If you’re in a position where you are looking to engage the services of a lead generation company, but are a little reluctant because of a previous bad experience, it can be difficult to overcome your negative thoughts. While no company can absolutely guarantee you results, it is possible, with some due diligence and little reassurance, to find a lead gen company that will make a poor previous experience very much a distant memory.
When we talk to potential clients, we frequently hear their concerns regarding how things went with their previous lead generation provider.. The list of common complaints is huge, but just a quick look at a few gives you an idea of where many companies are coming from.
“I’m fed up of feeling ripped off”
“I’m not getting any value from what I’m spending”
“The campaign just didn’t perform”
“I was given no reason why the campaign didn’t work”
“I was locked into a contract for months with no returns”
“Communication wasn’t always the best”
“The leads weren’t the best quality and didn’t convert”
“I felt that we just become one of many clients and didn’t get the attention we deserved”
Choosing to entrust what is a vital component of your sales pipeline to a third party can be risky, but equally trying to do it yourself, without the necessary skills and knowledge, also carries a large element of risk. Lead generation, including management of often large ad spend budgets, is often best left to those with the know-how if you don’t want to make expensive mistakes.
The question then is about finding a company with the right level of expertise, especially in your industry sector, and has your company’s best interests at heart. Easier said than done, right?
Putting aside poor past experiences
Not all lead gen companies are the same. One experience where your company had its fingers burned does not mean the same will happen again. Like any new relationship, you have to approach it cautiously, but still with something of an open mind. With the right choice you can start to build trust and reap the benefits of your right decision.
Doing your due diligence
Before getting involved with a digital partner, be sure to thoroughly check them out. Take a look at their reviews and testimonials on Google, Facebook, Trustpilot, and elsewhere to get an overall impression of how customers view them. One note of caution, always take these reviews with a pinch of salt as it’s not uncommon for competitors (or people paid on their behalf) to intentionally post fake malicious reviews to drive down a company’s average ratings.
Have a look to see what sort of presence they have on LinkedIn. Check out their team and their previous experience and client feedback to get a handle on the people who may be managing your lead gen campaigns. Also check out any available case studies on the company website to see who they have worked with before, and in what sectors, plus the feedback that they have received.
Trial your potential new lead partner
Don’t just jump in and sign yourself up to a long-term commitment with a lead gen company. Ask if they are willing to do a short-term trial to prove their worth, or provide you with some free leads so you can gauge the quality. This will provide you with an opportunity to see what the company is like, how well they communicate, and most importantly, whether the leads generated bring you results.
Measuring value
Set some realistic goals for any trial period. If you are focusing on PPC and Social ad campaigns then the results will be a bit more immediate, though it can still require some tweaks to campaigns before they are reaching their full potential, so some patience is required. If it’s a longer-term strategy such as SEO, which can take much longer to generate results, then you need to allow a realistic amount of time to pass before jumping to any conclusions.
Build your relationship
One of the most frequent issues mentioned by clients is a lack of relationship with their account manager and no proper accountability. Issues such as having to for an update, or failing to get your feedback on how the leads are performing, are a sure sign that they are not right for you. Build your relationship with your account manager to get the best from your campaigns and ensure you have a solid point of contact that you can turn to whenever you need answers or changes.
It’s all about results
It’s easy for a lead gen company to promise you the earth. They might have got good results for a company in an entirely different sector to the one in which you operate, so their methods are not guaranteed to deliver for you.
Working with a company that already has expertise, or even specialises in a sector like yours, is likely to be more beneficial to you and should give you the additional reassurance you need. Tried and trusted methods are better than speculative lead gen approaches.
Find a company right for your specific needs
If your focus is on generating leads and sales rather than brand awareness, then a digital partner skilled specially in lead generation rather than brand marketing, will be more beneficial. If you’ve been struggling to get any returns from ad campaigns, a company with skills specific to PPC and social ad campaigns should be your preferred option.
There are far too many lead gen companies that are generalists rather than specialists, so they tend to spread themselves too thinly to attract all manner of different clients, whether they are suited to their needs or not. This means you end up one of many clients and therefore do not get the attention your business deserves.
Why choose Lead Pronto?
A lot of competitors out there will take on any client regardless of whether they think they can get results for them. At Pronto we’re different. We know we are not always the right fit for every company, so if we don’t think it will work for you, we’ll be honest and turn down the opportunity to work with you – don’t take it personally!
We only work with companies that we are confident that given the opportunity we can generate what you need. Our approach is about getting results and improving performance and growth for our clients so that they can grow their sales and revenues.
There are a number of reasons why Pronto is the ideal company to help you get over the hump when it comes to working with a lead generation company again…
Selective agency – We work with selected clients in specific sectors where we know we can secure great results because we’ve done it before. Unlike other lead generators or digital marketing companies, we’re not interested in just getting any client on board and hoping that we can make things work for them. It has to be a relationship that will work for us as well as the client and be likely to lead to long-lasting partnerships.
Honest and transparent – We’re open and honest and ensure clients have realistic expectations for their lead gen campaigns. There is little to be gained from overpromising and then letting a client down, especially given the work that is involved in campaign set ups effectively goes to waste.
Not locked-in – Unlike other companies or agencies, we don’t tie you into long-term contracts that you can’t escape from. Simply put, if it is not working for you, you are free to walk away though we do suggest that you at least give us reasonable time to optimise campaigns and get them working to their optimum.
Easily contactable – If you’ve lost count of the amount of times you can’t get hold of someone in connection with your campaigns, then our service should put you at ease. A dedicated account manager will be your main point of contact. We want your campaign feedback so that we know what is and isn’t working for you.
Bespoke campaigns – We tailor our activity for you to meet your specific requirements, whether your targets are more leads, increased sales, more site traffic, sign ups or something else. We can combine your PPC and social ad campaigns with effective landing pages for improved effectiveness.
Hands-on campaign management – With continual monitoring and optimisation of campaigns, we will ensure that you get the best returns for your investment. We can run split tests to find out which option works best and then switch your ad spends onto those that are most effective.
Data driven decisions – Every strategic decision we make is backed by the data. Instead of overly focusing on cost per lead metrics, as many do, we’ll focus on the data that means the most to you such as appointment rates, cost per acquisition, or actual sales figures.
Full reporting – You’ll get full regular reports providing you with full awareness of your campaign spending and understand the results that are being generated for you. This transparency ensures you are never kept in the dark and wondering where your budget has been spent.
Deliver the results you need – Ultimately, Pronto will get you results, so you’ll want to work with us long-term. There is nothing to be gained from us investing the time on setting up campaigns that don’t bring a good ROI and leave you wanting to get away from us.
Go for it
Making that leap of faith with a lead generation company is never easy, especially if you’ve had a bad experience before. The alternative is attempting to do it yourself, or doing nothing at all, both of which run the risk of you falling further behind your competitors.
We can almost guarantee for every client that has had a bad experience with a lead gen company or equivalent, there are just as many others for whom the experience and returns have been positive. If you get the choice right, you could supercharge your lead generation and free up your teams to focus on sales and providing the product and services that you excel at.
