Small Business Sales Lead Generation Myths

Do you know the small business marketing myths to avoid in developing a successful B2B sales lead generation program?

Myth 1 - Small business B2B direct marketing & big business consumer direct marketing are the same.

Reality − They are not the same. Big business B2C marketing vs. small business B2B marketing has a completely different set of marketplace fundamentals at work on how they approach direct mail marketing that have no relationship to small business B2B marketing at all.

• First, big businesses have established brand names. American Express, Capital One etc. No one knows a small business's name.
  
  
• Second, big businesses have millions of potential customers. Small businesses may have 5,000 to 10,000 maximum. The size of your potential customer base is a crucial difference because big business counts on the law of averages in making direct marketing successful for them and it works because of their large customer base. Small businesses cannot rely on the law of averages because their customer base is too small.
  
  
• Third, big businesses have large marketing budgets and small businesses do not. This allows big business to take advantage of the law of averages and stay in the game long enough to achieve a return on its investment. Small businesses that mail 5,000 direct mail pieces are usually unable continue to pay for mailings repeatedly when they get no response. (Note: It often takes 5-6 mailings of this size to get a response at these mailing levels, if any does occur.)

Myth 2 - You can get 10 qualified sales leads in a week

Reality − There is no instant coffee in B2B sales lead generation. Not only will you be disappointed, but poorer for wanting to believe someone who says he or she can achieve such a result. B2B selling is consultative selling and by its nature therefore is not conducive to instant purchase decision making on the part of your potential client.

Myth 3 - Send out 5,000 (letters, post cards, etc.), & get a .5% to 2.0% response rate on your mailing.

Reality − There is no projectable response rate for mailing quantities of less than hundreds of thousands to millions of mailing pieces. Again, not only will it not happen, but also you will be disappointed and out substantial amounts of money. Do not trust someone who says they achieve such a response rate at mailing levels of 5,000 to 10,000 pieces. Ask them to guarantee it, and give you your money back, if they don't achieve their stated response rate. They won’t do it.

Myth 4 - B2B Direct mail creates buyers.

Reality − Buyers are not created they already exist. Most marketing communications begins as a monologue and can only build initial interest with a potential buyer. In the beginning, the needs of your buyer must come first by specifically understanding what problem you can help them solve. This allows you to begin to solidify initial rapport building to create a true relationship that ultimately leads to a sale.

Myth 5 - B2B direct Mail lead generation can lead to immediate sales and instant gratification.

Reality − B2B direct mail lead generation will usually not produce instant results. Lead generation isn’t about instant gratification, but rather requires a sustained effort over time to succeed, often a relatively long period of time. The key, like big business, is to be able to stay in the game long enough to succeed. Our small business customer centric marketing program is affordable and provides the discipline to market everyday so you can achieve face-to-face sales meetings with pre-qualified prospects and at a cost small business can afford.

Your Bottom Line
Will you continue to market your small business as usual or get qualified sales leads by asking the right questions and getting professional answers to find a better way to generate new business sales leads.