Why Does Your Business Need a Lead Generation Specialist?

Lead generation is the process of identifying and attracting potential customers to a company’s product or service. A well-trained lead generation specialist accelerates this process by identifying leads with a higher potential to close. 

Lead generation specialists come from multiple backgrounds and benefit from experience in sales, customer success, and marketing. They can have different functions according to their roles:

Roles of a Lead Generation Specialist

To know the value a lead generation expert will bring to your business, you should know what they do on a daily basis. The main functions of a lead gen specialist are:

• Research prospective clients
• Create content
• Contact prospects
• Qualify leads
• Manage records 
• Improve the sales process

Research Prospective Clients

A lead generation expert uses adept research methods to dig out data. They discover client pain points and use them to improve conversion rates.

Create Content

Lead gen experts create niche content on various lead generation channels to attract prospects. The content includes videos, images, and articles that appeal to their target audience. Content creation is usually a part of the digital marketing strategy.

Contact Prospects

Lead generation experts reach out to prospects using the following strategies: 

Qualify Leads

Lead gen experts use tools or direct outreach to determine which leads are more likely to become customers. The top quality leads, or ‘hot leads,’ are assigned to the sales team to complete the process.

Manage Records

Through CRM tools and other database management software, lead gen specialists input, update, and keep track of lead data. This helps the lead generation process by preventing the loss of valuable customer information. 

Improve the Sales Process

Lead generation specialists are responsible for continually improving the company’s sales funnel. They incorporate feedback from other processes to ease how prospects move down the funnel, refining the buyer’s journey. 

Does Your Business Need a Lead Generation Specialist?

You may benefit from a lead generation specialist if your business struggles to generate or identify leads. Some companies hire full-time lead generation specialists as members of their sales and marketing teams, while others bring them on as contract-based consultants. 

Best Skills for Lead Generation Specialists

A specialized skill set differentiates the best lead gen specialists from others. The following skills are key to success as a lead generation specialist: 

• Communication: A lead gen expert must communicate effectively. To generate quality leads, lead gen specialists should sufficiently convey the company’s value to its prospects without hassle.

• Problem-solving skills: Lead generation specialists are critical thinkers. They should be able to craft solutions for challenges that may arise during the lead generation process. Lead gen consultants are adaptable, flexible, and always identify areas for improvement.

• Research skills: Data-driven lead generation yields higher-quality leads. Lead gen experts must know what data to look for, where to look for it, how to find it, and what to do with it.

• Prospect targeting: Lead gen specialists are skilled at targeting the right prospects. Their ability to target the right customers and offer them personalized experiences yields hot leads easily to close.

• Creativity: The best lead gen experts have innovative approaches to the products or services they represent and use creativity to solve customers’ problems. 

• Teamwork: Your company’s lead gen consultant must be a team player able to collaborate. Successful lead gen experts interact with SDRs, salespeople, and marketing staff to produce quality results for the sales pipeline. 

Becoming a Lead Generation Specialist

With the right skills and knowledge, your team members can become exceptional lead gen specialists. A few tips to help them launch a career in lead generation:

1. They do not need a college degree in marketing (or related fields) to build a career as lead generation experts. 

2. They must learn the basics of sales, marketing, and consumer behavior. 

3. They must know how to evaluate leads with important metrics such as:

• Click-Through-Rate (CTR) 
• Return on Investment (ROI) 
• Cost per Lead (CPL)
• Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)

4. They must know the software and automation tools available to improve lead generation for:

• Data analysis 
• Database management 
• Campaigns on lead generation channels

5. They must commit to continuous training and self-improvement, as new and innovative methods of generating leads are often discovered.

Benefits of an Outsourced Lead Generation Specialist

Outsourced lead generation involves hiring a third party to perform lead generation duties. An outsourced lead gen specialist will work with your sales team to accelerate sales processes. Beyond bringing more leads and increasing your business, these are benefits of outsourcing a lead generation specialist:

Bottom Line

Sales leaders that invest in outsourced lead generation improve their team’s productivity and enhance revenue. Knowing what skill set to look for can help you hire the right lead gen specialist to fill the sales pipeline with leads with high potential to close.