Selling to companies can be a much more difficult task than selling directly to the end customer, as the process is much longer and has some complexity.
However, it's not because it can be difficult that it really should be , to make the sales journey much more fluid, you need to understand how to generate B2B leads.
With the increase in lead generation, as well as their qualification, the chances of you closing a deal increase.
With that in mind, here we separate the main strategies for you to learn how to generate B2B leads. Follow the text to learn more!
What are B2B Leads?
First of all, it is worth remembering that B2B means business to business (business to business, in the literal translation), that is, it is a business model, in which the company aims to sell to another company .
It is different from the B2C market, or business to customer (business to consumer), where the sale is strictly directed to the final consumer, so the strategy of capturing and nurturing this lead happens more directly.
That said, we can understand B2B leads as possible business customers that are already in your database .
But what you should think about is: what do I do to capture these leads?
After all, the variables of a B2B journey are much more complex than those of B2C, you will need to think about whether your company offers a very niche service , making it difficult to capture leads; which company employee will make the service proposal for the team where he works; who will make the decision ; and even when is the best time to make the sales approach .
That is, there are several factors that you need to ask yourself before starting your lead generation strategy.
But don't worry, we've separated the main points here for you to understand how to generate B2B leads and improve your business results.
There is no 100% effective magic formula on how to generate B2B leads, but there are strategic ways to optimize and improve this process, such as inbound marketing, prospecting, and events.
However, before mentioning them, it is necessary to understand the lead generation process, that is, what is the step by step taken by the marketing and sales teams to convert the lead into the long-awaited customer.
How to generate B2B Leads?
The B2B Lead Generation Process
First of all, in order to have a customer, it is necessary to have a lead, so the first step is to capture these potential buyers, as well as their contact information .
Soon after, you should focus on building a relationship with that lead , whether through social media, email campaigns or offline media.
As a third step, we have the qualification and prospection of this lead , that is, how likely it is to close a purchase.
To define the chance of a sale being closed, you should base your research on the following points:
- Awareness: Is the lead already aware of the need they face and that they need the service offered by your company? If not, for that, they will consume content such as blogs, success stories and e-books.
- Consideration: here the lead already knows exactly what they need, but before choosing a service they will research in detail about their need and what their options are.
- Decision: it's time for the lead to choose, so he'll schedule meetings with the companies that serve him the most and score what he needs most to finally close the sale.
As a fourth and final step, we will have the closing of the sale , where your leads will pass to customers and will be forwarded to the customer success team for onboarding.
Now that you know how to generate B2B leads, let's move on to the most popular and effective strategies to make that goal a reality!
Active Prospecting
Active prospecting corresponds to the action of creating, nurturing and building a relationship with a network of contacts , with the aim of converting these leads into sales.
To carry out a prospection that obtains results, you will need to have defined the ideal customer profile , so think about the size, average revenue and area of operation of companies that may be interested in your business .
Other than that, keep in mind what differentiates your company from others , focus more on qualities than characteristics.
Keeping these points in mind, let's talk about active prospecting: if your company acts in person, create banner/folders to help salespeople . If it is online, invest in a good presentation to forward along with the email.
Remember to use social networks, such as LinkedIn and specific groups, to find companies that fit your business profile.
Inbound Marketing
According to research published in Demand Metric , Inboud Marketing costs 62% less compared to Outbound Marketing and still generates 3 times more prospects .
This strategy will focus your efforts on creating content, such as e-books, newsletters, blog articles, social media posts, webinars , among others.
By offering this content in exchange for a click or subscription, you will be holding the visitor's attention, an essential moment for him to become a lead.
Events
If your company is going to participate in a meeting, fair or congress , take the opportunity to call your industry contacts, friends and even people who show interest in your business.
During the event, create specific landing pages (LPs) that spark curiosity and make people contact you later to learn more about your business.
Also, hand out freebies at the end of the event and be sure to nurture those leads right after, keep in touch.
Bonus Tip: Know Your Audience
We've already talked a little about the importance of knowing your customer's profile in the topic about the lead generation process, but it's very important to emphasize this point: know your audience .
It is essential to create a persona , remember to base it on data, experiences and real problems:
- Understand what your audience needs
- How does it behave on social networks and search engines?
- Will your company serve at a state, regional or national level?
- How is your market area?
The more you niche this audience, the easier it will be to generate more and more qualified leads , as they will already be educated and more understanding of the situation they are going through.
What is the Best Tool to Generate B2B Leads?
Software and apps are on the market to optimize work and this is no different for B2B lead generation .
Take advantage of tools involving CRM, SEO, Chatbots and Heat Map to further increase your results.
CRM
By having a CRM integrated into your business, you will be able to segment your leads , specifying the moment each one is in, a process that helps the sales team work.
If you know the moment your potential customer is, you will know the exact moment to approach him.
Leadster prepared a text with the 11 Best Sales CRM Software in 2022 , be sure to check it out!
IF THE
SEO is one of the Inbound Marketing strategies, and it is essential for your website and blog to be found in search engines, after all, according to the Lead Generation Panorama in Brazil , 50% of hits in the B2B segment come from Organic Search.
With SEO strategies, your analysis also comes, essential for you to discover the behavior of your audience .
Ubersuggest by Neil Patel offers free SEO reports.
Heat maps
How far are your visitors going on your pages? Is your website well structured? Are your blog articles being read, are people going to the end?
These are some of the questions that can be answered using a Heat Map, a tool offered free of charge by Crazy Egg .
Chatbots
After understanding how to generate B2B leads, do you want to bring qualified leads to your business, as well as get contact data faster?
Currently, the forms aren't working anymore, in fact, people don't go to half of them.
Now, with a chatbot tool, your leads will have a personalized, instant and humanized approach, always valuing interaction .
As a result, your company will see a 3x increase in qualified leads , which will positively impact your lead generation.
Leadster offers this type of service and, below, you will find a case that proves the efficiency of chatbots.
Discover Nelson's Story
“ After Leadster, we had 4 times more requests for qualified quotes, earning an additional 55,000 reais ” – Nilson Toledo, CEO of Cosiaço.
Your B2B business is having difficulties with ads , as the cost is high, your budget generation is low , as the WhatsApp button has been bringing in very unqualified leads, and the contact forms are not even answered.
This was the situation in which Nilson Toledo, CEO of Cosiaço – a company in the metallurgical sector – found himself: a lot of investment for little sales .
If we have already mentioned here in the text that the process of selling B2B businesses is more complex, imagine without the right tools and still having losses with some strategies?
Nilson then decided to bet on Leadster's chatbot, even with the tool not being so well known in the market, he realized that there was something there that could help him.
And it really happened, in the first week after implementation, they had a 150% growth in daily lead capture .
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