There are some lead generation techniques out there that are used by companies and we wish they would just plain disappear. We are talking about techniques that are outdated, annoying and downright wrong.
Cold Calling
Ok, really? People are still doing this? What’s even worse now is that if you act as if you are interested, the individual with you on the phone will transfer you to the sales department because they don’t even know anything about the product—they are just there to do the annoying phone calling. (MPull)
Does this really work for anyone? It is by far the worst lead generation technique out there and we’re absolutely sick of it. Who’s with us?
Not Segmenting Email Lists
Sending out emails to your entire email list without segmenting them into their lead stages is super annoying. Each person is on his or her own level of the decision making/buying process. You cannot just send out an email to your entire email list—unless it’s something like a newsletter.
You know what’s even worse? When people buy an email list. Cringer. It’s hard to even believe there are companies out there that buy emails from companies who have scammed an individual into giving there email for other purposes and they happened to not read the fine print. Don’t use this lead generation technique. It sucks!
When you do this you are not qualifying your leads and are actually loosing out on more potential customers who you just didn’t give enough time to go through the process. If you know someone who is doing this, put the kibosh on it ASAP!
Blogging Just For SEO
If you are blogging just to fill up your website with extra pages and meaningless content stuffed with keywords, then forget it! Not only is it especially annoying for your website visitors but it makes your business look bad. Don’t forget about Google—it may even work against you now with how strict Google is with people trying to cheat the system.
Tearanny Street from Search Dog Marketing summed this up rather well in a blog post she wrote about lead generation techniques:
“One of the biggest offenses I see committed in the pursuit of lead generation is businesses that blog for sales and not social engagement. While I admit that the ultimate reason for blogging is to generate more business for your company, there are also many more pieces to this puzzle that must not go ignored. Your blog is your platform, your company's window to the world. You can fill it up with self-absorbed content about your services, products, etc. but would that be an interesting read? Ask yourself that and answer as honestly as your customers would. The Internet is the one place where people feel 100% comfortable being brutally honest about their opinions of everything from politics to peanut butter."
We know generating leads isn’t always the easiest task, however PLEASE don’t resort to these horrible lead generation techniques. They may work for you for a short time and seem easy but they will end up hurting your business in the end. Leads that are qualified and that have made their way to you through helpful marketing [inbound] you have provided are the ones that will make your business a success and ultimately stay with you longer!
What are the most annoying lead generation techniques you’ve encountered?
Related Posts:
Is Pinterest One of the Lead Generation Techniques Your Business Should Use?
Ready for New Lead Generation Techniques-Inbound Style [Infographic]
