Avoid These 5 Pitfalls with B2B Lead Generation Services

Not all B2B lead generation services are created equal.

Especially in the high-growth industry of B2B tech, if and when you choose to outsource your sales and lead generation efforts, you’ll find that some of your options are far superior to others.

Whether you’re a startup looking to scale or an established enterprise, outsourcing your sales development can be a lifeline for your business. But before you make your decision (or even begin your research), it’s important that you understand the common pitfalls when partnering with a B2B lead gen service—and most importantly, how to avoid them.

Issue #1: Finding a Credible Partner

When you begin your research, you’ll probably notice that there are a lot of “experts” in the B2B lead gen industry. Promises of “better leads,” and “more sales appointments” are a dime a dozen. Huckster may be too strong of a word, but when it comes to outsourcing your B2B lead generation, the reality is that many companies simply lack credibility.

Solution

Look for lead generation service providers who are backed by experience. Those that not only talk about creating and advancing your sales pipeline, but can back it up with a proven track record. If they don’t actively promote customer testimonials and case studies on their website, ask for them during the vetting process. Customer references can be a great way to ensure you’re getting an accurate review of the company’s performance.

Ultimately, when you hire an outsourced SDR team to handle your B2B lead generation, you should be partnering with a group of professionals with years of sales development experience. The best lead generation services employ a team of specialists—those who have honed their skills and expertise, can handle the high pressure of early sales, and come equipped with best practices to directly apply to your unique situation.

Issue #2: Lack of a Performance-Based Models

Surprisingly, very few lead generation companies offer a performance-based pricing model—especially those who service the SaaS and IT services industry.

Solution

If you’re focused on getting a large volume of prospects in your pipeline, a pay-per-performance model will drastically reduce your risk. The best performance-based pricing models will only charge you when you actually speak with your prospect. And if the prospect does happen to cancel, your outsourced lead gen service will handle rescheduling or replacing the meeting with someone new.

Issue #3: Lengthy Onboarding Process

Many lead gen providers have long ramp-up times and lengthy onboarding processes before seeing results.

Solution

When generating B2B leads for your tech company, time is money. So hiring an outsourced SDR team that can get up to speed quickly is paramount. The best outsourced B2B lead generation services come ready-made to position your company for rapid growth, and can quickly launch an outbound sales development campaign.

Be sure to do your due diligence when researching the lead generation services that could be a good fit and ask potential partners how long it will take them to ramp up. A strength of top-notch lead gen service providers has the ability to get up to speed in short order, even with complex technical issues.

“The best outsourced B2B lead generation services come ready-made to position your company for quick growth, and can launch an outbound sales development campaign in as little as a couple of days.”

Issue #4: No Specific Industry Focus

Most vendors have a specific lead generation sweet spot—SaaS and IT services, for example. If you aren’t in their sweet spot or they claim they can easily work with anyone, your results will most likely suffer.

Solution

The solution here is as clear-cut as you’d think: look for niche experts and choose a partner that works with organizations similar to yours. When you seek to outsource your lead generation efforts, you need to be extremely confident in the outside firm’s ability to accelerate your sales process and drive results that lead to revenue.

The best way to do this is by enlisting the services of a vendor that knows your business. Whether you need a fast infusion of qualified appointments or a dedicated extension of your team, B2B lead generation experts who are in tune with your product, service, and/or industry can get to work quickly and begin delivering high-quality results in a matter of days rather than weeks.

Issue #5: Inability to Properly Work the Sales Funnel

Many providers don’t put enough thought behind understanding their client’s prospect and take a one-size fits all approach.

Solution

Make sure they know your customer and are focused on their journey. The best outsourced SDR’s help you nail your B2B lead gen goals because they recognize the importance of the customer experience in the sales process. They develop a systematic approach that nurtures leads to a sales conversation, then lay out the message and frequency of their communication points, capitalize on preferred channels, and talk to your prospects when and where they’re most open to a conversation.

While this may sound like sales 101, far too many services use the “spray and pray” approach that may get a few bites here and there, but lacks long-term focus on significant pipeline growth with high-quality leads.

Accelerate Your Growth with the Right B2B Lead Generation Service

From appointment setting to lead qualification to sales data management, dedicated SDR’s, and more, there are a bevy of benefits to outsourcing your sales development. Finding the right business to business lead generation service can become your engine of organizational profit.