Everything You Need to Ask When Choosing a Lead Generation Company

Everything You Need to Ask When Choosing a Lead Generation Company

Choosing the right lead generation company can make or break your business’s sales pipeline. In B2B marketing, the quest for generating quality leads is a journey that demands finesse, strategy, and often, a touch of expertise. 

So, as one of the businesses that strives to streamline your efforts and optimize the outcomes, you’ve decided to outsource B2B lead generation by partnering with an expert lead generation services provider. 

This is probably one of the most important choices you’ll ever make as a marketer since choosing the right lead generation company can be a game-changer for your marketing strategy. But with so many options, it can feel overwhelming to know where to start. So, how do you choose the right B2B lead generation company? 

Understanding Your Business Needs

understanding your business needs

Before diving into specifics, it’s important to take a step back and assess what your business truly needs. For instance, do you need a steady stream of small sales leads, or are you targeting larger accounts with longer sales cycles? 

Once you’ve understood what your business truly needs, the questions you should ask a lead generation agency are:

1. Are you a major account or a small sales lead generation company?

This initial decision narrows down your options to specialized agencies that align with your business needs. The first clue to look for is exactly what type of B2B lead generation company you’re dealing with. You need to work with agencies that specialize in the kind of B2B products or services you’re selling. Based on this criterion, lead generation providers fall into two main categories:

types of b2b lead generation company
  • Major Account Lead Generation:  Agencies that focus on complex-sale B2B solutions with long sales cycles and multiple decision makers.
  • Small Sale Lead Generation:  Lead generation companies that help find potential customers for smaller purchases (typically having a $10,000 price tag or less) with shorter sales cycles and simple decision-making processes.

Knowing the size and scope of your target audience helps you decide whether the company should specialize in outbound or inbound lead generation

2. Are you an inbound or outbound lead generation service provider?

Understanding whether your strategy requires inbound (attracting leads through content) or outbound (reaching out to prospects directly) will also help narrow down your options. Some companies may excel at one, while others offer a balanced mix.

If you’ve already identified which lead generation activities to farm out, then you’ll quickly know what kind of provider best suits you in terms of the lead generation approach they specialize in:

inbound versus outbound what methods fits your business model
  • Inbound Lead Generation:  Agencies that generate leads by creating content and carrying out “pull” marketing activities that attract prospects toward your website or online presence.
    Check out the benefits of inbound marketing.
  • Outbound Lead Generation:  Agencies that rely on targeted outreach channels like email, phone calls, direct mail, PPC, etc. to generate leads.
    See why outbound lead generation is essential.

Today, it’s not uncommon to find agencies that offer multi-channel lead generation services. These providers combine both inbound and outbound lead generation tactics in a single campaign or process.

Maximize your sales pipeline with multichannel lead gen!

Shaping Services and Processes Tailored to Your Goals

Once you’ve narrowed down the approach, it’s time to explore how well potential agencies can tailor their services to fit your unique goals.

person planning a tailored lead generation goals

You see, every business is unique, and your lead generation efforts should reflect that. Ask how the company plans to tailor its campaigns to meet your specific objectives. A one-size-fits-all solution likely won’t work, so find out if they create strategies that align with your goals, industry, and audience. lead generation company meet your goals

You can ask them:

1. How will you tailor your lead generation services to meet my goals?

lead generation company meet your goals

This question answers how the agency plans to customize its lead generation services to meet your specific objectives. So, delve into the nuances of their service offerings, from full-service packages to customized solutions.

Once you’ve decided between inbound and outbound lead generation, it can be difficult to select a specific provider, since agencies tend to offer similar services.

The key to choosing the best b2b lead generation service provider for you is to find out how well they can tailor their offerings to your exact needs:

  • Full-service vs. stand-alone package
  • Fully-managed vs. partly self-directed
  • Tiered packages vs. custom services
  • Additional services like lead management and lead nurturing

After that, you can follow up with a question:

2. What do you think will be the tentative plan?

While specifics might not be available at this stage, a transparent outline of their campaign approach showcases their expertise and planning prowess. Asking this question lets you get a feel for how they’ll eventually carry out your campaign.

A reputable lead generation agency can readily provide a clear outline of the process they follow. While they may not be able to come up with a concrete plan at this stage, they should be open and transparent about their approach even at a basic level.

