Lead Generation is serious business!

I've had a few interesting conversations this week that really bother me and they have to do with marketers who really do not understand lead generation and what it can do for a COMPANY. This is clearly an educational and also a political issue but it does provide a platform for helping define who is going to be successful and who is not. Here are three things I've heard:

1. "It's just another thing to do - just like I have to do creative, branding, PR etc." They don't have a dedicated resource or resources for this initiative and they often do not see the big picture of how they are impacting revenue. Successful lead generation marketers treat lead generation as a MAJOR initiative and have dedicated resources at both the tactical and strategic level and can show the direct contribution to revenue. It is not "just another project."
2. "It costs too much!" Compared to what?? How about the $10K plus you spend every month on PR? Just because it is a budgeted item doesn't mean it produces more value than an effective lead generation program. Successful lead generation marketers, because they track through impact on revenue, can show great ROI from their total investment in lead generation programs.
3. "My job is to get leads to sales, after that I don't care." This common attitude is a recipe for failure. Study after study shows that having ongoing communication and active participation with sales in lead generation efforts leads to success. Those barriers have to come down for a program to be successful.

Enough complaining for the day but it does show we still have a long way to go to help companies and marketers fully embrace the power of marketing automation!

Unfair

As I sit here today and witness history in the making with the swearing in of Barack Obama as the President of the United States of America, I have to reflect on the topic of change. We live in a new day and a new time and while this may sound like the same refrain, this current tide of change is different and significant. It does not represent just a generational change. It is a historical change which takes us all into unchartered territory with no going back! What we will see and what we will experience in our lives based on this singular event is awe inspiring and yet, we can only begin to imagine what this change will mean. What we are sure about is that this is a change that is here to stay and it will shape our lives for many years to come.

The same is true for this new generation of marketers focused on working with sales to create leads and ultimately new streams of revenue. This latest reshaping of the role of the marketer is significant and has caught many people off-guard and unprepared. We constantly hear marketers talking about "getting an education" and in fact, we often bake this into our consulting offerings. And the education around this change goes beyond marketing to include sales and senior management. People "hear" about these new practices and given the search for revenue in 2009, are open to what marketing can do and how marketing can contribute like never before. The challenge for marketing is to be ready to lead this change and to help their companies leverage new technologies and strategies to make a revenue contribution.

This is not going to go away or abate. It is a new day for the role of marketing for every size organization. Get ready for your swearing in and taking a leadership role in these exciting times.