How hiring a lead generation specialist can boost your B2B sales

Lead generation is one of the preeminent challenges any business will face. That's especially true for small businesses, who're generally creating marketing campaigns on smaller budgets and may be struggling to qualify leads. And it goes without saying that lead generation can be a pricey endeavour; in fact, 53% of sales and marketing teams spend over half of their budgets on lead generation alone.

Yet the evidence is clear: effective lead generation efforts help a sales team attract potential customers into the sales funnel and streamline the sales process enormously. That said, going it alone can be an equally enormous task; so perhaps it's time to consider how lead generation specialists can help. Hiring a lead generation specialist could be your one-way ticket to business to business sales success. Here's how:

What is a lead generation specialist?

Chances are, if you're reading this, you already know what lead generation is: it's the process by which marketing and sales teams generate - or 'get,' to be more blunt - sales leads (potential clients or customers who may be interested in buying). Lead generation is usually achieved through a combination of lead generation tools and marketing efforts - think cold calling, email campaigns, LinkedIn prospecting...

So what's a specialist? Well, a lead generation specialist, whether they're part of a wider lead generation company like Leadium or a lone freelancer, is someone especially trained in lead generation tactics and strategies. Generally, when a company hires a lead generation specialist, they'll be integrated into the sales team, where they'll employ their expertise to research a target audience, engage potential leads, and ultimately bring those new leads into the fold - in this case, you sales funnel.

Why does my sales team need a lead generation specialist?

So, you may well be thinking: 'I know what lead generation is, so why can't I do it myself?' And the answer is: you can. But since you're here, we're willing to bet that your lead generation efforts are not paying off the way you'd like them to. This could be a sign you need a lead gen specialist to improve your sales process. And there are several important reasons to consider hiring one:

1. Save money
   You may be hesitant to hire a lead generation specialist due to the cost, but hiring an expert can actually end up saving you money. That's because with their toolkit of essential skills - be it target market research skills, communication skills, and digital marketing know-how - they'll be effective in helping you to streamline your lead gen efforts and avoid wasting money on doomed outreach efforts.
   
   Plus, building an in-house lead generation team can quickly drain your resources: the monthly salaries of an Inside Sales Rep, Email Marketing Specialist, and Quality Analyst alone could cost you over $10,000.  By outsourcing lead generation to a specialist, you could get all this in one.‍
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2. Save time
   A good lead generation specialist will come ready-to-go on day one. They'll get straight to work on researching potential customers, optimizing your marketing campaigns, and qualifying leads, without having to spend months training first. This'll mean you'll get to incorporating new customers into your sales funnel sooner.
   
   What's more, hiring a lead generation specialist will free up you and your sales team for other things where you're needed more. You can crack on with other important tasks safe in the knowledge that your business is benefiting from a steady stream of qualified leads.
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3. Gain a competitive advantage
   With their excellent communication and top-tier customer relationship management, lead generation specialists are have the experience and know-how to make your lead generation and digital marketing stand out from the crowd. They'll also integrate sales and CRM software, as well as a variety of lead generation metrics, that will allow you fully optimize your lead generation like never before.
   
   And, as only 12% of B2B companies hire external lead generation specialists, you'll be gaining access to industry-leading expertise while your competitors are left flailing.
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4. Benefit from lead gen specialist skills and expertise
   Why not give your sales team the best of the best when it comes to lead generation skills? After all, the best skills mean the best results. A lead generation specialist is highly trained at every level of the sales process to give you those sought-after conversions; from research to communication skills, from business administration to lead qualification grading, lead generation specialists can play a crucial role in improving your sales cycle and pushing your business to the next stage.

What skills do lead generation specialists have?

We mentioned earlier that one of the major advantages of hiring a lead generation specialist is that you'll gain access to their specialist skills. So what exactly are those skills? And how do they use them to generate leads?

• Communication skills
  We know what your thinking: every résumé ever written includes the words 'excellent communication skills,' but when we're talking about lead generation specialists, we don't just mean that they can write a good email (although they certainly can). We mean that a good lead generation specialist is able to effortlessly adapt their communication style to different audiences - in effect, your prospective customers. Speaking to potential prospects in a way they'll appreciate is absolutely fundamental to all lead generation and marketing.

• Networking skills
  With their mastery of interpersonal skills and social media networking, a lead generation specialist will enable you to reach other businesses more effectively. That's because they're not just creating outbound marketing material, but nurturing leads and building relationships - relationships that may prove invaluable later down the line. The networking skills of lead generation specialists are vital to long-term lead generation strategies.

• Research skills
  An effective lead generation specialist will identify new prospects and pinpoint a target audience using a range of research skills. Not only will they conduct comprehensive market research, but they'll be proficient in a variety of sales and CRM software platforms that'll make your lead generation more effective than ever.
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• Analytical skills
  A skilled lead generation specialist knows how to make data work for your business. From reviewing campaign performance to identifying high-converting segments, they use analytics to guide smarter decisions at every step of the lead gen process. By tracking metrics like open rates, response times, and conversion trends, they can continually refine outreach strategies to improve results and drive more qualified leads into your pipeline.

How will a lead generation specialist help my sales and marketing teams generate leads?

Okay, so you want details; if you're spending money on a lead generation specialist, you want to know what exactly they'll be up to.

Email campaigns

Put simply: email marketing is 50% more effective than other outreach methods. So being able to create pitch-perfect email campaigns is vital when it comes to turning potential customers into customers. And lead generation specialists have the databases and expertise to exploit email outreach for maximum effect.

Cold calling

Despite the internet, cold calls still play a huge role in outbound marketing and lead generation - yet 48% of B2B sales reps admit to being nervous about making them. A lead generation specialist from a company like Leadium won't be. That's because they're specially trained to generate leads over the phone without 'pushing' the prospect.

LinkedIn Social Selling

A lead generation specialist will optimize your profile, use LinkedIn tools, and leverage well-placed content to communicate effectively with leads and nurture their interest. It's super powerful, too; that's why 89% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn.

Corporate gifting

Strategic gifting is often slept on by B2B marketers, but lead generation specialists know it's value. By making the right gifting choice at just the right time, your business can foster deeper links with prospects to ultimately increase trust and drive sales.

Hiring a lead generation specialist is the way to go

So there you have it: the key reasons why hiring a lead generation specialist can help you skyrocket your B2B sales. The lead generation specialist role exists to help businesses save time and resources and benefit from industry-leading skills and expertise in the process.

With a savvy combination of email outreach, cold calls, social media engagement, content marketing, and even corporate gifting, lead gen specialists can give your sales teams a valuable competitive advantage in an ever-growing marketplace.

So why wait to get those sales funnels flowing? Get in touch with Leadium today to speak to lead gen specialists who know how to get your B2B sales off the ground!

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