Are lead & demand generation losing their lustre?

During a recent conversation with a seasoned sales professional, he boldly claimed that lead generation and demand generation are becoming dirty words in sales-land.

His view stemmed from the simplest and most obvious metric – leads, or rather, the lack of quality leads. On closer investigation, his is not the only opinion.  Others like him expressed continual disappointment with sales pipelines, outcomes, and ROI from the very strategies meant to be the lifeblood of every business.

A couple of nights of interrupted sleep (thanks to my cat and his gifts of dead mice) and those middle-of-the-night musings led me to ponder how real this sentiment is and why it could be becoming a “thing.”

The case for the cat: Scrutinising the lead gen landscape

Businesses deploy various lead-generation tactics to fix or grow their pipelines, including telemarketing, purchasing high-intent leads, boosting SEO, and social media advertising. Some of these efforts are in-house, but many are outsourced to specialists. It’s concerning if all these efforts, designed to succeed, are being lumped into the “failure” category.

On the surface, most outsourced services have robust models, so why are sales teams so disenchanted? The answer likely lies in four key attributes:

1. Value
2. Visibility
3. Accountability
4. ROI

These four points must be applied across all sales and marketing activities, not measured individually. Understanding the follow-on for each action underpins success metrics otherwise judging success or failure becomes nearly impossible. Yet, despite the proliferation of technology at our disposal, the ability to measure performance across digital platforms fails because of a lack of skills, resources, experience, or budgets.

The-importance-of-a-joined-up-approach

Critically examining people and processes can be uncomfortable but necessary for improvement. This should not be done with the intent to slay but to build a secure and profitable business for all.

Lack of insight into partner sales progression can further lead to funding frustration when analysing ROI.  This is why we often hear from vendors struggling to justify funding partners who want to use funding for digital programmes.  In turn, this leads to an over-reliance on easier-to-measure activities like events, where ROI can be very questionable.

If the decision is made to use a partner channel, a solution should offer self-determination and contribute to the process.  This means every stakeholder can keep a keen and continual eye on where any investment is being realised and not continually repeat mistakes.

Clarifying Roles: Demand Gen, Lead Gen, and Nurturing

There are three distinct responsibilities in this landscape:

• Marketing handles demand gen, nurturing leads through multiple outreach channels until they demonstrate high buying intent. They then pass these high-intent leads with a full engagement history to sales.
• Sales focus on lead gen, using provided intelligence to build in-person relationships based on prior engagement and intent markers.
• Marketing and Sales should nurture leads robustly, understanding their processes are intrinsically linked. Joining them as one outcome is essential for identifying success or failure.

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) and the need for precision

ABM requires identifying all stakeholders early in the process. Research shows lead conversion probabilities can drop significantly when new stakeholders are discovered late. Sales teams often build extended account lists after marketing passes leads to them, a process that should start earlier.

Martech: Essential but underutilised

Many businesses lack advanced Martech to support demand and lead gen processes, relying on basic tools like Google Analytics or free CRM versions. Investing in comprehensive Martech solutions and developing the skills to use them is crucial. Yet, businesses often use only a fraction of the features available, limiting their effectiveness.

Accountability and the role of external providers

If external providers adhere to tight SLAs, internal marketing and sales teams may be where problems lie. Rarely do single services perform in isolation.  This isn’t about passing the buck, but if results from various activities remain in their silos, any service will likely appear to be underperforming. 

The case for the mouse: A shift in mindset

Many businesses invest heavily in marketing and sales but repeat past mistakes due to a lack of better options. Considering Forrester's claim that at least 70% of B2B buyers shortlist suppliers before speaking to a salesperson, quarterly-focused, one-and-done activities are doomed to failure.  A mindset shift is necessary to ensure a robust setup between marketing and sales to satisfy this and capitalise on available resources.

The jury's out

If everything is running smoothly, that’s catastic! If not, maybe it's time to stop doing things on repeat and break the mould. There’s no need to chase your tail when the perfect solution might be staring right at you from under the garden shed!