The Soft Ask: How to Generate Hundreds of Leads For Your Business Using Optify
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Mastering the Soft Ask HOW TO GENERATE HUNDREDS OF LEADS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
description
Lead generation campaigns can be divided into two groups - hard ask and soft ask. Hard ask campaigns are designed to generate sales-ready leads using offers like purchase, demo, free trial or appointment setting. Soft ask campaigns are designed to convert anonymous visitors into opt-in leads using offers like content downloads, webinar registration and free product samples. In this webinar presentation on how to build, execute and sell soft ask lead gen campaigns using Optify, our speakers covered a variety of topics. Jeffrey Jewett, Optify's Marketing Manager, gave a quick introduction to lead generation campaigns and covered the available channels and offers you can use to generate more leads using this method. Ting Van Osdol, Optify's Customer Engagement Manager,gave an overview of how to build soft-ask lead gen campaigns using Optify. And Rob Eleveld, Optify's CEO, will cover the agency angle and will explained how to price, package and sell lead gen campaigns as a service. To watch the recorded webinar, visit our blog - http://www.optify.net/webinars/how-to-generate-hundreds-of-leads
Transcript of The Soft Ask: How to Generate Hundreds of Leads For Your Business Using Optify
Mastering the Soft Ask HOW TO GENERATE HUNDREDS OF LEADS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
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© 2013 Optify, Inc. Company Confidential
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Rob Eleveld, CEO, Optify Rob Eleveld, CEO of Optify is a 20-year tech veteran with deep experience in B2B sales and marketing. Follow Rob on Twitter - @RobertEleveld
Speakers
Ting Van Osdol ,Customer Engagement Manager, Optify
Ting is the Customer Engagement Manager at Optify and focuses on customer engagement and satisfaction. Prior to Optify, Ting worked for The Knot and WildChina.
Jeff Jewett, Marketing Manager, Optify Jeff is the Paid Media Marketing Manager at Optify where he manages all paid media and lead nurturing campaigns. Follow Jeff on Twitter - @jeffreyajewett
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About Optify Optify delivers a simple digital marketing software suite for agencies. Our complete cloud-based software eliminates the need for standalone tools and empowers agency marketers to easily create and manage demand generation programs across multiple websites, nurture prospects, prioritize the best performing programs and streamline reporting of client results - all from one login.
Optify, Inc
710 2nd Ave, Suite 840#Seattle, WA 98104
1 (206) 388-4234 (phone)#1 (877) 2-OPTIFY (toll-free)#1 (206) 787-1410 (fax)
#Sales: [email protected] #Help: [email protected] #Other Inquiries: [email protected]
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Agenda DISCUSSION FRAMEWORK
Soft Ask vs Hard Ask campaigns
The Soft Ask framework
How to build lead gen campaigns in Optify
Packaging and pricing lead gen campaigns
Selling lead gen services to clients
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Lead Gen Basics Goals: • Generate leads • Deliver qualified leads to sales • Increase house list size (subscribers)
Internal checklist/ques1ons: • Why are you building it? (Goals, measurements) • Who are you targe8ng? (demographic, firmographic, personas) • What are they interested in? (Industry news, 8ps and tricks, thought
leadership, company updates) • Where are they online? (Blog, outsourced, aggregated) • When will they see it? (Purchase cycle stage)
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“Hard Ask” vs. “Soft Ask” Campaigns
Soft Ask
§ Value Exchange (Contact Details for Content) § Create hundreds of top-of-the-funnel leads
Hard Ask § Transactional Exchange (Payment or Action for Incentive or Offer) § Create lower volume sales-ready leads
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How to Generate Hundreds of Leads for Your Business | @optify
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“Hard Ask” vs. “Soft Ask” Campaigns
Promotions Landing
Page with “Hard Ask”
Requires incentive
Sales
Promotions Landing
Page with “Soft Ask”
House List Nurture
Hard Ask Campaigns to House
List
Sales
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The Soft Ask
There are numerous types of soft ask offers, like:
• Content: White paper, Guides, Presentations • Webinars • Survey, poll, quiz • Free consultation • Product samples • Coupons • Free products • Tools, templates,
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Content Creation
A successful “Soft Ask” program requires great content... - Start writing yourself - Have your employees write - Hire a writer - Outsource writing:
- 3rd party: WritersAccess, Media Piston, Brafton, - Agencies - Crowdsourcing (Freelancer, Guru, Elance) - Partners (Sponsored Content)
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Where do you promote your offer?