Also, consider how deep their involvement is in your sales funnel. Will they just find leads, or will they nurture them and guide them further down the funnel towards conversion? The more integrated they are with your sales process, the better results you can expect.

So, make sure to ask:

3. Which stages of the funnel will be covered?

stages of the funnel

This is a crucial piece of information earned for companies that face a long and complex sales cycle. Ensure the agency can seamlessly manage different stages of the funnel, aligning with your acquisition strategy. A good lead generation agency will clearly specify:

  • Whether they can work with your particular customer acquisition strategy;
  • Which parts of the sales cycle they’ll handle; and
  • What steps you and the outsourced agency can take to maximize conversions from one stage to the next.

Leveraging Tools and Technology: The MarTech Advantage

It’s not just about what they do—it’s also about how they do it. That’s where an advanced tech stack can make all the difference.

Callbox tools and technology

1. What tools do you work with?

Ask what tools and technology the company uses to deliver results. This could include customer relationship management (CRM) software, lead verification tools, and analytics platforms.

An experienced lead generation company will have a full set of tools and skill sets to manage, automate, and optimize campaigns.

But how can you tell if a candidate agency has the right tech stack for modern lead generation? You can look for these specific tools:

Equally important, check if their systems will integrate seamlessly with yours. You don’t want to end up with data silos or technical headaches because their tech doesn’t play nice with what you’re already using. So make sure to ask:

2. How well does your tech stack meet our business requirements?

Ask them how well can their tech stack complement your existing workflow and industry-specific requirements. After all, having an impressive suite of lead generation tools won’t be of much value to you if it doesn’t readily fit into your marketing workflow or business process. That’s why you also need to ask a potential provider about:

  • Integration: Is the agency’s stack flexible enough so that their system easily syncs up with yours?
  • Industry-specific needs: Do the agency’s tools comply with industry requirements (like HIPAA, GDPR, etc.,)?

Expertise in Lead Qualification and Management

group of expert in lead qualification and management

Remember, the quality of leads and their management are at the core of your campaign’s success.

You’ll want to know how they identify and qualify potential leads. Are they gathering leads from credible sources? Do they match your ideal customer profile (ICP)?

To make sure, ask them this:

1. How and where do you get your leads?

You should also ask the lead generation agencies how they acquire their leads. Scrutinize their sources and processes to distinguish between claims and actual results.

The quality of leads and appointments starts at the time they’re first acquired as prospects and contacts.

There’s no shortage of lead generation companies that claim to have the “best” quality of leads, but careful scrutiny of their lead sources will help you tell hype from fact:

  • Do they use third-party data sources?
  • Does the agency carry out its prospect research?
  • How often do they update and clean their leads database?
  • What steps do they take to ensure data quality from lead capture forms?
  • How do they ensure targeted organic traffic or PPC impressions?

Make sure to ask about their lead management process, too. Once they find leads, how do they handle them? How will they pass them to your sales team? The more aligned their approach is with your business model, the smoother the transition will be.

Related: Where to Find Quality Leads for Your Business

2. How are leads qualified?

The best agencies should integrate your lead qualification system, leveraging your ideal customer profile, buyer personas, and lead scoring model. 

As an extension of your marketing or sales team, the way a provider screens and filters prospects should align with how you qualify leads.

The best lead generation agencies will seamlessly integrate your lead qualification system into their process, taking into account your:

  • Ideal customer profile (ICP)
  • Buyer personas
  • Marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) and sales-qualified leads (SQLs) definitions
  • Lead scoring model
  • List segmentation

Team and Expertise

team and experts in lead generation company

Behind every great lead generation campaign is a skilled team. Ask;

1. Who will be doing my campaign?

Understand the roles, experience, and familiarity the team has with your industry and product. Ask who will be handling your account, and what their experience is. Do they have knowledge of your industry? Are they skilled in managing similar campaigns?

Today’s lead generation campaigns need the right mix of knowledge and skills to succeed. This is why any potential marketing partner should be very transparent about the people they’ll be assigned to carry out your campaign.

When evaluating an outsourced marketing agency, these are some of the key questions to ask to gain some insights into the talent you’ll be working with:

  • Will a dedicated team be handling my campaign?
  • What will be the roles of each campaign team member?
  • How much experience does the team have, both collectively and individually?
  • How much knowledge and familiarity does my team have about my product or service?

