subject: Filtering Out Time-wasters And Other Non-leads (lead Generation Process) [print this page] A non-lead hoping to turn you into a lead has the same problem you do a finite amount of time. S/he will only jump through so many hoops before s/he starts looking for easier targets.
Introducing extra steps to your own lead generation process has a non-lead expend more effort without requiring any extra work on your part (once the changes are in place). This has the flow-on effect of ensuring that only the best leads reach you because people who are only mildly interested (i.e. outside the target market) will also be eliminated by the process.
Automate Lead Generation
Every part of your lead generation process should be automated. The time you save through automation quickly pays for itself especially if you have a multi-step lead process designed to eliminate non-leads and those outside the target market.
Consider that most online lead generation follows this format...
Offer a prospect information the target market wants
Asks the prospect to enter his/her email address and click a button
Verify the email address
Send the information
A non-lead will happily fill out the form, receive the verification email and use the sending address to spam you forever more.
You can prevent this by sending the verification email from an email account set to automatically delete any email received to it. The problem with this approach is you'll miss enquiries from genuine prospects. Given this is a lead generation effort, do you really want to miss genuine enquiries?
A question worth asking yourself is why you're using email at this point anyway? Especially when you consider the following...
Most free information sent in this manner is never read (i.e. they lost interest between requesting and receiving the information)
Some people won't receive the verification email and will either attempt to contact you for help (i.e. take up a lot of your time), or will simply forget all about it (i.e. a wasted opportunity)
It's important to understand why a token payment is required. Asking the prospect to hand over money (e.g. via PayPal) forces him/her to decide whether or not s/he is serious about the product or service on offer. As a result, any leads that result from this process are considerably more likely to go ahead and buy.
