Are you weary of the relentless pursuit of promising leads? Are you finding it challenging to meet your sales benchmarks? You’re not alone.
80% of marketers perceive their lead generation efforts as marginally or moderately effective, while 4% deem them entirely ineffective.
In fact, the most significant challenge in generating new leads, as reported by 57% of marketers, is inducing targeted prospects to engage.
So, what’s the solution? A well-reasearched B2B lead list! It could be the nitro boost your sales strategy needs.
However, here’s the burning question: should you invest in pre-built lead lists or dedicate time to curate your bespoke one?
We recognize the pitfalls and uncertainty associated with purchasing pre-made lead generation lists. Plus, we also understand the time-consuming nature of cultivating your own. As such, this dilemma begs the question: which path provides a competitive edge?
This comprehensive guide unpacks the nuances, advantages, and drawbacks of the purchase versus build conundrum. Furthermore, it'll offer a strategic blueprint to construct a tailored lead list for your specific needs.
A B2B lead list is your roster of potential contacts for sales outreach. These compilations comprise businesses matching your Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) and encompass various data, including:
While these elements are fundamental, superior lead lists for businesses go beyond, offering a richer dataset for each prospect. On that premise, let's check out the elements defining a top-notch B2B lead list.
Here are elements that define an excellent list of leads:
1. Sales Intelligence: Acquiring the right sales intelligence metrics is pivotal in the prospecting list process. It significantly impacts your top-of-funnel sales and bottom line.
2. Extensive and Diverse Pool of Prospects: A massive reservoir of potential clients increases response rates and minimizes data inaccuracies or decay.
3. Integrity of Data Sources: High-quality B2B lead lists comply with ethical standards and regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) – to avoid legal and reputational issues.
4. Comprehensive Data Points: Exceptional lists go beyond basic information, encompassing:
5. Relevance to Buyer Personas and ICPs: Target audience alignment with buyer personas ensures accurate targeting, avoiding a scattered approach.
6. Intent Data Utilization: Using intent data derived from online behavior refines prospect searches and determines their likelihood of purchasing.
7. Accuracy: The precision of a lead list significantly impacts return on investment.
Considering these elements defining a superior B2B lead list, let’s come to our next step. How can you assess the dichotomy between purchasing business leads and building your lead repository?
Deciding between crafting your lead repository or acquiring a pre-existing one involves a delicate balance of advantages and drawbacks. Let's uncover the ideal scenarios for B2B companies to buy or build lead lists.
Less Authority: Purchasing lead lists for your marketing or sales efforts can relinquish control over data quality and sourcing. Therefore, it can lead to uncertainties regarding data origins and maintenance.
Considering the insights shared, it's evident that the final decision depends on your business's current situation or goals.
For example:
Let’s say you are rolling out a new product. Then, you can benefit from buying a B2B lead list to generate demand rather than waiting for months on your own.
Suppose your company offers highly specialized consultancy services for sustainable energy projects in emerging markets. In this case, constructing your own lead list would be advantageous.
The latter enables you to meticulously research and curate a database specific to niche sectors. In fact, constructing sales lead lists represents an organic and sustainable method to cultivate a top-tier database. It steers your outreach endeavors toward success.
That being said, let’s now check out our framework for designing a comprehensive B2B lead list:
Let's take you through the four fundamental steps to orchestrate an impactful, ROI-driven lead list.
Every effective lead generation initiative commences with pinpointing the target buyers. However, when constructing your lead list, it necessitates an extra layer. Defining your ideal customer profile and devising buyer personas is critical for optimization:
Together, these two components outline pivotal attributes of your potential prospects, such as:
To refine your ICP and buyer personas in this initial stage:
The foundational research in this initial phase of creating your lead lists will augment your endeavors in the subsequent steps.
Precisely defining the appropriate decision-maker early on is vital. It helps avoid investing time in pursuing the wrong leads. On the contrary, it heightens the possibility of securing a response or appointment by delivering a highly tailored pitch message.
Here are recommended strategies for pinpointing the optimal decision-makers based on your research:
Segmenting your leads is the secret to unlocking the true potential of your lead list. By segmenting, you streamline your B2B outreach, expedite your endeavors, and yield superior results.
Consider these parameters to segment your lead list effectively:
Segmentation based on sales triggers helps categorize prospects with similar interests or behaviors, enabling personalized pitches.
Once the groundwork is set, the real question is: How do you source, organize, and evaluate leads for your list? The answer lies in a robust tech stack.
Lacking appropriate sales tools can hinder the lead list construction process, inevitably slowing down your outreach.
Empower your sales team with a top-tier tech stack to expedite the list-building journey. Some favored tools include LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Crunchbase, Google Sheets, etc.
Remember, the efficacy of your tech stack significantly influences your list-building endeavors. Take the time to research and test various tools to ensure you're leveraging the best options.
The final stretch in forming B2B lead lists involves refining it for optimal use. This step is pivotal as the caliber of your leads is directly tied to the efficiency of your analysis, validation, and refreshing process.
Here's a breakdown of best practices to implement this workflow:
Building lead lists might appear overwhelming, but your dedication will increase lead conversions and revenue growth. If you require additional support to bolster your revenue figures, Revnew can serve as an extension of your internal sales team, providing our specialized expertise for B2B list building services.
Save this comprehensive guide and establish a solid handcrafting lead list process. Don't hesitate to explore and refine as you progress, and keep quality as your top priority over quantity.
Get in touch with us today for more information.