Top 4 Reasons Why You’re Not Generating Qualified B2B Leads

Are you getting a good B2B leads, but none of them seem to be converting? Don’t give up. Here are some tried and true methods to get those leads to convert.

While there are a variety of reasons you’re not getting the quality of leads you want, the following is a list of 4 common mistakes sales and digital marketing pros make when it comes to generating qualified B2B leads.

1. You haven’t defined what a “qualified” lead means for your business.

This is a simple, yet critical step that should not be skipped when trying to acquire qualified leads. If you haven’t defined what a qualified lead is, then it becomes almost impossible to successfully attract one. Plus, you need to be sure that both your marketing and sales teams are on the same page about what counts as a qualified lead.

• What is your ideal client’s company size?
• What is your ideal client’s annual budget?
• Who is the decision-maker for your ideal client?

Leads can be defined as website visitors acquired through an online form, and they can be anywhere in the sales conversion funnel. A qualified lead, however, is someone who has made contact through more than one point of connection, such as signing up for a newsletter and downloading content from your website. They are likely shopping for comparable products and services in addition to yours, and will know what their budget and timeframe is for making a purchase.

2. You’re marketing to the wrong customers.

This goes with the above mistake, in that if you haven’t clearly defined your target market, you may be trying to reach too broad of an audience, or the wrong audience altogether. Maybe your target market has grown since your business began, or in some cases it can change due to factors like the state of the economy or advances in technology.

This is why it’s important to develop your target markets and determine who you need to reach. Many digital marketers forget about going back to marketing basics such as market research, competitor analysis and taking customer surveys. You also need to constantly monitor and analyze the keywords and phrases used in content to make sure they are aligned with what your target customers are actually searching for.

3. You don’t have a clear sales process in place.

Even if you’ve clearly defined what makes a lead qualified, and you’ve developed a strong target audience, you can’t count on acquiring these qualified customers if you don’t have a clear sales process in place. Without knowing what steps to take with a potential customer at each stage of the sales funnel, you can’t effectively move on to the next stage.

For example, once a lead is received, the next step should be to qualify the lead. Once you’ve identified a possible qualified lead, a good next step would be to send informational content about your product or service, and set up a sales call or demo. At each step in the process, it’s important to define the next appropriate action on both your end and your customer’s.

4. You didn’t provide a clear call to action.

Surprisingly, this mistake is pretty common. Many digital marketers will do all of the above, and then when it comes to asking for a sale or requesting action, they drop the ball. How can the customer know what you want them to do, if you don’t tell them? Communicate Consistently, says Matt Cayless is the Director of SEO at Bubblegum Search, and frequently.

Keep your Call to Action simple, with something as direct as, “Contact us today”, “Get a quote now”, or “Subscribe to our newsletter.” Or, offer a valuable piece of content in exchange for their contact information. No matter the method you use to generate leads, make it clear what you want your visitors to do, and tell them exactly what they’ll receive in return for their time and information.

Avoid these 4 common mistakes, and you’ll be on your way to generating qualified leads in no time!