Leads generation “then” and now – what’s changed over 30 years?
July 27, 2007 (Press Release) --
It’s interesting to note the harvesting, compiling, and advertising processes for the leads market that is currently in fashion. A little has changed from the days when this writer had his own business in the financial planning/investment/insurance fields (in a previous life), but not as much as one might expect.
Back then there were companies selling leads just as there are today. The biggest difference is that the world was not as computerized as it is now. There was no Internet in common usage at that time, and e-mail was essentially unheard of. But we could buy leads if we wanted to. Some of the same sources as today were in use then.
People still were asked to fill out surveys forms when they bought something new; forms were usually in the bottom of the box along with the warranty form – sometimes one and the same. There was a time when people didn’t mind so much, thinking some good might come from filling and sending these forms. However, as response fell off, many companies started to include coupons or premiums as incentives to fill and send these forms. This is one of the methods still used today that, unfortunately, is one of the least intrusive of all.
Of course, there were also the mass mailings from which responses were leads. And phone solicitation is a long tried-and-true method, as well. In the 1970s calling began to be automated, and in the 1980s and 1990s it became computerized. More intrusion and more bother – but more volume of “leads” for the sales people.
Today we have the “old” methods coexisting side-by-side with newer methods that do involve the Internet. E-mail alongside “snail-mail” (junk e-mail alongside junk mail?); websites, links, embedded audios and videos alongside phone calls. One change that is noticeable in the leads game is that phone calls now are more often used to confirm or “firm up” a lead to make it a better lead, rather than being only the initial lead generator.
But here’s something interesting of note: back in that previous life (insurance industry, mid-70s), we didn’t buy our leads. Leads cost money then, just as they do now. And the quality of leads was just as unknown then as it is now. We knew that if we generated our own leads, we had something good with which to work – a known quality. Because we developed our own lead generation process – exclusively for our own business, it worked. The leads were never general in nature, never of questionable worth. We became so good (for our own business) that the office average was one solid lead for every ten cold calls. A closing ratio of 98% from those ‘one in ten’ was the result. Those were great numbers then, and are great numbers today.
But there’s more automation available today. There are more products and services that need to be sold, and more people to whom to sell them. Automation can be a good thing when properly used. I’d like to add thoughtfully, intelligently, and responsibly used.
Next time we’ll examine a bit more of leads marketing, especially today.
###
Back then there were companies selling leads just as there are today. The biggest difference is that the world was not as computerized as it is now. There was no Internet in common usage at that time, and e-mail was essentially unheard of. But we could buy leads if we wanted to. Some of the same sources as today were in use then.
People still were asked to fill out surveys forms when they bought something new; forms were usually in the bottom of the box along with the warranty form – sometimes one and the same. There was a time when people didn’t mind so much, thinking some good might come from filling and sending these forms. However, as response fell off, many companies started to include coupons or premiums as incentives to fill and send these forms. This is one of the methods still used today that, unfortunately, is one of the least intrusive of all.
Of course, there were also the mass mailings from which responses were leads. And phone solicitation is a long tried-and-true method, as well. In the 1970s calling began to be automated, and in the 1980s and 1990s it became computerized. More intrusion and more bother – but more volume of “leads” for the sales people.
Today we have the “old” methods coexisting side-by-side with newer methods that do involve the Internet. E-mail alongside “snail-mail” (junk e-mail alongside junk mail?); websites, links, embedded audios and videos alongside phone calls. One change that is noticeable in the leads game is that phone calls now are more often used to confirm or “firm up” a lead to make it a better lead, rather than being only the initial lead generator.
But here’s something interesting of note: back in that previous life (insurance industry, mid-70s), we didn’t buy our leads. Leads cost money then, just as they do now. And the quality of leads was just as unknown then as it is now. We knew that if we generated our own leads, we had something good with which to work – a known quality. Because we developed our own lead generation process – exclusively for our own business, it worked. The leads were never general in nature, never of questionable worth. We became so good (for our own business) that the office average was one solid lead for every ten cold calls. A closing ratio of 98% from those ‘one in ten’ was the result. Those were great numbers then, and are great numbers today.
But there’s more automation available today. There are more products and services that need to be sold, and more people to whom to sell them. Automation can be a good thing when properly used. I’d like to add thoughtfully, intelligently, and responsibly used.
Next time we’ll examine a bit more of leads marketing, especially today.
###
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