Organic Search
Social Media
Press Coverage
Referrals
Viral Content
Directories Paid Directories
Paid Search
Display
Retargeting
Social Ads
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Step-by-step campaign planning
Offer / Trigger • Offer • Landing Page + Thank you Page
Autoresponder
- Thank you for submitting your
information
• Offer • Autoresponder • Landing Page + Thank you Page
Drip Campaign 1
– Welcome Promotion
• Offer • Drip Email
Drip Campaign 2
- Sign up for our 30mins Demo
• Offer • Drip Email • Landing Page • Alert
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“Soft Ask” Setup Framework
Create the “offer”
Create the landing page (and thank
you page)
Create the autoresponder(S)
and drip campaign
Create the sales alert (form)
Create the URL’s & Promote the offer
Track, measure and report
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Content Format
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“Soft Ask” Setup Framework
Create the “offer”
Create the landing page (and thank
you page)
Create the autoresponder(S)
and drip campaign
Create the sales alert (form)
Create the URL’s & Promote the offer
Track, measure and report
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Landing Page Templates
WYSIWYG Editor
Creating Your Landing Page
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Creating The Form
Set required fields
Set the thank you page and
confirmation
Only important fields
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Thank You Page
Branded, aligned
Primary Call-to-Action
Relevancy
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“Soft Ask” Setup Framework
Create the “offer”
Create the landing page (and thank
you page)
Create the autoresponder(S)
and drip campaign
Create the sales alert (form)
Create the URL’s & Promote the offer
Track, measure and report
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Simple Drip Campaign
# Email name
Trigger Timing Subject line From line
Call-to-action
Follow up
1 White paper Autoresponse
White paper form
Immediately Thank you for downloading our white paper!
Form Submition
None
2 White paper Drip 1
White paper form
3 days after Our gift to you – Welcome Promo
Download the promo code
Automated Thank you note.
3 White paper Drip 2
White paper form
7 days after Ready to learn morel?
Request for a demo
Sales Call to schedule a demo.
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Creating the Autoresponder(s)
Name your email Personalized the “From Line”
Schedule the response Relevant subject line Exclude irrelevant audience
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Create the follow up emails
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Email Branded, aligned
Relevancy Calls-to-action
Branded and Personalized
“From”
Calls-to-action
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“Soft Ask” Setup Framework
Create the “offer”
Create the landing page (and thank
you page)
Create the autoresponder(S)
and drip campaign
Create the sales alert (form)
Create the URL’s & Promote the offer
Track, measure and report
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Creating form alerts
Trigger by the Thank You page
& form submission
Trigger by the Thank You page
& form submission
Alert via Email & Dashboard
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© 2013 Optify, Inc. Company Confidential
26
“Soft Ask” Setup Framework
Create the “offer”
Create the landing page (and thank
you page)
Create the autoresponder(S)
and drip campaign
Create the sales alert (form)
Create the URL’s & Promote the offer
Track, measure and report
How to Generate Hundreds of Leads for Your Business | @optify
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© 2013 Optify, Inc. Company Confidential
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Creating the URL’s and promotion HTTP://PAGES.OPTIFY.NET/CAMPAIGN?OPTIFY_R=SOURCE&OPTIFY_RD=CAMPAIGN
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“Soft Ask” Setup Framework
Create the “offer”
Create the landing page (and thank
you page)
Create the autoresponder(S)
and drip campaign
Create the sales alert (form)
Create the URL’s & Promote the offer
Track, measure and report
How to Generate Hundreds of Leads for Your Business | @optify
WWW.OPTIFY.NET
© 2013 Optify, Inc. Company Confidential
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Track, measure and report
White Paper Drip 2 Are you ready to learn more?
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Lead Gen Campaign Framework
Create the “offer”
Create the landing page (and thank
you page)
Create the autoresponder(S)
and drip campaign
Create the sales alert (form)
Create the URL’s & Promote the offer
Track, measure and report
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© 2013 Optify, Inc. Company Confidential
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Objectives of a Soft Ask lead gen campaign service
Target ~30% of your clients on longer term Lead Gen services via Soft Ask
§ Lead Gen is the core of B2B and local marketing § So every client is an eligible target: get 50% on this service.
Price to sell them consistently: $1,500-$2,400 per campaign and VERY PROFITABLE
§ This includes creating “the offer” § 3 campaigns at $1,500/mo = $4,500 of retainers for Soft Ask lead gen
campaigns! Getting clients on retainers enables you to expand to additional services
§ This services should continue your progression to positioning retainers. § More retainer services means more cash flow visibility.
