Lead generation plays a huge role within the financial services industry, and a lot of firms have a love/hate relationship with it. It usually goes something like this…
“Monday? Phenomenal… We got 100 leads at a CPA of £45. Friday? Horrendous. We turned the ads off at lunchtime because the CPA was so high and nobody was answering the phone.”
There’s a good chance this sounds familiar to you. And, whilst fluctuations in performance are unavoidable, there are 5 common mistakes that firms make when it comes to lead generation.
1. Getting fixated on the cost-per-lead
Cost-per-lead is obviously a KPI that should be monitored, but it’s nowhere near as important as advertisers think. A mistake we see all too often is firms pausing keywords, campaigns or even platforms, due to a high CPA.
This can be a big mistake, because while that keyword that you just paused may have been generating leads at twice the price of another, it may also be driving 3 or 4 times the revenue in the long run.
This is why data analysis is so important in lead generation. You should be able to link a paying customer back to the keyword, ad, and platforms that they came from, when doing your reporting.
In our experience, you’ll find some real ‘gold nuggets’ doing this, and you’ll waste far less money on the leads that you think are driving revenue due to their low CPA, but are actually just wasting your budget and time.
Bottom line: you have to be willing to bite the bullet and spend more on leads sometimes. The data will help you do this with confidence, and you will reap the rewards.
2. Relying on lead volume to generate more customers
Anybody can generate leads. Create a simple ad, a short landing page, and a minimal form. Done. But, even though this makes it easier to bring more leads in, your end goal isn’t leads. It’s customers.
And, as you probably know, lots of poor quality leads means your sales team are not only deflated – they’re also wasting precious time on leads that weren’t that interested in your product in the first place.
You should be using your ads, pages and forms to qualify (and disqualify) your website visitors. This will drive up your CPA, but it will also result in higher contact rates, higher lead-to-sale rates, and a much happier sales team.
3. Giving up on leads after “no answers”
No matter how proactive your sales team are when it comes to calling your ‘no answer’ leads, you’re never going to get everything you can out of your leads based on calls alone.
Some leads are interested in your product, but just not quite interested enough to dedicate their time to a sales call.
The solution? Firstly, firms should always be building trust with leads using email & SMS workflows.
If a lead doesn’t answer 4 or 5 times, don’t just leave a message asking for a good time to call back. Send them an email reminding them of the benefits of the product, or even share a case study with them.
Nurture your leads over time. Remind them of the reasons they made the submission in the first place.
And, if that’s not enough, try to guide them through the sales process via email or SMS, without a call. If you need some more information from them in order to get a quote of some sort, text them.
We live in a world where people can now get mortgages and insurance without ever actually having to speak to someone directly. It can all be done online. And the reality is… some people really like that.
4. Neglecting phone number verification
Going back to lead quality, most advertisers don’t require phone number verification on their forms. Why? Because it drives up their CPA.
This is true, but what it also does is create a filter for the tyre-kickers. If somebody is entering a false phone number, they were never going to answer the phone or buy your product.
Confirming a phone number using a code sent to their phone requires a little extra commitment, and commitment is what you need when you want a sale.
5. Slacking on the thank-you page
Agencies and firms are willing to spend hours and hours split-testing landing pages and forms, adding every little bit of encouragement a user needs in order to get to the thank-you page.
Then, when a user gets there, they see… “Thanks for your submission. Our sales team will call you shortly to discuss your options”.
…Riveting!
This potential customer has just got their first glimpse of your customer service… I.e. “We’ll work hard until we’ve got you where we want you”.
Your thank-you page is a great opportunity to further sell yourself, and increase contact and conversion rates.
Let them know what happens next. Congratulate them on taking positive action. Reassure them with a testimonial. Make them feel like they actually want to answer your call.
Invest in the bigger picture
Generating leads within a business can be full of distractions and false goals. It’s incredibly easy to fall into the trap of chasing low CPAs and fast sales.
But, it’s important to remind yourself and your team that it’s not about rushing to the quick wins.
If you’re here for the long run, invest a little bit of time and energy into gathering data, building your brand and nurturing your silent leads.
Before you know it, you’ll be spending less time and money obtaining sales, and more time looking after an ever-growing customer base.
