I’m a big fan of email. My team uses it almost every day to build relationships with existing clients, prospect for new clients, and fill our funnel with qualified, relevant opportunities. We even write email campaigns for clients. It’s a highly effective strategy and I have no plans to curtail our use of it from a lead generation perspective.
That said, email isn’t the only strategy we use for lead generation.
In fact, it’s just one of 14 different prospect attraction strategies that we mix together to generate new opportunities and acquire new clients. Unfortunately, I don’t get the sense that the broader sales and marketing world is approaching email the same way. Email marketing systems like Constant Contact and MailChimp convey that email is the be-all, end-all of lead generation, while marketing automation systems like Infusionsoft and Marketo are increasingly piggybacking off that message.
Here’s my advice to you: Don’t get caught up in the craze.
Again, email is just one tactic out of many that you can use to generate new customers. And for it to be most effective, it should actually be combined with other prospect attraction strategies. (Research has shown that open rates drop when your email strategy isn’t supported by other lead generation strategies). As such, you shouldn’t be investing more into email unless you’ve first developed a complete strategy for generating new business with a mix of different tactics.
Yet, many of the companies that come to us for help think that email is the elixir for their lead generation woes, and that investing more into it will suddenly drive a flurry of inbound leads. In my experience, that’s not the case. Instead, businesses that are struggling with lead generation must first consider a broader objective: Raising recognition in a target market, and then converting that increased recognition into new business. Email can certainly help accomplish that objective, but if you limit yourself only to email then you’ll also limit who sees and acts on your messages.
So, before you ramp up your investment in email and cut back on everything else, make sure that you’ve first implemented a well-rounded, connected lead generation strategy that leverages a variety of tactics to generate interest and build brand recognition. There’s no perfect formula for the perfect mix of strategies, but there’s also no avoiding the need to figure yours out. As soon as you do, your email metrics will improve and your lead generation numbers will skyrocket.
To find out more about the 14 prospect attraction strategies I mentioned above, I encourage you to check out this infographic, A Connected Lead Generation Strategy, which also highlights three steps your business can take to create a robust lead generation strategy. If you have questions about your lead generation strategy, contact me and let’s figure it out together.
Kendra Lee is a Prospect Attraction Expert, president of KLA Group, and author of the award-winning books The Sales Magnet and Selling Against the Goal. KLA Group helps entrepreneurial and growing companies break through tough prospecting barriers to exceed revenue goals. Ms. Lee is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and events. To find out more about the author and her “Get More Customers” strategies, visit www.klagroup.com or call +1 303-741-6636.
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