Lead generation or seed germination? by Chuck Sink

Stop demanding leads!
Every business owner and salesperson wants qualified new business leads that they can close, add to the client list and so build their business empire. If they could reduce their time spent prospecting and just focus on closing more deals, business would be so much better! But is that realistic? Probably not.

The B2B Marketing Reality
There’s a point at which message saturation occurs and no amount of great advertising will deliver new customers when there aren’t a bevy of needy prospects in your market during your campaign. This is the reality of most B2B marketing! Real qualified leads are few and far between, so what can you do? Your messages must be relevant and well-timed to current needs or your prospective customers couldn’t care less about your drips and drabs following them around in browsers and delivered in emails. But when they’re ready for change, you need to have readied them to think of your brand first. 

How do you maximize your current market share and position your company as your category’s leader when the market expands? You build trusted relationships based on an authentic brand. And these relationships can begin with simple awareness and grow from there. Yes, it’s about branding again! What do you do better than most if not all of your competition? Figure out how to make that fact resonate in every company message. Make it the foundation of your sales, marketing and PR. Don’t stray!

As your prospects notice the consistency in your value proposition and hear about your work in media or word of mouth, they might actually become excited about the chance to do business with you when the time comes. You may be unaware of any relationship brewing with your prospects as they are mindfully starting to develop a relationship with you. Then your phone rings and it’s them!

If your company works hard on consistent brand awareness, sales growth becomes less of a challenge and more of a fulfillment to your target market’s needs. 

Chuck Sink is CEO of Chuck Sink Link, Contoocook, N.H.