Every now and then I read a blog post that makes me say “I wish I’d written that.”  Today, the Radical Ear’s Thompson Morrison blogged about marketing folks’ fear and loathing associated with all things lead gen.  He then articulates exactly why they need to rethink that stance.  Smart and thoughtful.  Rather than paraphrasing it, I’ll just send you here to read it yourself.  Enjoy!

The Information Technology Services Marketing Association (ITSMA) Web site has a good how-to article up on lead generation called Building a Marketing Funnel and Other Lead Management Tips. In the article, lead generation practitioner Brian Carroll explains how to optimize your lead generation system by focusing on five actions:

1. Create a marketing funnel
2. Create a universal definition of a lead
3. Use the phone
4. Ask about goals — don’t sell
5. Define lead nurturing — and the right people to nurture

My favorite is No. 4. Carroll explains:

One of the mistakes we see in lead handoff is that sales sees that someone downloads a white paper, so they do a follow-up call and want to set up an appointment. That’s not going to get you anywhere. You want to be able to engage them in more of a discussion rather than trying to make an immediate qualification. To do that, you need to ask a question: What question were you hoping to answer by downloading our white paper? The next question is, Was that you asking the question, or was that someone else in your company asking the question? The goal is to be a trusted advisor or a relevant resource to your audience until they move to the point of being ready to talk about initiatives or a project.

It’s very tempting to see a prospect register for a resource on your site or click on a link in your e-mail newsletter, and want to try to close the sale immediately. However, in deep tech marketing, your customers want to learn first before being pressured. Be an educational resource that they can trust, and they’ll buy from you eventually.