MYTH NUMBER ONE
Demand Generation will immediately increase the number of closed deals.

Many people believe that an effective lead generation campaign will have a miraculous and timely impact on their business. The return on investment (in relation more to time) depends on a number of factors, including the length of the sales cycle, cost of product or solution, abilities of the sales force, ad infinitum.

Effective Demand Generation, like sales, is about building relationships with the business community, communicating the right message at the right time, nurturing them, and KNOWING THE BEST TIME FOR THE PROSPECT to move into the sales cycle.

Eventually, there will be a huge payoff. The Sales Team will only focus on Leads that are ready to be in the sales cycle - Less Leads will fall through the cracks – More Deals will close. Once a tested and proven process has been implemented, Leads will be much easier to uncover.

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MYTH NUMBER TWO
Demand Generation is just a new name for old-school Lead Generation

The main difference between the two is the motivation behind each action. Lead Generation, in the past, has been a numbers game, driven solely by the efforts and actions of the company looking for business. Demand Generation, on the other hand, is based on the activity of the Prospects, and the appropriate reaction of the company to key buying behaviors.

This is why “cold-calling” is not an effective tool of Demand Generation, though there can be a need for a Prospect Identification campaign to secure opt-in permission. Demand Generation, in general, is NOT a numbers game, but a game of Strategy, Behavior and Interpretation.

Old-school Lead Generation taught that, the more calls you make, the more Leads you will get. It’s no wonder so many Old-School Lead Generation campaigns failed. Demand Generation teaches that the better you understand your prospects, the more qualified ones you will find.

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MYTH NUMBER THREE
The Demand Generation is just an extension of the Sales Department

While there are many similarities, there are fundamental differences between the Sales Department and Demand Generation. While there are many Sales people who consider themselves marketers (and a few are), Demand Generation Specialists (Managers, Reps, Experts, Authorities) need to be marketers, as well as have the Sales-savvy abilities to engage prospects and generate Demand.

The truth is, Demand Generation is more of a Marketing role than Sales. In reality, Demand Generation should be considered an Entity on it’s own. A complete Demand Generation process combines activities that include Marketing, Research, Sales, Marketing Operations, Sales Operations and Analytics. The main function of Demand Generation (beyond generating Demand) is communicating between all of these areas, and ensuring everyone is on the same page.

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MYTH NUMBER FOUR
The stricter the Qualification Process, the Better

When is a Lead ready to be passed to the sales team? Depending on whom you ask, the answers to this important question can be at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Sales would say (initially) that they only want to talk with prospects that have a defined need, a budget for the product or service, and are actively looking for a solution to their need.

Marketing would then say that, in order to provide enough “qualified leads” under this criteria, they would need to reach out to thousands, possibly millions, of potential customers. Marketing believes the qualification should simply be right target market and right contact.

I have seen both of these extremes, and in fact, when the process has not worked, I have seen the Sales department change their criteria (out of frustration) to "anyone breathing". I have also found Marketing to take matters into their own hands, and handle leads themselves (out of the belief/knowledge that Sales is not working them properly). This "us and them" philosophy must change, and an Effective Demand Generation Process will bring the two sides together.

Obviously, the answer is somewhere in the middle, and while each situation may lean one way or another, Demand Generation defines a Qualified Lead under the following criteria.

1 - The Company is within a Vertical and Revenue Range that is a possible Target
2 - The Contact is either a Decision Maker, or influential to the Decision maker
3 - There are “pains” they are experiencing, that you can solve
4 - Money for the product or service could be made available
5 - A deal is possible in the next 12 months

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MYTH NUMBER FIVE
Demand Generation starts by picking up the phone, and ends passing Leads to Sales

Nothing could be further from the truth. Demand Generation begins fairly early in the Marketing Cycle. An Effective Demand Generation Process ensures that collateral (such as email) adheres to Best Practices, and that campaigns are tracked and tied together vise vie the corporate website. It ensures that the database (both on the sales and marketing sides) is accurate, consistent and targeted correctly. As mentioned before, communication is key, and the Sales CRM needs to accurate reflect marketing activities.

Before “picking up the phone” a number of questions need to be answered for Demand Generation to work. Is the prospect an Ideal Prospect (right vertical, right position, showing buying signals)? What has the prospect done recently (marketing wise) to warrant this call? Has anyone else from the same organization shown interest? What are the expectations of this call for both parties (are we looking for an appointment, a referral or just an update for future marketing campaigns, and what can the prospect expect to get from this call). Is there any other information readily available that would indicate they may be ready to move into the sales cycle (have they just received funding, has there been a recent management change)?

Many would say (and have said to me personally) that this extensive research is unnecessary, and that just picking up the phone and calling is the best way to find opportunities. There is a multitude of reasons why this “old-school” thinking is outdated, but to sum up a few:

Today’s buyer is far more intelligent than years ago, with a wealth of online resources available. The seller needs to understand this, and offer even more intelligence.

Understanding what the prospect needs has historically been the purpose of a cold-call – This information is now available to us beforehand, and this initial call is now a Discovery Call based on this information.

This “research” may appear to be extensive, but with a proper process and automation in place, It should not take more than a few minutes to prepare for a call. More importantly, the result of appropriate research will be to shorten the sales cycle, and most of the data collected is used as a pre-qualification for the call.

After a Lead has been passed to Sales, there are many things Demand Generation can do to improve the chances of a successful deal, and shorten the sales Cycle. Targeted nurture campaigns should be created and executed, additional key contacts should be added to the database and marketed to, and company/contact information should be regularly monitored and reacted to.

This is also true with companies/contacts that become customers, as effective Demand Generation can also assist in up selling, cross selling and expanding into new divisions.

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