, the loop is closed with previously keywords and phrases, based on type of content that
identified metrics. More often than not, this entire the company deals in. SEO experts generally provide
process is outsourced as it requires specific skills such monthly reports on key word searches and post content
that can be searched more easily and thus is more advertising can range from having ‘standees’ at
accessible on search engines. The PPC model is a much conferences to pamphlets and leaflets as inserts in a
quicker model as it is based on paid campaigns. It is product package. There is very little that is subtle
generally an activity carried out by industry experts in about this format and it is simple old-school
conjunction with the firm’s marketing team and involves advertising, using punchy phrases. Public Relations,
bidding for keywords. It is suggested that PPC be used on the other hand, while being similar to Print Ads in
initially to build quick traction while SEO sets in over a scope, differs in format. These take the form of press
period of time. releases that are meant to be targeted towards a
specific industry and have been specifically created
Print Advertising and PR (content often provided by the company itself) to
This is a process that is typically done by make announcements that are impactful. These are
people well connected with good publishing handy add-ons to all the previously discussed
houses. This form of marketing is more modes and help in creating traction for the site
simplistic and generic in nature. Print and the brand.

IN-HOUSE OR
OUTSOURCE?
When a business has made a decision to use a
lead generation strategy, the question arises
– should this be done in-house or should it be
outsourced?

For a business, focusing on developing

offering and marketing campaigns is a better
use of their time than chasing down leads.
For B2B lead generation, outsourcing the
task to an experienced and qualified agency
can help simultaneously save time as well as
boost sales. Many companies often make the
mistake of believing that all leads will convert
and that the sales team can do the necessary
lead qualification and scoring along with the is able to help clients with multiple areas of a lead management
sales calls. Often, the sales team is not able to strategy such as defining goals and criteria, integrating CRM
manage both, as lead scoring, qualification and solutions, generating and nurturing leads, segmentation and
nurturing is a very time consuming process. And scoring, assigning leads to relevant teams for follow up, analytics
if not given suitable importance, it can cause a and reporting. This leaves the organization free of administrative
drop in sales. and management tasks allowing them to focus on the development,
When outsourced, the lead generation agency marketing and sales of the core product or service.

ABOUT of digital marketing such as content marketing, email

MARKABLE SOLUTIONS marketing, automation services, website development,
animation and design, content syndication and others.
Markable Solutions is a marketing company specializing Markable Solutions has a global presence with clients
in B2B marketing and sales services. We have worked with across the world, and is headquartered in Silicon Valley
multiple clients internationally to drive sales and revenue with offices in India. With technological and domain
through digital and telemarketing services. Markable expertize, the company can develop planned and targeted
Solutions provides a multitude of services such as prospect marketing strategies and to help clients execute these to
list development, lead generation, and various forms achieve the best results.
WHY 4. We tailor optimal solutions and strategies to align
your product or service with customer touch points to
MARKABLE SOLUTIONS? create a well-rounded brand image across channels.

At Markable Solutions, our mission is to help our clients In conclusion, the List-to-Lead cycle promotes selling of
reach new heights of success through innovative solutions products and services remotely, with the core objective
using creativity, technology and strategy. Here are a few of developing a robust and ‘clean’ database, follow up
reasons why Markable Solutions will be the right B2B on various campaigns as given in this white paper and
marketing partner to help support your business goals: generate high quality leads for the organization’s sales
force to swing into action in a cost effective and timely
1. The teams at Markable Solutions are led by domain manner. It helps tide over B2B issues such as reduced
experts who will guide you to provide the most revenues, poor database repositories and diminishing
innovative and efficient marketing solution. campaign results. There is no ‘one solution’ for these pain
2. Our cost structure can be affordable, it is ROI driven points. However, employing the tactics described in the
and is aimed at generating quality leads. paper will give the firm a better chance of focusing on
3. O
 ur data-driven approach towards marketing helps us the pressing issues that need to be addressed. Nurture
achieve a holistic overview, which allows us to develop relationships by engaging them with high quality content
practical and profitable operations. allowing your funnel to overflow with leads.

21451 Continental Circle, Saratoga, CA 95070

Phone: +1 (408) 799 4081, Fax: +1 (408) 868 0333
Email: [email protected]