Outbound Lead Generation

"Outbound lead generation takes your brand to prospects through a phone call, direct mail shot or event. Speaking directly to decision makers, leads are generated through targeted outreach and impactful advertising." - Leadforensics.com

Whereas outbound lead generation means you're the initiator, and you actively work to generate leads, there are 8 major strategies to justify its presence in your marketing mix.

"A bit of the old school, with a bit of the new school..."

Personalized Cold Email

Cold emails are a great way of creating a relationship with new prospects and it can actually be an even more effective strategy than social media and even inbound leads.

The key is to make your emails personal.

Emailing the exact same thing to everybody will either get your email flagged as spam so that it goes into the wrong inbox or it will be painfully obvious to the recipient that that is what you've done.

Great Tip: You can use this free tool to find lists of your ideal prospects to which you can send personalized cold emails.

Automation

Automation is a very popular way of making outbound lead generation a much easier and less time-intensive process. The method of automation will vary depending on the method of delivery.

For example, you can easily automate your emails to sales leads, including the timing of when they are sent, as well as some of your initial replies.
On LinkedIn, you can automate connection requests, introductory messages, and even follow-up messages.

Using a customer relationship management system can help you to set up your automation.

Cold Calling

Complaining about cold calling is really common, but you shouldn't discount it as a method in outbound marketing.

The key to cold calling effectively is to do your research and make sure that your prospects are qualified, the right people to speak to, and that they are relevant.

Great Tip: You can use this free tool to find the phone numbers of your ideal prospects if you're in the B2B market.

Social Media

Social media is everywhere at the moment and it is a great platform for making connections and relationships with the prospects that you want.

Connecting with people on social media can often make the relationship more personal and dynamic, and it gives your prospects the opportunity to see you and your business immediately.

Great Tip: You can set up your social media profiles to automatically drive visitors to your pages. Check it out here.

Multi-Channels

The most successful outbound lead generation often doesn't limit itself to one method of delivery.
Utilizing as many different channels can be key to getting the best leads for your business.

These can include cold calling and emailing, social media, landing pages, ads, and even direct mail.
Very often, it isn't the very first contact with a prospect that encourages them to work with you, but it can be the second or third contact through a different method that can be the thing that convinces them.

Great Tip: Make sure that everything you present is optimized for mobiles.

Content Syndication

Content is just as important in outbound marketing as it is for inbound marketing. Distributing whitepapers, presentations, infographics, and articles to the right people at the right time can be a very effective method of generating sales leads.

Great Tip: Look into utilizing press releases, articles, and even slideshare presentations as forms of content syndication.

Referrals

Referrals can often be neglected because they are difficult to quantify, but word of mouth can be one of the most effective ways of generating sales leads.

They provide credibility and "social proof" to your business because people are far more likely to trust the word of their friends and contacts than they are an impersonal ad.

Your referral program can be something as simple as offering a percentage off for successful referrals.

Great Tip: Look into utilizing 'viral marketing' software to digitize and automate your referrals.

Sales Teams

If you have the finances and time, you can develop a sales team to generate outbound leads for you.
These can either be in-house sales representatives or you can outsource to freelancers.

Great Tip: Look into utilizing platforms like Freelancer or UpWork if you want to outsource.

The simple truth is we're all completely bombarded, by marketing, on a daily basis.

Sometimes the only way to be heard is to put ourselves out there - in a smart, effective, relatable way nonetheless.
(nobody wants to do business with a person yelling from the rooftops about how great their service or product is).

Outbound lead generation can be a very useful part of your marketing mix if done correctly and with the help of the right tools.

I appreciate your attention. As always, leave a comment below!

EdeN Digital Marketing