For every company, attracting and convincing new customers to buy is the most crucial part of business - and often the most challenging.

Luckily, new technologies are making lead generation and nurturing processes more efficient, personal and effective. 

In fact, according to APSIS, 80% of marketers who have started using lead generation software have seen a significant increase in their number of leads. 

On top of this, Marketing Monsoon reports that while lead and sales conversions from a website without a lead generation system is on average a pretty low 0.5%, for sites with lead capture software, that conversion rate can increase tenfold. 

However, while choosing whether or not to invest in lead generation software might be a pretty straightforward decision, picking the right lead generation software for your business requires a lot of careful consideration. 

Today, we’re going to be walking you through the five key things you need to ask yourself before investing in any lead generation tool:

#1 What is currently holding me back from generating leads?

To know if a solution can genuinely boost your sales and marketing performance, you need to identify the challenges currently preventing you from hitting your lead generation targets. 

Whether you’re having trouble with capturing your website visitors’ attention, are failing to follow up with warm leads or simply don’t have enough effective calls-to-action on your website, identifying the areas of weakness within your lead generation strategy is the first step to finding the right lead generation tool for you.

‍As there are so many different software solutions available to boost lead generation, there will always be a solution to the problems your team is facing, but you’ll struggle to narrow down the search without a clear-cut direction. ‍

Try mapping out your lead generation strategy as a pipeline to help you identify where you might be falling short. You may even find several areas where your new lead gen tool could boost results!

#2 What is my lead qualification criteria?‍

When getting started with any new lead generation software, your team might see a huge influx of new leads - and this is a very exciting prospect. However, if these leads don’t meet your qualification criteria, then you’re no better off than you were before! 

As in every area of business, a strong lead generation strategy requires a solid understanding of the exact audiences you are targeting. How old are they? What do they do? And how could your product or service benefit them? 

Knowing who your buyer personas are is crucial to investing in the right lead generation software, because your top priority should always be to attract the right prospect at the right time and in the right way. 

Increased lead quality promotes further sales success, and helps your team gain a higher return on investment, so make sure you don’t get misled by lead generation companies who focus so much on quantity that they forget the importance of quality. 

This is why, at telbee, we put our trust in lead generation software which tailors its approach to capturing the right kind of leads. And this leads us onto the next important question you should be asking yourself:

#3 Does this lead generation software take a personal approach to business?‍

Lead generation is about making it quicker, easier and more convenient to collect information about prospects and contact new leads. But that doesn’t mean that your interactions with new visitors on your site shouldn’t still feel human, authentic and real. 

In fact, attracting - and converting - new leads is all about building real relationships with them. 

According to Salesforce, 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services, and Acquia recently reported that 85% of marketers say "a human touch is needed, in addition to technology, for a positive customer experience." 

So, if you really want to win your new prospects over, you need to show them you care right from the get-go. And sometimes, that means giving them more than just a chatbot, automated pop-up or form! 

Focussing your attention on building trust and rapport with visitors is called ‘relationship selling’. Relationship sellers prioritize their connection with the prospect over all other aspects of the sale. They develop trust – usually by adding value and spending a lot of time with prospects – before attempting to close the deal. ‍

We built our app-free voice messaging solution, telbee, to offer businesses a way to ‘relationship sell’ at scale. With our lead generation software, you can capture the attention of high-quality interested leads on your site by asking them to leave voice notes for you as they browse. 

Your team will then receive all of these voice notes in a dedicated ‘voice inbox’, where they can listen, relate and reply to each message. This way, you’ll instantly build trust, start conversations and spark the lead nurturing process in a way that feels as personal as it is efficient. 

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#4 Do you understand their pricing, privacy policy and terms and conditions?

The details might seem dull, but they’re super important! 

Admittedly, most of us are used to simply scrolling down to the bottom of the terms page and clicking “accept.” But taking the time to read the contract, terms and conditions of the lead generation company - as well as their pricing structure - can go a long way to help you feel confident about the decision you’re making to invest. 

In particular, we recommend looking to understand how the lead generation company will store and protect your data - and how well their team will support you if any unexpected issues crop up. 

Understanding the lead generation company’s pricing structure is also crucial. You’ve got to take into account how this new expense will impact your cash flow and revenues, and consider the ROI (return on investment) this solution could provide. By being thorough, you avoid the possibility of having future conflicts and misunderstanding. 

Remember - any lead generation company worth their weight in salt should be happy to schedule in some time for a call or a demo, where you can talk through your needs, your goals and their offerings. 

#5 Can this lead generation software scale with your business?‍

Hopefully, after reading through this checklist, you’ve got a good idea of the kind of lead generation software company you might be looking to work with. 

You should also be feeling confident that they’ll help you generate a lot of new leads for your business, and that when these leads do start coming in, both you and your solution will be able to handle them!

Consider whether the tool offers an enterprise solution or works best for small businesses, and look closely into their pricing structure regarding top-ups, add-ons and upgrades.

Ideally, your lead generation software company should offer a range of options, and be willing to talk with you about creating a custom solution that will work as you grow and scale.

Final thoughts‍

Lead generation is a crucial part of your business’ marketing and sales strategy, and picking the right lead generation software from the get-go can set you up to add thousands to your bottom line each month. So don’t take this decision lightly! 

Explore your options, consider your company’s needs and ultimately choose the lead generation software which provides the highest ROI for your business.

If you’re looking for a great place to start, we built our voice messaging platform to help businesses capture more valuable leads on-site, nurture them personally and see real results at scale. If you’d like to find out more, head straight over to our recent piece on how to capture more leads with voice messaging. ‍‍
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Curious about how our app-free voice messaging solution can help your business generate leads at scale? Get in touch with the team at telbee today. We’d love to hear from you!