Lead generation is a critical task and skill needed for businesses. With nearly every industry and market being flooded with competition, companies need to be creative with finding leads that ultimately turn into a sale, never more so in this digital marketing age. In this article, we describe what lead generation agencies are, what the different types of lead generation services are, considerations when hiring an agency, and expert tips for hiring a quality lead generation agency.
What is a Lead Generation Agency?
A lead generation agency is a company that focuses solely on generating and capturing interest in a service or product or a company. This interest is then translated into the sales pipeline, ultimately turning that interest into a sale, and creating revenue.
What are the Different Types of Lead Generation Services?
The tasks that are associated with lead generation are varied, but below are the main services that an agency would be able to accomplish.
Creating an ICP and Buyer Persona
Before starting to find new customers, it is important to understand who your potential customer is. Using an ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) and Buyer Persona, you have an understanding of who this person is. This would include their personality, buying habits, demographics, and likes and dislikes. This is a key service that an agency can provide. They will take the information you have of your brand and product/service and then analyze it against competitors and the market to create these. ICPs are used at the beginning of the marketing or sales process while the buyer persona is more of a roadmap and is referenced throughout the sales funnel journey.
Demand Generation
Demand generation is a range of activities that include lead generation, demand capture, and pipeline acceleration. Essentially this is the work to get your business’s name “out there” so that customers find you—leading a horse to water.
In demand capture, the agency will establish brand proposition using pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Demand capture also includes third-party intent data. This is data that is collected from websites that you do not own, like social media platforms. Pipeline acceleration is when you have established a pipeline of leads and then use content and communication to accelerate that lead through your sales funnel. This is a skill that an agency can help you with.
Maintain and Nurture Leads
As a business, you will be focused on operations and relationship building with your clients. An agency will be able to maintain leads and nurture them for you so that when it is time to connect with these leads, you are ready to go. When maintaining and nurturing leads, an agency will ensure that the database is working for you. Using data enrichment, lead qualification, and email marketing they will ensure there are high-quality leads vs quantity coming in and create parameters so that the leads are followed up. In this case, they will use whichever sales funnel structure and CRM you prefer or will provide guidance on options.
Overall Lead Generation Strategy
When you hire an agency, it is likely that you will have the nuts and bolts taken care of—including business strategies, goals, and KPIs. However, if you have some of this started but need help to flesh it out, the agency will be able to give you this structure then translate it into a lead generation scenario. From here, they can support timelines and sales funnel best practices, including reporting on conversation rates. Depending on your needs, strategy support and follow-up can be as little or as great as you need.
Why Do I Need to Invest in Lead Generation for my Business?
Without proper lead generation, you will not be able to find the customers who will find your product without some serious luck. Cold calling and print advertising just doesn’t cut it like it used to. Most people now find businesses through personal recommendations or reviews, so to break through the digital marketing landscape, investing in lead generation work will ensure that you find customers using more than luck.
85% of B2B marketers say lead generation is their most important content marketing goal and others have said that by targeting relevant users, they have had 72% higher conversion rates. Even established businesses have found up to 133% growth in revenue when they invested in tactical lead generation. So, there is no reason not to invest in lead generation for your company—it will guarantee growth.
Hear From Industry Experts
Read the latest tips, research, best practices, and insights from our community of expert B2B service providers.
Should I Hire a Lead Generation Agency or a Freelancer?
Now that you understand the value of lead generation, it is time to decide how to hire this support. It is unlikely that small business owners have a growth marketing team, so the decision is between an agency or a freelancer. Here we describe the positives and negatives of both.
Positives and Negatives of an Agency
As with hiring any agency, the biggest benefit of hiring one is the breadth of resources they can provide. Especially as a small business, outsourcing your lead generation needs will ensure that you get the growth marketing you require without all the added costs associated with having in-house staff. One of the perks of using an agency vs. a freelancer is that agencies generally can provide more services with expertise. If you are looking to really change up your strategy and want skilled technicians to work on several components of your growth marketing, an agency will have that. The only downside of an agency is that they can be more costly.
Positives and Negatives of Freelancers
If you are not looking to overhaul your whole approach to growth marketing or lead generation and just want some help to refine your lead generation approach, a freelancer may be more suitable. If you find the right freelancer, they can feel like they are part of your company, in culture and communication, and ultimately will be cheaper than an agency. However, no person is an expert in all things, so the search to find the perfect freelancer will take more time.
Why You Should Hire a Lead Generation Agency
Lead generation is sales generation and thus revenue generation. If you are not strategizing nor maximizing the work you are doing to pump relevant leads through the sales funnel, your business will suffer. You can be a sales personality but if you do not have the initial interest to use that personality on, then you will not make a sale. Hiring a lead generation company will take the work out of finding the perfect lead. Agencies know personas, how to create demand generation, and all the technical skills to accomplish this. By hiring an agency, you can use your time to focus on the day-to-day operations of your company and convert leads into sales.
Hiring a Lead Generation Agency
If you have come this far, you have likely smartly decided to hire a lead generation company. But how much does it cost and where do you start? Look at our thoughts below.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Lead Generation Agency?
There are various ways that a lead generation agency can present its pricing model. It depends on if you hire for ad hoc services or long-term strategy.
If ad hoc services, the model is per appointment or per month billing. In this scenario, you either meet with the agency monthly or when needed and pay accordingly. During these meetings, the agency will provide MQL (marketing qualified leads) or SQL (sales qualified leads) contact details. These are broken down by the following pricing:
- Set-up: Usually around $500
- Hourly: As low as $50
- Per month: As low as $1,000
Usually, the agency charges either per hour or per month.
If you choose to work with an agency for full-stack options, then the prices range quite a bit depending on location, services, experience, etc. However, in this scenario, they will provide a contract that outlines set-up fees, project-based fees vs retainer fees, and a timeline of when the contract expires (and thus when retainer does as well).
