There is so much hype around inbound marketing, that some b2b companies have forgotten about outbound lead generation strategies.
You might be thinking… Well, cold calling doesn’t work. Isn’t that outbound?
Well, yes it is.. But there are so many other outbound lead gen strategies your company can use to get qualified sales leads.
At Salesbread we make use of Linkedin and cold email outreach. When our strategy is implemented clients end up with 1 new lead per day. In the past 24 months, we have generated close to 7000 qualified leads for our clients.
One of the biggest differences between inbound and outbound is that if done correctly, you could receive your first lead within 48 hours after launching your lead generation campaign…
This article will share what outbound lead generation is and why it’s working in 2023.
(But if you know that you need instant leads as in yesterday, why don’t you hop on a free 15-minute strategy session with Salesbread? We focus on high quality, low volume LinkedIn and cold email outreach.).
What is outbound lead generation?
Simply put, outbound lead generation is a form of marketing that helps your business find and engage with new potential customers.
You would have salespeople who would contact your new potential lead via:
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Email marketing
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Trade shows and industry events
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Prospecting through social media channels.
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Cold approaching (This is like cold calling but in person. You would need to make a great first impression on decision-makers to gain the lead)
This form of marketing is essential because it creates brand awareness and interest in your product or service, eventually leads to sales.
More and more people are looking at inbound lead generation, but this can also be a challenge.
Outbound lead generation still works and can definitely increase revenue, but it has to be done right.
There is a secret, though, to this form of marketing.
No one is interested in being spammed or called by millions of telly salespeople a day.
So the secret is simple, and that is personalization and building ultra-refined prospecting lists.
When your sales team takes a personal interest in your new potential clients, you have a greater chance of eventually landing the sale.
The conversion rates are the ultimate goal from prospects to sales. You achieve this by nurturing follow-ups.
This marketing strategy is crucial in any B2B lead generation company.
Did you know that 80% of new never leads convert into sales?
However, studies have shown that when lead generation services that nurture potential clients have a 50% higher conversion rate.
Interestingly, new clients who are also nurtured are 47% more likely to make larger purchases. One of the biggest challenges that most companies have is finding sales-qualified leads.
According to SEO Sandwitch, 57% of businesses struggle to find targeted prospects to engage with.
Therefore finding the right outbound lead generation services can make a massive difference to your business, as a recent statistic shows by Salesforce.
This stat shows that lead nurturing increases sales opportunities by 68% and increases qualified leads by 63%.
If your CRM systems are well in place, you can be sure that those phone calls from potential customers will lead to sales.
Why do outbound lead generation services work?
The crazy amount of information bombarding consumers today makes them picky when considering what to purchase or who to interact with.
A simple search in your Google search engine will bring up hundreds and thousands of results by just typing in a question.
Most people never go beyond the first page. So if your SEO isn’t great, your business might not get noticed.
People also have less time; therefore, their attention span is limited. A recent study showed that within the past 15 years, our attention span has decreased remarkably.
In 2015 the same research showed that our attention span is about 8.25 seconds on average.
This is less than a goldfish, whose attention span is about 9 seconds.
So it’s harder for companies to work out a strategic marketing plan if they don’t have the right resources. If you don’t grab your consumer’s attention within the first few seconds, you can lose any new potential leads.
Campaigns need to be focused and strategically planned, and this is why outbound lead generation services can come in handy.
When you combine outbound lead generation services with inbound lead gen tactics, you can be sure that you will set up your company for success, according to Salesforce.
So do outbound lead generation services work?
Yes, they do work.
Here are some reasons why outbound lead generation could be a game changer for your company.
1. It creates brand awareness… Quickly.
When it comes to creating brand awareness, social media marketing, SEO, and content marketing can take time.
At Salesbread we use content marketing as one of our inbound methods, but it has taken us almost 2 years to start seeing solid results.
Below shows how our website traffic has increased slowly over time:
For an inbound strategy to work, you need to post articles regularly and even build relationships with influencers (for social media), which can also be costly.
For example, one post by an influencer could cost $20 or more, depending on their following.
Outbound lead generation creates awareness quickly. The great thing about outbound lead gen is that you can find the perfect target audience for your brand, due to advanced technology. If you create ultra-refined prospecting lists, you can narrow down your ideal customer profile based on current buying data.
This in turn leads to more conversion rates because you’re targeting people who:
A.) Need what you’re selling
B.) Who have the budget
C) Who have the buying power
A lead generation service can pinpoint precisely who should be targeted and develop a strategic plan to use email marketing, phone calls, or even LinkedIn outreach to contact your potential client.
Once a personalized approach has been developed, the B2B lead generation service of your choice can nurture these leads and move them down the sales pipeline.
2. Outbound lead generation services attract new business.
According to a survey conducted last year by Fractl and Moz, companies’ main ways to attract new business were by direct email marketing. See their infographic below for a more detailed visual of effective ways for a company to attract business.
As you can see, according to the graph, 53.5% of consumers said that email marketing offers for discounts, coupons, or free trials got their attention.
Interestingly more than half of the people in this survey mentioned that traditional advertising caught their attention the most.
