by sekaterina | Mar 27, 2017 | Blog, Lead Generation, Marketing Agency, Multichannel marketing, Small Business Marketing Blog |
Is Your Marketing Team Bored? 5 Strategies to Restore the Verve
Your marketing team plays a critical role in your business. They’re responsible for generating fresh ideas, gathering data, and designing targeted campaigns. You rely on your marketing team to attract the right prospects to your business.
But if sales and lead generation are flagging, it could be that your team is under performing. Get them back in the game with these 5 tactics:
1. Spark Creativity
Marketing is largely a creative endeavour. Renew your team’s creativity by investing in innovation training initiatives. Set aside an hour each week for the team to sit down for a brainstorming session where they can bounce ideas off of each other.
Have your team do a case study on a marketing campaign that was successful. Discuss what worked and what didn’t to spur new ideas on current projects.
2. Promote Lateral Thinking
The best way to create marketing solutions is to think outside the box. To encourage lateral thinking, ask your team some thought-provoking questions:
- “What would our campaign look like if we had no budget constraints?”
- “How can we be different from our competitors?
- “What would be the best – and worst – possible outcome of your idea?”
The questions are designed to challenge assumptions and approach projects from an alternate point of view in order to come up with new ideas and solutions.
3. Assign Goals
Give your team direction with specific objectives to meet each week. Make your team part of the process by having them add their own objectives. Meet each week to discuss the outcome; if a goal was not reached, determine why and what the next steps should be to reach it. Listen to their current challenges in order to help direct them.
4. Recognize Achievements
As with any of your employees, you need to recognize your marketing team’s efforts when they succeed. Be specific in your praise about what they did well and acknowledge each person’s role in a project well done. Publicize your praise by sending out a company-wide email about the team’s accomplishments.
5. Give Your Team Time
Good marketing ideas tend to take a lot of time to fully develop. You won’t be able to expect 100% output every day from your marketers. If they are confined by tight deadlines, they are less likely to produce quality work. Allow extra time to let your team’s ideas percolate; studies show that moderate procrastination is key to producing the best ideas!
Conclusion
Effective marketing can be a challenging endeavour; make the necessary investments to set your team up for success. A few well-implemented strategies can restore the zest of your marketing team’s efforts.
by sekaterina | Mar 27, 2017 | Blog, Lead Generation, Marketing Agency, Multichannel marketing, Small Business Marketing Blog, Social Media Marketing |
When it comes to lead generation, connections matter. According to LinkedIn, you are five times more likely to get a meeting with a prospect if they have at least one mutual connection in common.
LinkedIn is a great social media site for professionals, but if you’re serious about social media marketing and generating new leads, you need to consider investing in LinkedIn Sales Navigator – and learn how to use it effectively.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator maximizes your business-building potential:
Set Up Sales Navigator Properly
When first getting started with Sales Navigator, make sure you leave yourself a full hour to complete your account set up. Import your leads (individuals and companies you follow on LinkedIn) and sync with your CRM system. Many people tend to rush through this step but the more carefully you fill in the details as to what kind of leads you’re looking for, the more effective the tool will be down the road.
Find Who Follows You on LinkedIn
One of the most powerful ways to narrow down leads is to search by people who follow your company, as it shows you potential contacts who are already interested in you. These are the leads who are practically asking you to call them!
Save Your Searches
Saving your searches allows you to keep an eye on prospects who may have made new connections that are helpful to your prospecting. You can also set up auto-notifications to inform you when new people become relevant to your search criteria.
Focus on Your Top 1500 Leads
Narrow your leads down to a maximum of 1500 people. This concept stems from the Dunbar Number, which Robin Dunbar proclaimed is the maximum number of people we can have meaningful relationships with at a time. This number is approximate of course, but the takeaway is that if your scope of prospects is too broad, you won’t be able to adequately focus your energy on any particular individual enough to close the deal.
Connect Authentically
Sales Navigator can share a great deal of information about your leads, from shared experiences or skills to company news. Saving someone as a lead will also allow you to see their posts and shares. This valuable information is the perfect way to break the ice and initiate communication with an authentic and personalized approach.
Stay Actively Engaged
Add any past or current clients as an account so you can stay engaged with them. Stay active on your leads’ social media by commenting on their updates and endorsing their skills. It goes a long way to maintaining professional relationships and staying at the forefront of their minds!
Conclusion
Although subscribing to LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a big investment for some businesses and entrepreneurs, it’s an extremely powerful marketing strategy if utilized to its full potential. Also keep in mind that generating leads on the web is just part of the equation! When the timing is right, don’t hesitate to take the connection off the web, get them on the phone, and close the deal!
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