Best Practices for Lead Generation Execution

Lead Generation Excellence Drives Top Results 

This is the final article in our series, the Seven Pillars of B2B Demand Generation Success In this post we describe the final piece, Pillar #7:  adhering to best practices in your lead gen campaigns and tactics.   Lead generation is the most important sub-function within the overall demand generation system. With a well-defined demand gen system (as described in this series), you’ve met the key pre-requisites for running effective lead gen campaigns. Now, it’s time to execute, generating the leads that will feed the funnel. Execution of campaigns is the biggest factor that determines the results of your demand gen system.  There are endless techniques and sources for lead gen, with new ones emerging each day. But don’t let the range of options or the apparent complexity of lead gen slow you down. Regardless of the options that you select to construct your marketing mix, there are a handful of best practices that apply across the board:
  1. For each campaign and funnel, model expected results and measure effectiveness against the model’s predictions
  2. Use your models to select the campaigns that are predicted to yield the best ROI
  3. Use a portfolio approach in defining your marketing mix — You should have a range of campaigns that differ across key characteristics (type of campaign, CPL, volume and timing of leads produced, etc.)
  4. Incorporate all activities that generate actionable leads into your planning and modeling — Beyond pure lead gen campaigns, incorporate: inbound leads, prospecting, and nurtured leads into your models (And of course, each of these activities have their own unique set of best practices)
  5. Before launching a given campaign, write the core internal training / knowledge-sharing materials for each 
    1. Each campaign should have a one-page overview that describes:
      1.  The lead gen activity
      2. The target lead profiles
      3. The unique messaging required
      4. The expectations in terms of volume and timing of leads.
    2. A unique script and supporting email templates should be created and used for quick SDR/BDR training sessions before the campaigns start running
 Apply Specific Best Practices for Every Lead Gen Campaign Type  The list of 5 above are universal–they cut across any lead generating activity.  Of course, every unique type of lead gen activity has it’s own volume of best practices.  Webinars, live events, social media advertising, and content syndication all generate great leads, and they differ dramatically in terms of the planning and execution of the campaigns. Start by leveraging public domain materials on best practices for each of the types that you include in your mix…and develop your own internal playbooks and best practices based on your experiences in the market. Make these documents available as a resource to internal employees and relevant partners, and use them as training materials. A key function of marketing is to maintain these docs as part of the institutional “code” of your demand gen system.

Final Thoughts the Seven Pillars of B2B Demand Generation Success

This is the final article in the series, the Seven Pillars of B2B Demand Generation Successwhich provides a high-level view of the foundational elements that must be in place for a high-performance demand gen system. The series is intended to serve as a reference to ensure that you are putting in place those key characteristics that create the foundation for success.  Successful design and execution of demand generation relies on significant expertise, experience, human resources and investment.  We hope you’ve found value in these articles, and we’d love your feedback!  For questions on these articles, or other demand gen topics, please contact us at info@winfirstmarketing.com.  Here is the full list of posts in this series.
  1. Codify the Demand Gen System
  2. Build and Work the Pipeline Model
  3. Differentiate and Define Roles within the Lead-to-Close Process
  4. Measure and Know Your Pipeline Throughput Capacity 
  5. Design the Right Incentives – Particularly for New Customer Acquisition 
  6. Enact, Implement & Enforce 
  7. Execute Lead Gen Campaigns with Adherence to Best Practices
We also created this free PDF checklist — a simple yet powerful reference tool that can help to ensure you and your team put in place a solid foundation for long-term demand generation success.  

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Subscribe to the Newsletter!

Free Checklist: The 7 Pillars of B2B Demand Generation Success

Click for instant access to this brief PDF which covers the essential foundation for a top-performing demand gen system -- a handy reference guide for any B2B marketing team.
Free
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Scroll to Top