Where Lead Generation Breaks Down

You're getting visitors to your web site, but they're not picking up the phone and calling you. Or filling out the form, and asking you to help.

Sound familiar? It's a frustrating problem, and one I encounter over and over again in my professional career in lead generation. This article takes a look at what you can do about it.

AWOL Benefits

The first place to look when faced with a site that isn't generating leads, is the content. There's a pretty good chance it will fail to give anybody even a single good reason for becoming a lead. What's more, there are probably clumsy invitations to join yet another mailing list for 'information'.

The problem with information in this day and age, is that it's not exactly hard to come by. Quite the reverse in fact. Information is literally everywhere, rendering it essentially valueless. Even if the information is valuable, it won't seem that way.

If you want to use your site to generate leads, you're going to have to be a lot smarter than that. You're going to have to figure out what it is that your clients actually buy from you (i.e. not the product, but the benefit they get from using the product).

I can't tell you what that thing is in this article, but I can give you an example: I'm in lead generation. My clients don't want leads, what they want is people ready to say 'yes'. So that's what I offer to provide.

Too Nosey

Almost every attempt to generate leads begins by asking for a name and email address. This is done despite the fact a prospect is given little or no information about what they're supposedly opting in to

It's hardly surprising most of us say no. Consider this alternative approach...

Jane wants to get online shopping set up on her web site. She arrives at a site that specialises in doing just that, and sees the question 'Do you qualify for an Internet credit card merchant account?'
Jane reads the explanatory text, and discovers a regular credit card merchant account isn't enough. What's more, it can be difficult to get an Internet account. The site offers to tell her if she's likely to be accepted within a few minutes - no name or contact details required. She clicks the 'Start' link.
The site asks 4 questions necessary to work out whether or not she's likely to qualify. In her case, the system then answers with a 'yes', and explains why. It then asks if she would like to have an expert work with her to get a merchant account. She answers 'yes'. The system then asks for her name and contact details.

This approach turns the usual ham-fisted attempts to collect personal data upside down, and instead focuses on what the visitor actually needs. It delivers genuine value, but in a way that provides an opportunity to provide further expertise to Jane. It's this offer of further expertise that turns Jane into a lead.

What's more, this approach collected 4 very useful pieces of information about Jane's situation. An ordinary lead generation process wouldn't obtain this information, or bring Jane to the point where she wanted the company to contact her.