10 Most Common Lead Generation Mistakes to Avoid

THE SINGLE MOST DOMINANT AND SIGNIFICANT FACTOR THAT MAKES BUSINESSES STRIVE ARE “LEADS.” “LEADS” ACTIVATES A BUSINESS BY MAKING THE TEAM WORK, DELIVER VALUE, GENERATE REVENUE AND LASTLY BUILD CREDIBILITY IN THE MARKET SPACE. 

Lead generation mistakes may happen, but, to avoid it all cost means to learn quickly from the mistakes, meticulously plan the future course of action in line with generating leads and see to that mistakes don’t repeat. 

The need for not messing up with the lead generation process is because it brings in value in the form of revenue, which actually drives the business to move forward. 

Following are the 10 most common lead generation mistakes to avoid: 

1. Start off with a sales pitch:Most marketers focus theirexpertise on selling their product or service by directly pitching to the customer either verbally or through a sales copy. Instead of focusing on “How customers buy,” marketers (most of them) focus on “how to sell.”There is a need to understand the buying triggers of a customer and then create interest and give them some really insightful and engaging information about the product or service that they want to purchase. 

2. Unstructured landing pages:Landing page works and the customer list that builds up eventually can prove to be rewarding for businesses. What needs to be scrutinized though is that the landing page should not be too hard for a customer to understand, and it should be written and designed in such a way that at the end of the landing page, visitors must be curious enough to provide their contact details, in order to get what they have been looking for. 
3. Lengthy contact forms:If you provide too many fields for the visitor/user to fill in, chances are many of them may withdraw seeing the time that needs to be invested. Hence, simple contact forms asking for username, contact number, email id and the query that they have need to be provided.According to a study conducted by Hubspot, around 49% of marketers have stated that a well-designed and crisp contact form is an excellent tool to generate leads. 
4. Improper planning:Marketing and sales team must make it a point to come out with a well-defined lead generation strategy, failure of which can be a cause of concern.Following are some of the points that need to be pondered upon: 

• Who are the target customers? 

• What is the specific information, facts and figures that a customer would be looking for? 
• How to trigger interest in a customer?
• How you differ from others in terms of the value proposition that you offer?

The above points and others can be added based on the scope and type of your business so that you can prepare a well-planned lead generation strategy.

5. Incoherent e-mail marketing plan:There is not an iota of doubt that e-mail marketing is considered to be one of the classic lead generation techniques that has proved to be profitable. On the contrary, a not so impactful e-marketing copy can be a cause of concern. Hence, efforts must be put in by the marketing team to develop a well-thought out e-mail marketing copy that is well articulated.    
6. No properfollow-ups: Lead generation isn’t a one time game. There are basically two types of customers. The first type of customers are all in when it comes to buying your product or service, which means they know all about your product or service. Hence, no efforts are required.The second type is where efforts need to be put in because first they act like suspects trying to understand about your product or service. You need to tell them precisely what they want to listen to and persuade them with your persuasion skills. Then is when these suspects turn into prospects. On the first call, they might just show a little bit of interest, but it is your job to consistently follow-up with them till they are converted into leads.Not every suspect can be converted, but getting to know their buying interests and concerns is important. 
7. Lack of ‘influence’ factor:If you’re not able to influence, chances are you might not be able to generate leads. Influence means to create a situation wherein a customer is nudgedto take a decision in a constructive manner.Generating leads basically means you as a marketer need to influence, inform and educate customers by a set-defined marketing process. AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action) is one of the best marketing methods you can apply. 
8. Poor copywriting skills:Copywriting is where you write short and impactful promotional content with power-packedwords that should actually trigger interest in customers and make them act.This will only happen when a copywriter understands the sales and marketing cycle from the inside out. The key here is to think like a customer and see what emotions and rational thoughts trigger them to buy a product. A copywriter must literally get into a customer’s shoes and then develop content that will eventually generate leads. 
9. Ignoring Blog posts:Blogging actually creates value for your business. What needs to be done though is to post blogs regularly.A proper blogging strategy has to be set-up and blogs must be posted continually for a few months or so. Blogs must educate, inform and create interest in the readers. After a few months of posting blogs, results can be seen. 
10. Inconsistency in lead generation process:Many companieswith the help of its sales and marketing team build a well-defined lead generation process. But, issues may arise if the team is not consistent in following the lead generation process.Lead generation process requires discipline, hard work, planning and regular follow-ups in order to obtain a good number of leads. Lead generation team must put in consistent efforts in order to generate leads, only then productive outcomes can be expected.