Related: Effective Lead Generation Strategies Across Industries

A solid team with relevant experience can fill in the gaps in your own expertise, especially if your in-house team lacks certain skills like data analysis or content creation. Make sure you’re comfortable with the level of expertise they bring to the table. So, make sure to ask them:

2. How will you fill a skills gap, if ever one arises?

In case of gaps, how does the agency plan to bridge them? Transparency about their recruitment, onboarding, and performance management is crucial. 

In some cases, a potential lead generation company may not have the right internal people to carry out a specific campaign activity.

If this happens, either prior to the start of your project or at any time while the campaign is running, the agency has a number of options to fill the gap. They can hire a new team member or work with a freelancer.

In either case, the company should be clear in explaining:

  • Recruitment and hiring practices
  • Onboarding and training
  • Performance management
  • Subcontracting

Discover how Callbox’s ABM lead generation campaign generates 694 sales appointments for a leading cloud-based software and technology firm.

Experience and Reputation: A Track Record That Matters

businesswoman tracking record

You wouldn’t hire an employee without checking their references—hiring a lead generation company shouldn’t be any different. Ask for case studies, reviews, and testimonials from past clients. This gives you an idea of their experience and the results they’ve delivered for other businesses.

You can also asked them:

1. What industry does your company specialize in?

While industry specialization is beneficial, consider agencies with experience across verticals for fresh insights.

We already know that different B2B industries and verticals face unique marketing challenges that can be overcome with the right experience and expertise. That’s why you need to choose a lead generation provider that specializes in your target buyers’ industry, right?

Not so fast! The answer you should be looking for has to be a little bit more nuanced.

On the one hand, you want a lead generation company that’s well-versed in your desired industry because it lets you:

  • Shorten ramp-up time and accelerate campaign deployment
  • Reduce time and cost of product training
  • Improve the relevance of campaign messaging
  • Navigate the ins and outs of the decision-making process

But you also want a lead generation service provider that has experience across multiple industries and verticals. These agencies can give you fresh insights and out-of-the-box thinking gleaned from a broad portfolio of lead generation campaigns.

Transform your sales strategy with expert sales and marketing solutions

2. How much experience do you have?

Evaluate their experience based on years in business, domain knowledge, client portfolio, and completed campaigns. 

For most B2B companies, lead generation typically falls outside their core business. Still, lead generation needs to be handled by an experienced and seasoned provider since it directly impacts revenue and growth.

Experience is measured in several ways, and you should see to it that a candidate lead generation partner sheds some light on all of these key experience metrics:

  • Years in business
  • Length of time working in your domain
  • Size of their client portfolio
  • Number of related campaigns or projects completed

Also, look for industry-specific success. A company that has helped businesses in your field will likely understand your audience better and know which tactics work best.

3. Can you cite other clients and what you’ve done for them?

Look for specific results in client feedback and case studies, such as appointments booked, leads completed, and conversion rates.

Finding out about the overall experience is one thing, but uncovering specific results is even more important. The only way to determine if a lead generation agency can deliver what it promises is to take a close look at client feedback and campaign results.

These details can typically be found in client testimonials and case studies. The key information to look for includes:

  • Appointments booked
  • Leads completed
  • Contacts profiled
  • Percentage of leads accepted into pipeline
  • Percentage of appointments converted into customers
  • Lift in prospects/traffic and leads generated

Learn more about outsourcing lead generation company.

4. What is your reputation in the industry?

Another crucial piece of information to ask from a potential lead generation partner is how well they stack up against others in the industry. The best way to find this out is to ask a candidate provider to point to feedback from third-party sources such as:

  • Rankings on lead generation providers’ lists
  • Reviews from independent, third-party sources
  • Awards and recognition from industry groups

Be sure to do your due diligence on the reliability of these sources, and don’t take anything at face value without doing a little digging up.

Measuring Success: Metrics and Reporting

team talking about sales metrics and reports

A successful lead generation campaign relies on more than just collecting names and contact information. You need to know what key performance indicators (KPIs) they’ll use to measure success, and how often they will report on progress. Ask them this:

1. What will be the overall KPIs of the campaign?

Understand the overall campaign KPIs, whether it’s sales appointments scheduled, leads completed, or net new prospects.

Lead counts aren’t the only headline metrics to keep an eye on in a lead generation campaign. Depending on the scope of the project, the overall campaign KPIs can include:

  • Sales appointments scheduled
  • Leads completed
  • Net new prospects
  • Event attendees/registrations
  • Contacts/Records verified

The important thing is to ask a potential lead generation partner about broad measures of success for your campaign and determine how these fit into your overall marketing or sales objectives.

