At some point in a business’s lifespan, it is common to reach a point where lead flows seem to dry up. Situations like this can be distressing for any business. Thus, asking for a little outside help would not be shameful. This article explains the critical questions you need to ask before hiring a B2B lead generation agency.
During these times, a good lead generation company comes into the picture, as these companies can help lift your company across this dry spell. But the challenge lies in separating the real deal from among the many available lead generation companies.
To help you do that, below are some critical questions you should ask before getting yourself started with hiring a business-to-business lead generation agency;
Before Hiring a B2B Lead Generation Agency
What Type Of Lead Generation Agency Are You?
As for lead generation agencies, there are two major types: Major Accounts B2B Lead Generation Agencies and Small Sales B2B Lead Generation Agencies.
Major account agencies target clients who sell complex products or services and are typically higher-priced items they sell to high-value sales leads. Such agencies provide a professional solution-oriented selling style focused on a return on investment for long and highly involved sales cycles. These agencies handle processes that are more complex to implement and operate.
On the one hand, a small-scale lead generation company targets smaller purchases, usually from $5,000 to $10,000. It works with shorter sales cycles or often no real cycles due to the more straightforward commodity nature of the sales. These are what make up the majority of lead generation companies.
How Much Would It Cost To Avail Lead Generation Services?
Prices for lead generation services vary widely due to a variety of factors such as company size, degree of lead qualification, reputation, industry, etc. Regardless, it is recommended that you ask the agency to focus on the cost per customer acquisition rather than the cost per lead generated.
Hiring a B2B Lead Generation Agency: How Do You Generate Leads?
Though most lead generation agencies have the same goals in acquiring customers and leads, how they go about it varies. The different ways agencies may work to generate leads for you include search engine optimization, social media marketing, blogging, PPC advertising, and many more.
Also, some agencies usually offer tracking, reporting, and support. A lead generation agency offering such additional services is a notable one, for these processes, are necessary to ensure that you’ll get what you’ve paid for or at least been promised.
How Long Will It Take To See Results?
If you are going to throw this question to a prospective B2B lead generation agency that you plan on hiring, the answer you should hear would be like. “We need to check how competitive your industry or niche is, but if you want a timeline, it usually takes 3 to 6 months to see results.”.
Any lead generation agency that tells you you can see instant results is waiting for you to fall into their traps. They either use marketing techniques that are not sustainable in the long term or are not upfront about what is possible about lead generation.
Have You Worked With A Business Like Mine Before?
This question lets you know if your chosen agency can handle your project. The right agency would give you a straightforward answer. If they say yes, then they should show you examples immediately without you asking. However, if they say no, they should still show you examples of other businesses they work with in a similar situation like yours.
You want to see what it took them to get the results they claim. Can they explain to you the strategies they used to get those results? Even if they haven’t worked with your industry or niche before, you shouldn’t disqualify them.
What you are trying to learn through these questions is whether. Not your business is a perfect fit for the agency and vice versa. As a result, this is one of the good questions to ask before hiring a B2B lead generation agency.
How Does The Agency Measure Success?
This can be anything from lead generating, lead qualifying, or sale. Understanding how the agency measures success from the beginning will ensure you get off to the right start. Understanding the measurements, how the agency measures success, and what success looks like is essential. These metrics are prime indicators of the agency’s efficiency. If the amount you have paid is worth it or not
What Technologies Will Be Utilized To Generate Leads?
A professional lead generation agency requires a broad spectrum of technology resources to automate, control, and track its activities. Ideally, any tools they use should be able to integrate with your already existing Customer Relations Management (CRM) for marketing and automation systems.
Does Your Agency Have An Excellent Reputation?
]In partnering with a B2B lead generation agency. You can set your guidelines on what is acceptable and what is an adequate amount of experience. So, we recommend choosing agencies with at least five years of experience working with sales.
A management team with at least ten years of experience managing sales leads. But the most important thing about hiring the right lead generation agency. They should be familiar with all sales cycle stages, from generating leads to nurturing. Finally, down to close the lead into a sale.
Of course, age and experience are not the only significant factors to consider; you also want to know about their reputation and produced results. Thus, asking one or even several referral companies is not unreasonable. You can interview them about their experience and produced sales while working with other companies.
Hiring a B2B Lead Generation Agency: What Results Can You Predict?
In choosing the next B2B lead generation agency to partner with. Ask the agency for a forecast or general scenarios based on your budget, strategies, or competitors. If the agency is fully data-driven, transparent, and all-experimenting, they should be able to give you a marketing brief. It should include a competitive analysis overview, quality assurance research, or a marketing funnel.
What Results Can You Guarantee?
Every honest B2B lead generation agency will answer, “No, we can’t guarantee anything specific.”. If you hear of any agency that guarantees you rank first on Google. They get ten times the return in ad spend if you give them $10000. They are more or less not telling the truth, and the best thing for you to do is walk away.
Most agencies will be very confident based on the results of past works, and that would be fine. But if they promise anything specific, cross them out on your list and keep looking.
Final Thoughts About Hiring a B2B Lead Generation Agency
You are outsourcing your business’s lead generation processes to consider. It is a smart move if you choose the right B2B lead generation agency. Bear in mind that acquiring leads and other marketing techniques is not cheap. Tons of dollars could go down the sink if you don’t weigh your alternatives and exhaust your options.
Suppose you are looking for a B2B lead generation agency To expose your business to customers and clients. Shoot out one or two questions similar to those listed above. The agency’s answer would help you decide with a leveled head above your shoulders. We hope this article, which contains the essential questions you need to ask before hiring a B2B lead generation agency, has helped you.
