Lead Generation: Balancing Quality and Quantity

There are two basic approaches to lead generation that companies can adopt. The first is to take the route of brute force tactics and generate as many leads as you can. The second one is a more calculated approach –patiently wading through the data and generating leads that you believe will surely turn into potential customers.

One tactic focuses on quality while the other is based on quantity. But how do you know which methodology is the best one for you? The choice depends on your goals, and your sales and marketing personnel.

Lead Quantity
If you have the right amount of personnel in your sales and marketing department and you can spare them for the amount of time required to generate a large number of leads – you can take the quantity route. Simple math will tell you that there is a higher probability of finding more pursuable leads if you gather a large amount of them.

If you are purchasing leads from an agency, you can buy more leads at a lower cost if they are unverified or low quality. You can dedicate time and effort to build up these leads. Given the right persuasion techniques and dedication, you can foster repeat customers from these low quality leads. But it will require an extraordinary amount of work to sift through all those leads and find the ones that will turn into sales. So be prepared for that if you choose to follow this method.

Lead Quality
When you want to save time and you think that your employees’ efforts will be better spent doing other tasks than chasing many leads, you can choose to generate or purchase quality leads. Instruct your marketing and sales staff to do their research before they contact leads. Go after the leads that you believe have a high chance of converting into paying customers.

If you are purchasing leads from an agency – use lead verification software that can verify quality leads. Only buy the leads which can be verified; they will cost you more than unverified leads but they will have a higher conversion rate. You staff will require less time and effort to convince these leads to buy your products or services.

Conclusion
There is no right answer to which approach is better for your business; both have their advantages and disadvantages. In the end, it depends on how much money, effort or time you are willing to sacrifice to gain the leads and nurture them into paying customers.