2. What will be the KPIs for each campaign activity or channel?

For each campaign component, ensure they track relevant metrics and provide insights for improvements.

Since lead generation campaigns are made up of many different channels and activities, it’s also good practice to ask a provider what KPIs they keep track of for each campaign component.

Take note of the different activities included in your campaign, and ask a candidate agency to explain the metrics they’ll be reporting to you for each of these. Find out what benchmarks and guarantees they’re measuring against.

Are they tracking lead conversion rates, cost per lead, or overall return on investment (ROI)? Regular updates ensure you’re in the loop and can make adjustments as needed to hit your targets. So make sure to ask them:

3. How will performance be tracked and reported?

Access to timely and customizable reports is critical for informed decision-making.

Lead generation campaigns are a data-driven effort. You only make informed campaign decisions if you have access to timely and relevant data.

That’s why the quality of performance tracking/reporting should be a decisive factor in choosing a lead generation services provider:

  • Types of metrics included in your dashboard and reports.
  • Frequency of reporting and updates.
  • Ability to customize and tailor reports to specific business requirements.

Project Terms and Your Role

project terms and your role

Also, clarify the terms of the agreement. Will you be locked into a long-term contract, or is there room for flexibility? 

While specific guarantees might not be feasible, reasonable projections for project goals, milestones, and timelines should be discussed. Better asked them:

1. What will be the achievable goals of the campaign or project?

In the previous set of questions, we talked about campaign-level KPIs and activity-specific metrics to clarify with a potential lead generation partner. The next items to ask about are the tentative project or campaign goals based on your initial requirements.

Although you probably shouldn’t expect providers to set any firm guarantees at this point, they should also be open to giving out reasonable ballpark figures for:

  • Goals to be achieved at the end of the project or campaign
  • Milestones to be reached at different intervals
  • Tentative timelines and targets

Follow up with the question:

2. How will I be able to monitor the campaign?

Stay updated on progress with clear communication channels, dashboards, and regular meetings.

Most lead generation projects and campaigns tend to span several months and even years. The ability to stay up-to-date on developments and performance isn’t just a nice-to-have feature; it’s a must-have capability for successful campaigns.

During the agency selection stage, the following questions will help you assess how well a potential provider will keep you in the loop:

  • What dashboards and reports will you be providing?
  • Who will be my primary point of contact?
  • How often will you meet with me?
  • How will we keep in touch?

And don’t forget to ask about the level of involvement required from your end. Some companies may handle everything, while others expect you to be more hands-on.

3. What will be my role?

Make sure to understand how hands-on you’ll need to be in planning and execution.

Some turnkey lead generation service providers will handle practically everything in the campaign for you, from preparing the needed materials to nurturing prospects before the lead handoff.

Other providers, meanwhile, may require you to adopt a more hands-on role in the project, especially with planning and idea generation.

Deciphering Pricing: Beyond Numbers

Finally, let’s talk money. While cost is an important factor, don’t let it be the only one. Instead, focus on value. What are you getting for the price? Does their offering justify the cost? To understand their pricing terms, make sure to ask:

1. Can you tell me more about your pricing?

Consider the agency’s processes, capabilities, and track record when evaluating pricing.

Lead generation customers often ask the wrong questions about pricing and costs. Prices tend to widely vary from one provider to another, but it’s typically very difficult to make an apples-to-apples comparison between vendors.

That’s because prices depend on a host of different factors such as the agency’s experience, the scope of services, target market, lead qualification requirements, reputation, etc.

The main takeaway when it comes to lead generation pricing is that you ultimately want to take value into account, not just costs. So be sure to be thoroughly familiar with an agency’s processes, capabilities, and track record before weighing your options.

Choosing the Right B2B Lead Generation Company

The secret in choosing the right b2b lead generation agency for your business lies in knowing the right questions to ask a potential lead generation service provider and, more crucially, knowing what answers to look for.

From deciphering the right questions to identifying the perfect answers that indicate a good fit for your B2B lead generation program, we’ve got you covered every step of the way.

Choosing the right lead generation agency sometimes boils down to knowing what questions to ask and what answers to look for. With the key points outlined in this post, you’re much closer to picking out the best marketing partner for you.

Ready to start your search? Take the time to do your homework, and you’ll find the right company that will help your business grow.