The LeadGen.com Blog
Category: Sales
Some people can't help themselves. And some people actually believe what they're saying.
Like when your Marketing Director tells you that all you have to do is re-build your Web site, create and publish content, buy some Google AdWords, connect with Decision Makers, and send out several million emails - and the leads will just come flooding in.
Or when your salesperson tells you that all you have to do is get them in the door and they'll be able to close anyone.
But when it doesn't happen, where does that leave you?
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Marketing 2.0 - The Crime of the Century
Who among us hasn't heard that "57% of the decision process is completed before a sales person is ever contacted by the prospect"?
And who among us hasn't been told, time and again, that "if you build it, they will come," and then invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in websites, content, blogs, posts, and all manner of digital detritus - none of which will anyone ever see, read or respond to?
And who among us hasn't read about the historically high failure rate of new businesses, upwards of 70% of PE-funded companies in 2021?
You may not want to hear it but, for most businesses, Marketing 2.0 is a scam. It's a paradigm designed to separate business owners and investors from their money, and put it in the pockets of the platforms, the solution providers, and the so-called Marketing professionals hired to manage them - who then move on to their next gig when it all goes south.
Why else would turnover among Marketing professionals be nearly 40% per year?
But, hey, at least you got a great Web site out of it.
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The comedian Lewis Black tells a joke about the time he saw a Starbucks, in a Houston-area shopping center, and it was right across the parking lot from another Starbucks.
He declared that this was the end of the universe - where parallel lines converge. And the only people who don't see the problem have Alzheimers.
Now we have a major social media platform announcing that it had discovered hundreds of fake accounts, with many connecting to other fake accounts on the site.
We have to wonder, are the people who are managing these accounts working from a Starbucks in Houston?
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Doing Things Right vs Doing the Right Things
After you drank a full pitcher of Marketing 2.0 Kool-Aid, and did everything the experts told you to do, you're ready for the sales to start rolling in.
And yet you're not getting the results you need.
What's going on???
The sad fact is that virtually the entire Marketing 2.0 approach is a scam. It's a game you can't win.
It's a misdirection designed to make it look easy, to get you to waste your time, and to spend your money, and then move on when the money runs out.
At least you can comfort yourself knowing that it's not you; it's them.
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The Digital Marketing Life Cycle
Digital Marketing is a powerful tool for any business that wants to fail as slowly and as painfully as possible.
Digital Marketing says "Build a Web site that's going to stand out from the 11 billion other Web sites. Optimize around terms that either no one will ever use, or ones that all your competitors already own. Do a bunch of other stuff that sounds good, but doesn't actually work. And then wait until you run out of money before you actually think about lead generation."
After all, if you build it, they will come, right?
Do you really think your content is going to break through the clutter?
Do you really think your prospects are just waiting around for your solution to show up?
Seriously. Is it any wonder that the business failure rate is over 70%?
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If you need more sales, the answer is easy.
That's because the same Magic 8 Ball that you turned to for answers when you were young has been updated to provide you with the solutions you need today.
Now get answers like these:
• Just buy our CRM and the sales will roll in!
• Just use our Emailer, and customers will be banging on your door!
• Just hire me, and your competition will crumble!
• Just use our SEO service, and you'll jump right to the top of the Search results!
And more!
And remember, if anyone tells you that the answers are complex, don't listen to them. They're probably just a consultant.
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Congratulations! You started your business with a great idea and a few friendly customers.
But when you tried to grow beyond the people you knew, you hit a ceiling.
With our Most Uplifting Escalator, though, you can break through that ceiling. And take your business to the next level.
And we're not talking metaphors here. These are real escalators, that really go up!
So if your business is stuck on the ground floor, we can help you move to the second floor, and beyond!
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Why settle for a page 12 ranking, or worse, on Google?
Why wallow in obscurity when your business can rank right at the top of the listings?
Wrap yourself in the warmth of a high page rank with out Best Google Page Rank.
Made from only the narrowest of search terms, and using only the finest geotagging, our Highest Google Page Rank will make you the talk of the town!
And for only $10 more, we'll send you a framed PDF of your listing, so you can proudly display your prominence in your home, in your office, or on the go!
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Growing businesses need stimulation, companionship and - most of all - engagement.
And you'll get all that, and more, with our genuine Phone Monkeys.
Our phone monkeys are great at helping your shy, young business make new friends while providing you with hours of entertainment.