A Lead Gen service provides very concrete value to clients
§ You hear more digital marketing service opportunities/needs when you are in close and ongoing contact with clients.
You can execute against the channel you are comfortable with (PPC, Email, Paid Social, etc)
§ But the lead capture, prioritization, and follow up is critical How to Generate Hundreds of Leads for Your Business | @optify
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Objectives of Pricing Lead Gen Services Objective 1: An ongoing LONGER TERM retainer with 30-40% of clients
• High value opportunity to have ongoing billable relationship
• Builds on simpler retainer-based offerings like Customer Newsletter
• http://www.optify.net/webinars/how-to-develop-create-send-sell-customer-newsletter
Objective 2: Price higher for tangible value
• Given higher prices, existing client relationships or proven value via a previous project or retainer-based service is important
• Clients can touch the dollar value of leads
Objective 3: Offer a service the owner/principal isn’t required to execute
• Moderate price-points and scalability of the agency requires training a mid-level resource (W2 or 1099)
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Cost Structure – Lead Generation Who is executing the Lead Gen service?
• Target a $25-40/hr resource
• 3-6yrs experience
Creation of the soft ask “offer”
• Content piece: White paper – 8 hours of a writer at anywhere from $20/hr (Communications major at the local university) to $50/hr for top notch writer: $200-$400 cost to your firm per piece
• You can also offer surveys or “get entered into a drawing” or “sign up for monthly newsletter” at lower “offer creation” costs
Each LeadGen tactical campaign: 8-12 hrs per month
• Customized, on-message Landing Page/Form for soft ask: (1 hr)
• Customized, on-message Landing Page for subsequent drip campaign: (1 hr)
• Automated response emails, sequencing of drip, & test sends: (4-7 hrs)
• Lead alerts & Smart-lists/segmentation (1-2 hrs)
• Measure and report to client: (1 hr)
Recommended Lead Gen service: 1 soft ask campaign/mo. via different “channels”
• Campaign setup & execution: Creating the “offer + 10 hours/mo. Operational execution
One-time setup costs
• Collect client logos and other branding for landing pages & emails
• Working out with client timely, consistent follow-up process for leads/alerts
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Recommended retainer-based pricing for Lead Gen managed service
Target ~70% gross margin for your list pricing (3x markup) • Mark up your “offer” resource by 50% - $400-800 – This could be much less for a
survey-type soft ask! • Mark up your $25-40/hr resource * 3 = $75-120/hr:
• 2 tactical campaigns per month as part of the service • Split down the middle: 10 hrs * $100/hr = $1,000
• Mark up $50/mo./client for Optify Professional to $150/mo • Total monthly retainer: $1,500 - $2,400 per month
• NOTE: $1,000 per month is still over 50% gross margin
Recommended price range: Offer + Execution $1,000-1,500/month • If more hours are required, push retainer up accordingly. But keep it < $3,000/mo
and sell more of them. • It is worth discounting to $300-400/mo to get more clients on the retainer. • 3 clients * $1,500/mo = $4,500 per month of retainers
Justifying the return on investment for a client • ROI in terms of average value of a lead. • If client does not know value of leads, take the average value of a customer and
how many leads are required to get a new customer (8-15 leads/customer)
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SELLING LEAD GEN CAMPAIGNS
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THANK YOU. QUESTIONS?
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Additional Resources
• Lead generation campaign guide: #http://www.optify.net/forms/the-essential-guide-to-b2b-lead-generation-campaigns
• 2013 B2B Lead Generation Report: #http://www.optify.net/forms/2013-b2b-lead-generation-report
• Autoresponders guide:#http://www.optify.net/forms/autoresponders-ebook-for-b2b-marketers
• Optify best practices: Lead Gen Campaigns#http://www.optify.net/inbound-marketing-resources/how-to-webinars/optify-best-practices-lead-generation-campaigns
Optify Demo: www.optify.net/demo Optify Free Trial: www.optify.net/free-trial Optify Pricing: www.optify.net/pricing
Optify, Inc
710 2nd Ave, Suite 840#Seattle, WA 98104
1 (206) 388-4234 (phone)#1 (877) 2-OPTIFY (toll-free)#1 (206) 787-1410 (fax)
#Sales: [email protected] #Help: [email protected] #Other Inquiries: [email protected]
How to Generate Hundreds of Leads for Your Business | @optify
