According to a recent study conducted by RainToday.com and ITSMA, nearly 70% of the 859 service and marketing professionals surveyed said they plan to increase their lead generation budgets. Only 3% indicate that they’ll spend less on lead generation. That means 97% believe they’ll spend the same or more.
If you think the competition is tough right now for winning every new client, have a look at this chart. First, try not to have a heart attack; then consider what this means.
Here are a few thoughts:
- Just because everyone says they’ll spend more doesn’t mean they’re going to. I know of a lot of firms with big eyes for growth, but when it comes to reaching into the till to fund it, they balk.
- Still, you should expect the “competition is tougher, more aggressive, more intent on winning” feeling to increase, not decrease. Staying the same, or speeding up a little, might be a recipe for disaster.
- 3% say they’ll likely decrease their spending. I’d be willing to bet 3% plan to retire. That means no one who is staying in business is taking their foot off the gas.
- It’s fascinating to see where people plan to spend the money. More on that in future blog posts and in the new lead generation benchmark research report we publish.
The greatest opportunity I see for lead generation isn’t something firms necessarily need to spend on.
The opportunity is sales, and the word used most in sales to describe “lead generation” is “prospecting.” That’s right, plain, old-fashioned prospecting.
If everyone in your firm focused their passion, energy, and intensity on finding new opportunities, what difference would that make?
It’s not easy to get everyone focused on selling—especially not easy to get them focused on prospecting! But often it’s the best bet and highest return lead generation activity.
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