Here is another graph by Fractl and Moz that shows promotional emails come in second.
So when people say that outbound lead generation is dead, don’t believe them.
The stats are living proof that outbound lead generation is still very much alive and, in fact, one of the main ways to create brand awareness even in 2023.
3. Outbound lead generation services can also give you high-quality data.
When it comes to traditional advertising, you don’t have a surefire way of keeping track of data.
For example, you might know more or less how many cars pass a billboard on a specific day. Still, you won’t know how many people actually took note of your advert or how many people actually converted to a buyer from your ad.
But with outbound lead generation, you will have a very clear indication of your data. The best part is that you will also know your conversion rate.
All of this data can help you adapt your marketing strategy in order to be efficient.
Here are some tools which outbound lead generation sales teams might use to follow data:
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Zoominfo – This is used for prospect data
Price: On average, $18,321 a year
This is a tool used for outreach and sales data Price: (Starting price) $79,99 per month if paid annually.
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Crunchbase.com – This is a specialized form of tech for account metrics and targeting. Price: $29 per month for the pro versions and higher for the enterprise version
(This is also another great reason to use an outbound lead generation service. If you had to pay for these programs yourself, it could end up costing you a lot of money.
With the right kind of done-for-you-lead generation, you can have peace of mind that your business is in good hands. )
4. Turns out, your prospects don’t mind outbound lead messages.
Hubspot asked a few consumers which forms of advertising frustrate them the most or which had a negative effect on them.
Direct phone calls had the most negative effect on people, but email marketing had a neutral effect on people.
Why was this?
Well, people could still choose whether to open the email or scrap it.
Therefore lead generation via cold emails that are personalized still see good results and can increase outbound sales.
Only 9% of people found promotional emails annoying, whereas 76% of people found that telemarketers had a negative impact on them.
This graph by Hubspot gives us a clearer understanding of the minds of consumers.
But why is there so much hype around inbound lead generation?
As mentioned above, many feel that outbound lead generation is dead, but as we saw, it’s not.
In fact, it is still extremely valuable in generating leads.
But yes, there is significant hype around inbound lead generation, and with good reason. Inbound lead generation focuses mainly on valuable content.
Did you know that stats show that inbound marketing produces three times more leads per dollar than traditional marketing?
Content marketing also gets three times more leads than paid advertising.
But in order for inbound marketing to be successful and to find genuine leads, you need to post often and keep thinking of new and exciting ways to create content.
One big problem with inbound marketing is that it has become highly competitive. SEO optimization, PPC, digital marketing, and even online events are flooding the internet.
The type of content that you need to produce needs to be excellent and worthy of the attention of your target audience.
So it does work, but it can take time and resources before you receive the number of sales you would like.
The best option would be to combine outbound and inbound for a lead-generating machine that will not fail.
What is the cost difference between outbound lead generation and inbound lead generation services?
The cost of outbound lead generation
You might think that outbound lead generation services cost a fortune, but the good news is that they don’t.
When you outsource a lead generation service, you might be surprised at how reasonably priced they are.
For example, the average cost of a sales representative per year is $44,764.00. Imagine needing to pay a sales development team this salary yearly, per person.
This means that the average salary you will pay your sales reps per month is $3730.00.
As you can see, when you use an in-house team, it can be costly, especially for new startups.
The better option would be to hire outbound lead generation services. For example, on average, Salesbread would be able to do all your outbound lead generation for between $2500 – $5000 a month.
Our sales reps have vast experience, meaning that you will have more qualified leads in a shorter space of time.
By outsourcing, you will save money and cut down on stress.
If you are interested in finding out why outsourcing is a great idea, please read our latest blog on 10 reasons why you should outsource lead generation.
Now that you know the cost of outbound lead generation, you might wonder what the price of inbound lead generation is.
By comparing the cost, you will be able to make an informative decision on whether to use either inbound or outbound or if you would like to combine the two for a killer marketing strategy.
The cost of inbound lead gen
According to Hubspot, an inbound marketing lead is about $135, compared to $365 for outbound marketing.
This cost differs slightly depending on your target audience, product, and industry. Hubspot also shows that inbound marketing is 61% cheaper than outbound.
Another study showed that small to mid-sized businesses could pay a marketing agency between $2000 and $12,000.00 per month for inbound lead gen.
Interestingly, it was found that if you had your own in-house inbound marketers, you could pay up to $20,000 per month.
Remember what we discussed above; With outbound, you will see results much quicker, whereas, with inbound marketing, it could take some time to grow an audience and find your ideal customer.
By combining the two methods, you have a greater chance of finding high-quality leads that will lead to sales.
Ready to give outbound tactics a try?
So can outbound lead generation generate more B2B sales?
The answer is yes.
From gaining a wider audience with marketing teams who know how to get quality leads; to keeping a watchful eye on data, which helps with sales development.
If you would like to find a lead generation company that has your back, Salesbread can make those quality leads happen within 48 hours after the campaign launch.
Our outbound lead generation service has the experience to find your ideal customer and help you make more money through a strategic marketing strategy.
Read this article to see exactly how our outreach strategy works.