All businesses, big or small, depend on leads to find potential clients fast. Lead generation is defined as the process of finding people who are most likely to do business with you now or in the future. To consider them as leads, you must get their names, email addresses, or their company name so that it will be easy to establish a business relationship.
You could have started playing several roles in your new business, and one of them is lead generation. You meet people, ask friends to give you referrals, even buy leads. As the company grows, so does the need for more people. But, will scaling up your in-house lead generation team benefit your business? Or will outsourcing be a better option?
Why Outsource Lead Generation?
Having an in-house team of lead generators may appear economic, outsourcing is still an attractive choice for those who want to save time, effort, and money without compromising the growth of their business for the following reasons. Check out these latest techniques that will help generate quality sales leads for your business.
#1 Efficient Scaling
The company does not have to create a new unit. Forming an in-house lead generation team could mean hiring new people, providing a workspace for them, and processing other documents related to their employment. When you outsource, you do not have to do these at all.
#2 Expert perspective
You get expert people to work for you. Outsourcing agencies only employ people that are highly qualified. They train them to increase their efficiency and to upgrade their knowledge and skills in using the latest tools and technology.
#3 Avoiding unnecessary micro-management
The company does not have to hold meetings and push the team. The agency from where they are outsourced takes the responsibility to deliver the kind of service that they promised.
#4 Maximized performance and flexibility
You can expect timely completion of tasks. When you outsource, there is always a time frame or deadline. Results must be delivered within the time frame, and so, you get immediate and positive results.
What marketing activities should you outsource?
- Outbound Calling / Appointment Setting – Depending on the marketing tactics you’re using, you’ll eventually need to pick up the phone to qualify and verify leads one-on-one—an activity which is best outsourced to a telemarketing firm
- PPC Campaigns – PPC can be very challenging, especially if you lack the needed background in search engine marketing.
- SEO – Not all companies can master the rapidly-evolving art and science of SEO, so it should be left to outside specialists if you don’t have the expertise internally.
- Social Media Marketing – While automation can help, social media marketing can still take up time and resources if carried out in-house.
- Event Marketing – When an outside lead generation provider takes care of the promotion and marketing of your event, you get to focus on what really matters: results.
How to Integrate an External Lead Generation Firm with Your Team
While companies can benefit from a co-sourcing model – blending the external lead generation firm with the in-house team, making sure that they can work together smoothly will maximize the benefits that you can reap.
Here are some ways to make the two teams fit together:
Establish communication lines
The outsourced lead generation firm must share information that can help improve company sales. You can set up teleconferencing once a month so that your in-house team is aware of the activities of the external team. Your lead generation outsourcing partner can identify the challenges that the in-house team members encounter so that they can help them find solutions.
The external agency must support the in-house team (and vice-versa)
When a company outsources some tasks, the company employees that do the job may think that you find them inadequate. It is essential to make sure that the agency you hired can provide the support that they need to achieve useful results.
Your in-house team is bound to wonder what the outsourced team is doing if they do not get any support from them.
Share success stories
Show your external agency and your in-house team how their cooperation has brought success to the company. Find time to celebrate their triumphs and make them aware that this success is the result of their twin efforts. It will inspire the two teams to continue working together to attain company goals.
How to choose the right lead generation outsourcing partner?
- Do they offer the type of lead generation service we need?
- Will they look after our brand and potential customers with same quality of care as ourselves?
- What do former and current clients say about them?
- How familiar are they with my industry?
Finding Synergy Between In-house and Outsourced Lead Generation
Most companies do not have a team that focuses on lead generation alone. Members of the sales and marketing teams would perform the task when there is an opportunity or when it is deemed necessary. They get leads when attending seminars, webinars, business conferences, and trade fairs. They get names and email addresses but fail to find out if these persons will be interested in their company’s business. It results in getting useless leads.
Companies that offer lead generation services specialize in this undertaking. They are experts in using all lead generation tools, strategies, and technologies. They are expected to bring the results as promised, and they have to do everything they can to deliver what was promised to their clients.
Conclusion
Outsourced lead generation will not succeed if it is not integrated into a company’s current system. Taking steps to enable the external lead generation firm and the in-house team to collaborate will bring the best results.
