Over the last few months, the team here at SalesGig has compiled a list of your burning lead generation and sales questions.  Today, we’re here to answer them.

You asked, we answered… read on.

What is the meaning of B2B?

The acronym B2B stands for Business to Business and is a form of transaction between two businesses.  For instance, this relationship could be a manufacturer and wholesaler or a wholesaler and a retailer.  B2B refers to business conducted between two businesses rather than between business to consumer (B2C).

What do you mean by leads?

A lead is any person acting on behalf of themselves or another business who has expressed an interest in the products or services that your business is offering -- in other words, a potential customer.  The lead is entered into a business’ sales funnel for the sales team to eventually drive home the sale.

What is the difference between a prospect and a lead?

A lead is someone who has expressed interest in your company, product or service and may have limited to no interaction with your company.  Expressing interest doesn’t mean they’ve contacted you directly, but can also mean that they’ve visited your website, subscribed to your blog, filled out a form, etc.  A prospect is the next phase in your funnel, following the lead.  When it becomes evident that the lead has real potential to convert, they become a prospect.  However, at the end of the day, whether a prospect or a lead, the end goal of converting them to customers remains the same.

How do you get leads?

Many business owners are out there wondering the same thing: How do you get leads? And not just any leads, qualified leads… There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question.  What works for Company X may not work for Company Y.  So, to answer “how do you get leads”, our answer would be this: lead generation strategies.

Before you even start employing your lead generation strategies, take a look at what other companies are doing to attract leads.  What is your competition doing?  What is working for them and what’s not?  Use that information to your benefit.  Increase your ROI by utilizing strategies that are poised for success in your industry.

What are qualified leads?

A “Qualified” lead is any lead which meets a company’s pre-established criteria for completeness – enough information to ensure a good chance for success based upon a defined ideal client profile.

What is lead generation in sales?

Lead Generation is the process of attracting potential customers to your business who are genuinely interested in the products or services you offer.

What strategies would you use to generate leads?

These days, common forms of lead generation include cold calling, e-forms, sending emails, social media, content marketing (blogs, graphics, etc.) and referrals, which all have the potential to drive an increased amount of traffic to your website.  And you read that right - good old-fashioned picking-up-the-phone cold calling.  Believe it or not, it works.  Studies show that the more traffic your website gets, the higher sales conversion rate and according to Marketo research, referral programs have the highest conversion rates.

SalesGig has a penchant for success when it comes to cold calling on behalf of our clients.  We can help you with your cold calling through our targeted calling approach.

The strategies you employ may differ from other organizations.  By building a strong framework for your lead generation strategies, your organization may find that it’s more resilient to unprecedented times.

What types of lead generation are there?

Lead Generation can take place in various ways: oftentimes, businesses employ lead generation strategies by having individuals sign up for a newsletter, promotions, a free eBook, etc.  The individual would provide some basic information such as name, phone number and/or email address or some variation of that nature, giving you a solid lead for a potential customer.  Lead Generation can also take the form of networking at conventions, mixers and events where business people can connect with individuals in the right industries and roles.

What is demand generation vs lead generation?

Great question.  What is demand generation vs lead generation?  Understanding that they are two separate entities is half the battle.  Demand generation is the process of sparking interest in the products or services that your organization offers (i.e. creating demand).  Lead generation is the process of taking those that have expressed interest and turning that interest into a paying customer.

What is a lead generation form?

A lead generation form is a form created by an organization where individuals can provide their contact information to sign-up for newsletters, blogs (don’t forget to sign-up for ours!), promotions, eBooks, etc.  When the individual provides their contact details in your lead generation form, they are working their way through your sales funnel gearing up for conversion.

What is a conversion strategy?

A lead conversion strategy is just that - a strategy to convert leads into paying customers.  We talked briefly about strategies to generate leads and convert them into clients.  Some strategies include tripwires to get leads to take the plunge into your sales funnel, building effective landing pages, highlighting your call to action, setting up automated emails for those in the pipeline, etc.

What is a good customer conversion rate?

Now that we’ve covered your questions on what do you mean by leads and how do you get leads, it seems only natural to answer the follow-up question of what is a good customer conversion rate.  Truth be told, the answer to that question may vary based on your organization's goals, budget and industry.  With that being said, we’ll try to answer this as best as possible.

An Instapage article quoted Brandon Weaver for saying “A good conversion rate is one that’s higher than it is now.”  In our opinion, that’s a pretty great answer.  You see, you can’t just pluck a number out of the sky.  In order to determine the answer to what is a good customer conversion rate, you’ll need to take a look at some other metrics, like your current conversion rate.

Do you have some burning questions you’d like answered?  Drop us a line at hello@salesgig.com.  Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog so you won’t miss a beat (or your question being answered!).