Research Note: Inside Information: Why Your Competitors Will Increase Lead Generation Efforts

In a previous research note (Lead Generation Is Heating Up – Don’t Get Burned), RainToday Publisher Mike Schultz shared how 700+ professional services marketers, business developers, and leaders answered this question:

In the next 2 years, how do you expect your lead generation efforts to change?

The following chart (found in the full study, What's Working In Lead Generation) depicts their answers, categorized by how their firms currently approach new business development:

• Most efforts go toward lead generation
• Half efforts go toward lead generation and half toward generating referrals
• Most efforts go toward generating referrals

Notice the trend: overall, 84% of these companies are moving more effort and investment toward lead generation in professional services, regardless of their current strategy. But what’s really behind this movement?

Why Increase Lead Generation Efforts?

To reach beyond the numbers, the study participants shared why lead generation in professional services seems to be catching on in their companies.

Consider these selected commentaries, and you’ll find a wide variety of reasons for increasing lead generation in professional services businesses – as well as many different outlooks toward it: excitement, ambivalence, competitiveness, matter-of-fact acceptance, and more.

Among those who currently focus "mostly on lead generation" to develop new business:

Reason For Increasing Lead Generation Efforts	Respondent Profile
To grow our company according to shareholder expectations.	VP / Director of Business Development, Accounting / Tax / Payroll / Bookkeeping
We are proactively working to improve internal processes. However, it is a slow change to avoid culture shock to tenured staff.	Business Development Manager, Architecture / Engineering / Construction
The leadership has dictated a 40% growth rate in sales.	VP / Director of Marketing, Training / Executive Education / Coaching
Only way we’ll survive.	Business Development Consultant, IT Consulting & Services
We're in growth mode; growing presence & market share is our primary objective. So, we'll have to significantly increase lead generation efforts to achieve our goals.  We hope, though, that resulting increased revenues will allow us to drop our marketing as % revenue somewhat over the same time frame.	Principal / Partner, Management Consulting
Before 2006, we had no lead generation program driven by marketing; sales people were simply expected to do everything themselves. We finally have a real marketing budget and lead generation will receive about 5% in 2006 and 10-15% in 2007.	VP / Director of Marketing, Marketing / PR / Advertising

Among those who currently focus "half on lead generation and half on generating referrals" to develop new business:

Reason For Increasing Lead Generation Efforts	Respondent Profile
We want to replace clients we have lost for various reasons and to grow our revenue base.	VP / Director of Marketing, Law Firms / Legal Services
Competition is increasing and our services can be seen as a commodity even though we sell into a defined market.	CEO / President, IT Consulting / Services
We need to diversify our client base -- we have a single dominant client right now.  We're working hard to develop others.	Principal / Partner, Human Resources / Organizational Development Consulting
Because we have found that sitting by and waiting for the market to come to us because we are quote EXPERTs, doesn't happen. It is our business first and foremost to be a marketing company that sells insurance.	Owner / Manager, Financial / Insurance / Real Estate Services
The market for our services is extremely cyclical.  We expect the current market to drop off in the next 24 months. We are currently ramping up our lead efforts with existing clients and aggressively pursuing new client relationships.	Managing Director / Managing Partner, Architecture / Engineering / Construction

Among those who currently focus "mostly on generating referrals" to develop new business:

Reason For Increasing Lead Generation Efforts	Respondent Profile
We are a firm of seller/doers and have relied on the luxury of clients calling us based on our excellent reputation. In this challenging market, we now need to focus on Business Development.	VP / Director of Business Development, Architecture, Engineering, Construction
We have a unique service that is not yet being used by our competition; we want to significantly increase our market share to insulate our profits from future competitive imitation.	VP / Director of Marketing, Management Consulting
Due to pending changes in how and when audit firms are chosen and length of tenure, we feel the need to jump in with both feet and embrace lead generation techniques before they are necessary.	VP / Director of Marketing, Accounting / Tax / Payroll / Bookkeeping
To hit 4 year growth targets, new sales will have to come from new prospects.  we have been able to grow organically through our current client base and have not invested in the infrastructure for lead generation.	VP / Director of Business Development, Financial / Insurance / Real Estate
Until now all the leads that came to us where mostly personal or client referrals, and that has kept us busy for the last 2 years. However, not making any efforts in generating leads is something that stops the growth of a professional company. After doing some research and reading on RainToday, I am now planning a committed effort for lead generation from the new year.	CEO / President, IT Consulting / Services
Current practice is no longer working well solely on referrals, like it used to in boom times; but, this means a sea-change in how I do business, so I'm not sure how well it will go.	Principal / Partner, Japanese Business Development Services

The Value Of The Peanut Gallery

As you read through the comments above, did you recognize your own firm's situation? Maybe it was your company 3 years ago... or maybe you and your colleagues are right on the cusp of having this conversation about how you spend your time and energy, and where your clients come from.

Regardless of your situation, know this: as represented in part by the peanut gallery of comments above, professional services companies are moving toward stronger prospecting, smarter measurement, better targeting, and more realistic evaluations of their pipelines.

Where does your practice or company stand? What's your plan? Have you started the conversation?

Learn more about RainToday's lead generation research at:

• What's Working In Lead Generation information page in the RainToday Store
  
  
• Download 6 Lead Generation Insights For 2007, the Executive Summary from the report

Andrea Meacham Rosal is the Chief Content Officer of RainToday.com. She can be reached at amrosal@raintoday.com.