Are you looking for new sales leads to facilitate the growth of your business? Lead generation is defined as the process of initiating and capturing consumer interest in products or services. Leads are typically acquired for inclusion in a sales pipeline enabling ongoing lead management.

A combination of sales techniques and communications attempt to progress leads through a purchase funnel to eventually convert them into a paying customer. Sales professionals are frequently allocated individual leads for follow-up; alternatively leads form part of regular messaging to deliver knowledge, build trust and encourage reconsideration.

Acquisition of high-quality leads remains central to business expansion. It is imperative a company identifies new target groups or untapped markets to avoid declining growth or stagnation.

There is no single approach to securing qualified leads. Businesses leverage a variety of sales or marketing techniques across multiple channels to generate prospective customer interest. Lead generation methods often require meticulous planning, trial and error and robust post analysis to determine effectiveness. Common lead generation tactics include:

Telephone calls - ‘Cold calling’ by telemarketers or sales staff quickly identify potential interest, and can be used for appointment setting.

Direct selling - Direct sales tactics (such as door to door), while primarily focused on sales, can uncover valuable information and obtain new leads.

Online lead generation - Limitless opportunities to generate targeted leads online. Approaches include lead magnets, SEO and affiliate referral.

Advertising - A combination of traditional ‘offline’ and online advertising methods such as PPC or SEM remain central to lead generation efforts.

Social media - Social media is an effective means of creating new business opportunities. Most businesses now engage on multiple SM platforms.

Email - Leveraging an industry database, mining your own, or simply capturing email for future follow up. Email remains an effective lead generation and management tool.

Content Marketing - Effective content marketing will drive engagement and reach of your content, delivering more qualified leads to your website or business.

Are you looking to ramp up your organization's lead generation efforts? Hiring and training a full-time employees in a specific location can be a costly exercise, particularly if they do not possess the necessary skills or expertise of an experienced sales professional. Take advantage of the wealth of freelance lead generation expertise available at Freelancer.com to ensure you employ a results-oriented person with a proven track record in lead generation.

Freelancer.com is home to thousands of top sales professionals, online marketing experts or marketing support staff that can assist you to grow your sales pipeline. Quickly browse through the sales and marketing listings on Freelancer.com and find a suitable freelancer on a part time, full time or project specific basis; and at an affordable cost too! If you're not sure who to hire, select the "recruiter" option, and a dedicated team of Recruiters will help you to find the perfect freelancer for your project.

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