Few things never go out of fashion – Lead Generation is one such activity in Marketing which cannot be avoided.

You will be out of business when you don’t have Quality Leads in hand.

Inbound Lead Generation is gaining increasing popularity and has proven to be a great way to generate leads.

But if you are starting as a new business, leads don’t come knocking on the door (at least on Day 1). It takes time to attract prospects and convert them.

So what else can be done ? You could use Outbound Lead Generation Techniques.

What is Outbound Lead Generation ?

Outbound Lead Generation is a process where you would reach out to ideal prospects using various channels and try to market your products (or) make a sale.

It is contrary to Inbound Lead Generation where you create relevant content, optimize for Search Engines and wait for customers to take action.

Why Should Businesses do Outbound Lead Generation ?

  • Inbound Marketing takes time to produce results, you might go out of business by then. With Outbound Lead Generation, you could reach faster to your customers, close sales fast and beat your competitors.
  • In outbound Lead Generation, even if your leads don’t convert your Brand name is out there. It drives Brand Awareness.
  • You could get creative and test new Markets for your business with Outbound Lead Generation. After reaching out to one Customer segment, you know what works and what does not. Therefore you could tailor your Marketing campaigns and win more leads.

Outbound Lead Generation Channels

I have lined up five classic Outbound Lead Generation Channels for you

1. Cold Outreach – Emails, Calls  and Messages

You could find the ideal customer segment for your product and collect email addresses, phone numbers from web directories, social media, etc. Alternatively you could use tools like RedScraper Lead Prospector and Phone Prospector which collects the targeted email address & phone numbers for you.

After this you could reach out to these cold leads with a compelling and personalized message and convert them as your customer eventually.

You need to have an eye to not intrude into the ideal prospect’s phone or inbox. You need to research the best times to call, email to your leads. You could also win their attention by providing offers, offering valuable resources like E-books, Podcasts, etc.

“Lead generation from LinkedIn was successful for 65% of B2B companies”

You could also send a cold message to your leads via Social media like LinkedIn, especially if you are in B2B.

Cold outreach is an adventure itself, if executed correctly you could get good email and message open rates and if not you will end up in spam.

Read our Cold Messaging tips here.

2. Paid Advertising – Search, Display, Video, Mobile and Social Media

You could choose an Ad Network like Google, Facebook, Taboola and run Ads with a specific Marketing objective in mind

You could generate leads, bring awareness about a product, generate Traffic to your website and provide some offers in a Landing Page.

You could place Ads on top of search results for a particular keyword and Pay only when someone clicks on your link. Pay Per Click has proven to be an effective way of lead generation.

You can easily set up Marketing campaigns in any Ad Network, but you need to make the keywords relevant to your business, decide on the Ad type, Budget before hand. You could choose the relevant Ad type based on your customer preferences.

“70%  of B2B marketers claim that videos are more effective than other content when it comes to converting users to qualified leads”

Social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn now specifically offers Lead Generation Ads where there is a form directly to collect information.(No hassle of creating Landing Pages)

3. Social Media Posts and Live Events

Businesses like yours should leverage Social Media for lead generation. Posting valuable content regularly using relevant hashtags can attract a huge chunk of your prospects.

From time to time, you could create some lead magnets, run contests or go live to gather leads. You could simply create a targeted landing page and simple form to collect email addresses. This approach slightly overlaps with inbound marketing, but its effectiveness is unquestionable.

“When making a purchase, 75% of B2B buyers use social media for their decision-making.”

You could create Company pages, run Employee Advocacy programs to promote Content in Social Media. Social proof has become inevitable, getting testimonials, reviews can help build your brand and attract more leads.

4. Events, Webinars  and Tradeshows

Nothing beats the feel of talking face to face with your prospects. Events, tradeshows and Video webinars are a great way to reach your ideal prospects. You could generate Quality leads by running a webinar, all you need to do is create a form for Webinar registration.

“73% of B2B marketers say a webinar is the best way to generate high-quality leads”

Podcasts are gaining momentum the past few years. You could invite guest speakers, experts in industry to facilitate a panel discussion, attract more leads.

5. Referral Programs

You always trust a friend better than a brand. With referral programs, you could promote electronic word of mouth and collect new leads. You could offer a discount for existing customers to recommend your product or service to their network.

“Referral-based marketing can obtain about 20,000 new email addresses a month”

Referral programs have another advantage, your existing customers will become your loyal brand advocates.

Final Thoughts

What works for a company may not work for others. To sustain in the market, you could use Outbound marketing strategies and get leads.

In the long run, I recommend you to use a combination of Inbound and Outbound Lead Generation strategies to get sales.

The essence of an effective Lead Generation strategy lies in figuring out what channel works the best for your business and nurturing your leads.