The one simple strategy to generate more leads that most folks forget

There are a ton of lead generation strategies already out there

If you want to generate more leads, there's no doubt you'll google the topic and get smart and useful articles like these:

Every one of those is a fantastic resource. Great ideas and smart strategies to consider.

I'm not writing that article. And while I may not be bright enough to come up with an additional strategy after the 30+ tricks they've already articulated, I can highlight the one strategy that isn't in there.

Why isn't it there? Because I think this component is skipped or forgotten. It's so basic, that we all just presume that it's being taking care of.

And no, it's not the challenge to focus on Outside In messaging or to get better at storytelling – because I just wrote about those things and if you know me, you know I'm always talking about both tips, so it won't ever be forgotten.

You want to generate more leads? Focus on Alignment!

I can hear you now – alignment? What does alignment have to do with lead generation? I'm so glad you asked.

Imagine you work in an organization that has 50 or more people in it. It likely means you have one team focused on demand generation (the lead generation folks), another team that may own marketing and/or your website, another team that is focused on sales, and maybe another team that is dedicated to your product or service (delivery).

You can already see where I'm going, right?

Sure, we can say that the demand gen team is focused on lead generation. But if they go buy ads (on Facebook, for example) and the landing pages they direct traffic to are not perfect, it's a waste of money.

What do I mean by perfect? I've seen landing pages re-used simply because the marketing team (that owns the pages) didn't have time. So they copied another page. Tweaked the headline, but forgot to adjust the copy.

Alignment.

And I'm not picking on the marketing team. I'm simply saying that lead generation crosses the domain of multiple teams in an organization. And as a result, without alignment, you'll waste money.

That sales team? The one that the product team thought was sending traffic to a dedicated landing page that marketing and product collaborated on? Nope. They're sending people to an older page, with the wrong info on it.

Alignment.

And this isn't a challenge that exists in only companies of 50 or more. If you're a small business – product company or agency – and you are outsourcing, my guess it's to two different agencies. One focuses on your creative. The other on your ads.

And the same thing happens. People and companies end up pointing fingers at each other.

Alignment.

Here's what we too quickly forget

This isn't just about lead generation. But it's a big deal in that space because we spend money to drive traffic and we want to convert that traffic. So a mistake here is a big and costly one.

And we all feel the pressure. More and better results. For everyone. And everyone is under the pressure. Sales. Product. Marketing. Support. Everyone is under pressure.

And let's be clear – we're all under pressure. Not just once a month or quarter. It's now an ongoing pressure cooker every day.

And under pressure, we all make mistakes. We skip past the second or third review to make sure alignment is in place. We don't have time to read each email or review every spreadsheet.

What we too quickly forget is that we're all human. Computers aren't generating leads. They're not even writing marketing copy (though they're getting close). They're not building landing pages (but templates). People are doing it. And people make mistakes.

Your website work is critical to lead generation.
Your landing page work is critical to lead generation.
Your social media work is critical to lead generation.
Your email campaign work is critical to lead generation.
Your ad buying work is critical to lead generation.

And you can't treat each one as their own effort. It's all part of the same overall effort. And that means you need to focus, more than ever on alignment.

If you're outsourcing, try hiring a single company

I'll leave you with one additional tip other than to focus on people and the organizational dynamic of alignment. It's this:

If you're outsourcing your web design and development, your email campaigns, your social media and more – try finding a single company that integrates this and already takes care of the alignment for you.

I know that's crazy talk because if I were talking to an agency I would tell them to focus on a single thing and do it well. But when it comes to lead generation, as I highlighted above, everything impacts everything else. And that's where alignment is more critical than ever.

That's why I send folks who are looking for this kind of agency to SiteCare – an Atlanta-based agency that builds sites, maintains them, and works on ads, SEO, social media, and email to help you with lead generation.

But even if you go it alone, remember what's most important. Say it with me: alignment.

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