Because, after all, who doesn't like monkeys?
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Whenever you hear it, you know that's the sales candidate for you:
"Just get me in the door, and I can close anyone."
And that's why you need our finest door.
Constructed from the richest veneer glued over the sturdiest frame, our classic two-panel door will make your new rep proud that he'll never have to make cold calls again.
And if you need someone to actually open the door, don't forget to call our Service Department - by appointment only, of course.
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You know there are no guarantees when it comes to Marketing.
But since you're going to insist on one, here it is!
Our 100% certified money-back guarantee!
Backed by years of back-room finagling, clever wordsmithing and legal foot-dragging, our guarantee is the best in the business.
We would tell you that it's not worth the paper it's printed on, but who uses paper these days?
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You know that your boss doesn't understand all this Digital Marketing mumbo-jumbo.
That's why she hired you.
Up your game, and get them to up your budget, with this all-natural, dacron polyester blend.
And if they don't up their budget, up yours!
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Our Most Self-Fulfilling T-Shirt
Show the world that you can create eye-catching content with this 100% cotton show-stopper!
This stylish and media-savvy number comes in all sizes and genders.
And it will stand up through dozens of job interviews.
Cold water wash only.
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For decades, Marketers have struggled to show their impact on sales.
Media companies have invented all sorts of metrics, like impressions and circulation, to show their value.
And Marketing Managers have made up all sorts of excuses to justify spending money, often being satisfied with half the advertising budget they asked for.
But now we're pleased to offer our genuine "Marketing Qualified Leads"!
Justify whatever budget you want!
Clicks! Hits! Downloads! Form fills! Opens! Oh, my!
The conversion rate, though? That's someone else's problem, of course.
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Our Warmest Digital Marketing Mug
Digital Marketing is a powerful tool for driving an endless demand for Digital Marketers.
And now you can show them who's the boss!
Order our new custom-printed Digital Marketing Expert coffee mug, and sip your favorite hot beverage while comforting yourself that, by the time they find out it didn't work, you'll be long gone!
Digital Marketing: Never have so many spent so much for so little.
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Here at the LeadGen.com Digital Marketing Academy, we know Marketing!
And the one thing we know about Marketing is that "you can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time."
And that's why were now offering - exclusively for you - our Professional Digital Marketing Training Program!
In the Official LeadGen.com Professional Digital Marketing Training Program:
• You'll learn to create and post content that no one will ever read!
• You'll learn to generate Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) that will never convert!
• And you'll learn to update your resume so that it's always fresh and ready-to-go!
If you're looking for a job with high demand, high pay, and high turnover, Digital Marketing is the job for you!
Call 1-800-INBOUND today, and get $10 off our regular, low price of only $10!
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Join the Virtual Army, Generate Virtual Results!
The world has gone digital. And Marketing is leading the way!
Forget about the power of salesmanship. That's old school.
Who cares about uncovering needs? That's just Boomer narcissism.
Today, its Digital or Die!
Today's Digital Marketing soldiers know how to post content. They know how to upload TikToks. And they spend like there's no tomorrow.
Because, for most businesses, there isn't.
Join the Digital Marketing Army, and Be All You Can Be!
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The Hope Springs Eternal Gift Box
Inbound Marketing is the ultimate gift.
It's the promise of a waiting for the phone to ring.
It's the hope of that first traffic after going live.
It's the smile of making that LinkedIn connection.
In fact, it's whatever you want it to be.
For the business you love, it's always Inbound Marketing.
Who cares if there's no ROI?
Because it's the thought that counts.
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The Three Lies Custom Throw Pillow
Remember how everyone showed up for the baseball game in Field of Dreams - even though Ray Kinsella did absolutely no advertising whatsoever?
Remember how you felt when you heard that Inbound Marketing was going to save your sales team from ever having to make cold calls again?
And didn't it just warm the cockles of your heart knowing that all you had to do to beat your competition was to put the right keywords in your meta tags?
Now you can bask in the comfort of all your favorite Digital Marketing tropes with this custom throw pillow from LeadGen.com!
Or you can cry yourself to sleep knowing they were all lies.
But at least it's super soft, and super absorbant!
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As anyone who studied Marketing in college has learned, Ansoff's Marketing Matrix describes the different strategies for growth, depending on whether the products and markets are old or new.
But the world has changed.
