Lead generation is generally described as the beginning of potential customer’s interest related to services/products. But, it is actually more than that! It is an art of interacting with people, which makes sure that image of your brand sustains in the mind of your potential customers. And these prospects turn into your customers immediately or at some later stage (based on the persuasion power of agents).
It is an obvious fact that to nurture any art form, you need a specific amount of practice and a set of techniques. And in order to help you with the latter part, we have compiled a list of essential techniques that must be followed during lead generation process.
1. Take permission to follow-up
Do not forget to take permission from a customer to stay in touch even if he/she is not interested to make the purchase at the moment. You can ask for a follow-up through email or phone as different customers prefer different modes of communication.
2. Offer them details through email
Usually, customers feel that the information through emails is more reliable as compared to the info offered by phone agents. Therefore, ask for the email of the customer so that you can provide detailed information of product/service. You can attach brochures, industry reports, certifications related to your brand or list of achievements etc. in the email. This will definitely increase the chance of the transforming the leads into the customer.
3. Be completely honest
It is necessary to be completely honest while introducing yourself and the products/services of the brand. It is essential as the potential customers don’t want to hear fake information especially when someone interrupts them during their daily routine.
4. Tell them benefits
Rather than bragging about company’s achievements on phone, you must focus on explaining the benefits of the product/service to the potential customers. This will arouse the desire for your product among the listeners and will ultimately make them hot leads. Popular author Dale Carnegie in his bestseller ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ has already reflected how discussing the benefits to potential buyers can help in arousing interest in the product/service.
5. Build up their anticipation
You can do this by presenting them examples. It is true that you have limited time while having interaction with prospects. But you can show them relevant examples in one line (or more) to build anticipation among listeners.
6. Avoid using scripts
Scripts limit the scope of variation, which is an essential part of lead generation. You can have the ‘framework’ which may outline important portions of the discussion. Keeping frameworks handy not only help you stick to the point but also ensures that you don’t sound robotic.
7. Have basic information about target audience
You must have information related to the demographics of the target audience before beginning the lead generation process. This will provide you with a general idea of how they will respond to your call. Therefore, you can modify your approach accordingly and improve the process.
8. Have in-depth information of product/service
Potential customers can put any kind of information related to product or service offered by you. Therefore, you have to be prepared to encounter all the difficult and challenging questions. One of the best ways to do this is learning about product or service by taking support of different departments of the company, which are associated with the brand. Usually, the companies, offering lead generation services give their emphasis on proper training of agents by imparting detailed information.
9. Do not focus only on hot leads
That’s a big mistake done by lead generation departments from different domains. And avoiding this mistake is what will make you more successful than your competitor in long run. There is definitely a set of customers that may choose to purchase a product at some later date. Therefore, ignoring them can result in substantial loss for the company.
10. Listen to them attentively
Communication is obviously a two-way technique. Therefore, you must not limit on just speaking on phone. You must also allow the prospect to speak so that they feel important. You can ask questions on regular basis to encourage the listeners to talk more during the call. Make sure to stay attentive while they speak. You must also note all the little details, which can help you in future during the follow-up.
A1 Call Center is an outsourcing vendor that offers lead generation solutions at economical prices. The agents at the center follow a blend of the techniques discussed in the above section.