You can’t be in business today without using lead generation tools.
Okay, maybe you can but I’d be shocked to learn this!
As a consumer, I find lead generation tools a little creepy. But, as a business owner, they’re totally cool.
Cool as in, they help you stuff leads into your pipeline. What business owner doesn’t think that’s cool?!
Here are several creepy, but cool, recommended lead generation tools.
To LeadGen Or Not To LeadGen
With marketing, lead generation tools help you “capture” a potential customer. As they show interest in something, your lead generation tool will help you mark them for follow up.
By the way, “LeadGen” is jargon-speak for marketers.
As with all marketing tools, you can use a really simple approach. Or, as some marketers prefer, you can set something up that you’d need a Ph.D. to implement.
I’ll share a few tools that cover both modes. And if you’re still in need of a simple lead generation plan or map, read this post first!
My advice to you is to start small or easy and build from there.
B Squared Media LeadGen Tools
Personally, I like to go the simple route. I use four tools total to help with our lead-generation efforts.
Let’s separate them out by phases of the funnel.
For a quick funnel lesson, here’s a nifty graphic from one of our old webinars.
Here’s my simple 1, 2, 3 set up.
- We send the majority of our traffic, whether it’s from organic or paid media to our website. Specifically, with paid media, we send traffic to a page where we ask for a conversion or the next step. MY preferred conversion is a free conversation with me, which you can see on our detailed Free Consultation page.
- Because we have plenty of nurture content on our website, when people hit certain pages on our website, my “lead magnet” is a simple free consultation. You’ll see a button to “book” now and will then be taken to my calendar where you can book any time with me your heart desires (as long as I’m available). This lead generation tool is thanks to Calendly.
- The next conversion I’m looking for after I conduct a 30-minute free consultation is an “RFP” or request for proposal/pricing. I send all of my proposals through BidSketch. Some may not call this a lead generation tool, but with the ability to see how often a recipient opens, downloads, or prints your proposal, I can tell you it is! It also allows for e-signatures which are awesome sauce!
There’s one other tool I use for nurturing leads and that’s our CRM, Nimble.
Nimble has a handy dandy feature that allows me to stay in touch with contacts I deem “VIP.”
Here’s an example of what Mark Schaefer’s contact card looks like in Nimble.
I’ve marked him as important by “starring” him and asked Nimble to help me stay in touch with him monthly.
I also use this social CRM to discover prospects and their contact details, target businesses or companies, track & measure my email outreach, as well as move my converted traffic (now “leads”) through my pipeline.
This is a very simple process that anyone can follow!
Other Creepy Cool Lead Generation Tools
Admittedly, my set up is easy peasy. And you may be looking for some bigger tools in your arsenal.
We’ve got you covered.
Lead Forensics is a great tool for the top of the funnel. For instance, what if you’re getting traffic but they aren’t filling out that free consultation (or other) form?
Their software reveals the identity of your anonymous website traffic, and turns them into actionable sales leads … in real-time.
That means if a big brand visits your website but doesn’t fill out your form, you could move to a platform like LinkedIn, in-mail their Marketing Director (or similar), and try to get back in front of them to convert as a lead.
Then there’s Clearslide. It’s similar to our proposal tool, BidSketch.
But what if you’re a bigger company that sends fancy pitch decks before you even get to the RFP?
Clearslide gives you visibility into every customer interaction. Sales reps, leaders, and marketers can see engagement insights on their decks.
I love how you can see how much time each person spent on your deck.
What marketing or sales team wouldn’t find that fascinating (albeit creepy)?!
Moral Questions To Ask Yourself
Lastly, is it creepy to essentially cold-call or email leads captured by these types of lead generation tools? Or is it accepted as a smart move and common practice?
For me personally, our simple use of the four lead generation tools on our site has a creep level near zero.
That’s my preferred marketing style.
However, I see how using a tool like LeadForensics could climb the creepy scale with “cold” outreach to brands that hit your site but didn’t covert.
Not all lead generations tools are creepy. And in my opinion, they’re all worth a try!
Which lead generation tools are helping you keep your pipeline full? Let me know in the comments section below!
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2 Comments. Leave new
Thanks for the interesting post, Brooke. Well, I use https://www.oxyleads.com for generating my leads. Can’t name it “creepy”. I would name it “useful” instead 🙂
Awesome! Thanks for the recommendation, Grace. I’ll have to check it out.