And we now have a New Marketing Matrix:
Obsolescence
Today, if you try to sell your old products into your old markets, you quickly find that your product is obsolete - displaced by faster, better and cheaper competitors.
Your best strategy is to appeal to nostalgia.
Irrelevance
If you try to sell your old product into a new market, you quickly find out that your product is irrelevant.
Your best strategy is to beg for an appointment.
Commoditization
If you try to sell your new product into an old market, you quickly find that the cost-of-change is too high.
Your best strategy is to lower your price.
Scamification
If you try to sell your new product into a new market, you quickly find that Google and the other platforms are running a scam.
Your best strategy is to wait until your funding runs out, and then get a new job.
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Why Are MQLs and SQLs Even a Thing?
As the digital marketing train wreck grew over the last few years, it became more and more obvious that, for most companies, the investment was wasted. Most programs just produced junk leads.
So what did they do? They did what any good marketer would do:
They re-branded their junk as a "Marketing Qualified Lead".
Get it through your heads people: There is no such thing as a Marketing Qualified Lead. If Sales doesn't want it, it's junk.
With that out of the way, we can now talk about what you ought to be doing, and how to do it.
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By now, everyone has heard about the so-called "study" proving that 57% of the buyer's decision is made before they ever engage with a sales rep.
The statistic has been used to justify spending billions of dollars on Inbound Marketing.
But did you know it's completely bogus?
It turns out that they never actually did a study - which I found out by talking to a secretary at the originating company. It was a made-up number from a casual conversation. But they threw it in their pitch deck, and it eventually went viral. And here we are.
But here's how you know it's nonsense:
If it were true, how would anyone ever sell something where the buyer hadn't previously been aware of their need????
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Yeah, we know. It's not as though you need another meaningless task.
By the same token, if all Marketing challenges were this easy, you'd be rich, right?
Anyway, if you need help with growing your business, we're here for you.
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Putting the Cart Before the Horse
Deciding on what promotional tactics to use before you've really worked out an effective marketing strategy is one of the leading causes of business failure.
We see it all the time: A business has a great idea for a new product or service. They invest in building it. And then they put together - often with the help of a so-called "marketing expert" - a plan to promote it.
And then it fails to get traction.
What happened?
Companies often become enamored with the latest-and-greatest marketing tool or technique. When they combine that with their enthusiasm for their product, they become blinded to the real challenges of the market: How to break through the clutter and get people's attention, how to stimulate their interest, and how to get prospects to actually want to talk to you. It's a recipe for disaster.
One thing is clear: A good marketing strategy isn't just a bunch of marketing tactics strung together. Developing the strategy comes first, and it often requires doing market research, and classic market planning. But it's a whole separate exercise. And it's often the critical step on the path to success.
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As a business owner you're faced with a virtual tsunami of marketing options. Everyone is selling the next big thing, the newest way to generate leads, or the one tool you absolutely need to grow your business.
Email marketing! Data mining! Pay-per-lead! AI! Content marketing! SEO!
"Just use our solution and the world will beat a path to your door", they scream.
Well, here's the reality: It's all nonsense, because none of it works - at least not for you.
When it comes to marketing, if you think that you need to be doing "X", you've already lost the battle.
And there are lots of names for it: Grasping at straws. Throwing a bunch of you-know-what against the wall and seeing what sticks. And "hope as a strategy" are just a few.
If you want to win the game, you have to start with the fundamentals. You have to work through your value proposition and your positioning, your targeting, and how to actually create awareness and stimulate interest with potential buyers.
Only then should you consider what tools you need.
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What is a Rainmaker?
The sales equivalent of a unicorn. Great sales people are made, not born.
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With the constant revolving door of salespeople, what question should you be asking yourself? Find out now:
Are you hiring for turnover?
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There are those who can sell. Then those who can't, do marketing.
The problem isn’t that Marketing isn’t a legitimate function. So what is the problem then?
It’s that everyone is convinced that it’s not accountable for sales. How’s that working out?
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It’s the epic battle between Marketing and Sales. MQLs vs SQLs! And guess who loses?
You do – because there’s no such thing as an MQL. It’s either worth the salesperson’s time, or it’s not.
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Want to Generate Leads for Free?
Are you frustrated with expensive marketing solutions that fail to deliver? Do you need real sales leads?
LeadGen.com has just introduced a new tool that can help!
The Lead Generator is a powerful platform where you can generate qualified sales leads, while saving money on everything you buy.
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