How to Pick a Right Lead Generation Company

Have you ever had a bad experience using a lead generation company? If the answer is yes, you are certainly not alone. It seems like just about every business had a bad experience with their outsourcing company at least once or has heard about outsourcing horror stories.

Now I am not saying that all lead generation companies are bad, or you shouldn’t outsource your lead generation. The goal of this article is not to discourage you from outsourcing your lead generation, but to educate you to choose a company that will likely provide a positive experience.

Protect yourself and your business from a negative experience by finding answers to these questions before picking a lead generation firm.

Do they focus on quantity over quality?

You’ve heard that trite adage before “It is quality rather than quantity that matters.” It sounds obvious, quality plays a critical role in just about every aspect of the business, and lead generation is no exception.

Pick a company that focuses on quantity, and you might fill your sales funnel quickly, but those bad leads will impact your business bottom line negatively.

When it comes to outsourcing lead generation one of the biggest scams is “guaranteed leads.” Most companies convince customers that they will deliver a certain number of leads and focuses on more the merrier approach. Make sure that the number they quote for your business is achievable and their focus is more on ROI rather than the number of leads. Keep in mind that quality will always trump quantity in lead generation. So, make sure you are not sold on the number of leads. And do try to pick the companies that know how to strike a balance between quantity and quality.

When you focus a lot on Quantity, you inevitably lose the focus from Quality. It’s an imperfect world – you can’t get everything at once. So, be aware of the trade-offs you’re making.

Do they have a good reputation?

This may sound obvious. Most businesses check the reputation of the companies before they outsource their lead generation to them. But what they don’t do is find out what’s their real reputation.

What do I mean by that?

Well, most businesses check the reviews or the testimonials on these companies’ websites. But reviews or testimonials don’t always show the real picture.

How?

Testimonials on the site can be cherry-picked, and reviews can be easily incentivized, so they may not be an accurate indicator of the lead generation firm’s reputation. Now the question is how to find out their real reputation? Well, the answer is you can reach out to some of their clients directly. This way you’ll find out what their clients really think about them and whether those reviews and testimonials are real or influenced.

Are they transparent in their approach?

Many lead generation companies are not transparent in their process. They say that they will deliver qualified leads and not just contacts to your business. But they don’t show you how they are doing it. Picking companies that follow this approach will be a huge mistake – this way you won’t be able to find out whether they’re delivering what they’ve promised. In some cases, they may just pass you the list of contacts (unqualified ones). Watch out for these type of companies who offer zero transparency and who don’t show you their methods. Ask them questions like, from where do you get contact data for campaigns? How do you qualify leads? Do your reps use emails? If yes, can you share the complete thread of conversation with us? By asking these questions, you can quickly figure out whether they are worth trusting or you should look elsewhere for lead generation assistance.

Finding a lead generation company is very easy – picking a right one isn’t. Put some time and effort into research before choosing one.

Have they achieved decent results for your industry in past?

Results are proof. An effective lead generation company stays effective. But it’s unrealistic to expect a lead generation company to deliver the same results for every industry.

Why?

Because generating leads for healthcare industry requires a different approach than generating leads for the automobile industry. And, the more familiar the lead generation company is with your industry, the more effective they’ll be.

Rather than asking them how many leads they usually generate for businesses – ask them specifically about your industry.  Have they worked with people from your industry in past or similar industries? If yes, how many leads they’ve generated for them?

Check the case study section on their website, see if they have done anything remarkable for companies from your industry or similar ones. Also, check on their website if these clients have given them testimonials’.

That’s said but don’t pick an average lead generation company over a good one just because they don’t have experience in your industry; as the fundamental principles of lead generation are the same across industries. Use this information as a deciding factor if you’ve to choose between two equally good companies.

Outsourcing lead generation is much easier and cheaper than trying to generate leads yourself. But, if you don’t want to get burned out in the process try to get clear answers to the questions given above.