How to Find a Reputable Leader Generation Provider
A great first step is to check out UpCity’s list of top lead gen providers. Other places to find an agency include doing a Google search, looking through LinkedIn, and, as our experts say, personal recommendations. Using referrals from your friends is a wonderful option because you are more likely to find a good cultural and communication fit.
As you comb through the types of agencies, be sure to have your list of the most important items ready. If the agency focuses on SEO but you want to focus on cleaning up your buyer persona, then they will likely not be an option for you. Once you have narrowed down the options, look at the agency’s website and look at their portfolio—Is their work aligned with your vision and personality? If so, then look at the testimonials and reviews to see how their former customers found the working relationship. There is nothing worse than finding what you thought would be the right fit only to find out that their communication style or culture is not aligned with yours.
Questions to Ask a Lead Generation Agency
Once you have created a shortlist of agencies that you are interested in, schedule a chat, and come prepared with the questions. Here are examples of questions you could ask:
- What is the range of services you provide?
- What are the buyer personas that you are most familiar with?
- How do you approach leads? Is quality important or quantity?
- What is your process for data enrichment and lead qualification?
Here are some additional questions to consider from one of our experts in the UpCity community:
“What tools do they use and why? Your new agency should be able to explain the tools they use and how they integrate into your marketing. Are they willing to guarantee performance? This is a huge red flag as each marketing strategy is unique and requires data collection, testing, and measurement to ensure success. If an agency is generalizing reporting numbers or guaranteeing performance, this is likely not an agency you should engage with.
Maybe the biggest question is around ownership. Who will own your data, website, and accounts? Companies like WordPress, Google, and Facebook all have instituted guidelines and processes to ensure your agency does not need to own your data or accounts to effectively manage your campaigns. If an agency requires ownership of any of your assets, you likely should not engage with them.”
—Michael Klabon, Partner, The Xcite Group
Expert Tips for Choosing the Right Lead Generation Agency
While we could share some tips and tricks to find a suitable lead generation company, we thought we would reach out to the experts themselves. UpCity surveyed leaders in the industry, and this is what they had to say:
In your opinion, what are your top tips for finding and hiring a great Lead Generation agency?
“When you’re looking for a lead generation agency, it’s important to look at the pricing structure of the agency. Some will be percentage-based, performance-based, or a flat fee retainer. Make sure you understand the terms of your agreement before proceeding. You’re also going to want to look at third-party websites for results and reviews. If you’re focusing on lead generation, look for evidence that the company has actually generated leads for their clients.”
—Tina Fleming, Senior Brand Strategist, Designzillas
“You must find someone that knows your industry. There are plenty of companies that say they will be able to generate leads for you but have no idea about your industry or the proper keywords to get you the most success. Also, look for a track record or examples of lead generation sites they’ve created. See if they provide you with a realistic expectation of leads and timelines for generating those leads.”
—Zack Flanagan, Co-Owner, Hive Marketing
What traits should you look for in a lead generation agency?
“We learned early on that transparency and clarity as well as dual accountability create the best chance for success between our agency and our clients. Your agency should be completely transparent with your data and should be able to explain exactly what they are doing with your investment and the results they expect to see. This allows you to feel comfortable that proper expectations are set, and measurement is clear. Dual accountability means that your agency’s strategies align well with your business objectives. Both parties should be fully transparent with their objectives and methods for measurement.”
—Michael Klabon, Partner, The Xcite Group
“There are two types of lead generation agencies. Those that are very transactional, and those who are more relational. Ask them upfront what they need to know before launching your campaign. If they are looking for some basic demographics and your offer while consistently wanting to review prices and investment levels, they are transactional. They want your money with no real assurance or confidence that they will do a good job. A relational company may require more of an initial investment, but by knowing everything about your ideal client and what they are most concerned with, what they want, and the key purchase drivers, they will be well-equipped to produce the best leads. We have had tremendous success when we zero in on the ideal prospects and the core message.”
—Jay Vics, Fractional CMO, JVI Mobile Marketing
Are there any mistakes that you should avoid when hiring a lead generation agency?
“Don’t hire a company that gives you a lump amount for budget and fee’s-you’ll have no idea what budget is actually being spent on the marketing itself vs what you are paying them. -I’d avoid a company that only talks about themselves and their successes vs giving more educational information to their prospects. Anyone who will “guarantee” a certain number of leads or ROI.”
—Jennifer Schreiner, Account Manager, The Xcite Group
“Don’t just go with the first company you find, or the cheapest. Make sure you are comparing a hand full of companies, at the minimum at least 3.”
—Rae Danielson, Administrative Support Manager and Lead Gen Master, Agency onethree
“Don’t forget to educate your lead generation partner on what is important to your business and customers. They likely don’t have the same level of experience you have working within this exact market so imparting this wisdom will make their jobs easier and your leads high-quality. Walk them through your sales cycle from the initial encounter to closing the deal and working with them as customers. Create a documented process (if you haven’t already) so if you need to work with another company or train new staff you have a go-to knowledge base you can access.”
—Colton De Vos, Marketing Specialist, Resolute Technology Solutions
Post-Hiring Expectations
Once you have found the right agency and your contract is ready, you can expect a few things once the work gets started:
- Reconfirm understanding of project requirements
- Conversations with your sales team or marketing staff (if applicable) and the agency to discuss KPIs, metrics (e.g., conversion rates) target audience objectives, and deliverables
- Initial work gathering information and data on existing lead generation
- Follow the project management model established in the initial proposal
- Regular follow-up reports on successes and opportunities including graphic design proofs and reporting on KPIs.
Do you have any questions about hiring the best lead generation agency for your business? Check out our picks for the top companies for further information.