6 Lessons from the CEO of the World's Highest-Rated B2B Lead Gen Agency

Read time: 3 minutes

Welcome To The Clever Letter!

Every Saturday, we’ll share an actionable lead generation guide that’ll help get your first (or next) 100 customers so you can take your business to the next level. This newsletter will remain Free forever. We hope you enjoy!

At Cleverly, we’ve helped 7,500+ customers book 224,700+ sales qualified leads generated with cold outreach. If you are struggling to grow your business, click here to learn more about how we can help.

There’s a reason why we’re the only B2B lead gen agency in the world with 859 five-star reviews on Trustpilot and 69 five-star reviews on Clutch .

Over the past five years, we've made our fair share of mistakes and brilliant decisions.

Here are 6 lessons we've learned about securing qualified leads that have propelled us to where we are today:

Lesson 1: Trust Your Gut, Not Just Consultants

You know that feeling when you pay to watch a movie you've already seen?

That's what hiring expensive consultants can feel like sometimes.

Don't get me wrong, expert advice can be gold. But often, you already know more than you think.

For example, when we started out, we almost hired a $10,000/month consultant.

Instead, we trusted our instincts and saved that money for actual lead generation efforts.

Result?

We landed our first big client without breaking the bank.

Lesson 2: Look Beyond Google Adwords

Many people think Google Adwords is the only game in town.

It's not.

Take our client, Sarah, a CFO.

She was spending $5,000 a month on Adwords with little to show for it.

We switched her to our LinkedIn strategy, and boom.

Her quality leads shot up by 80% in just two months.

Lesson 3: Not Everyone's Your Customer (And That's Okay)

Trying to sell to everyone is like trying to be friends with everyone in high school.

It just doesn't work.

Focus on your ideal clients instead.

We once wasted three months chasing a "big fish" that was never going to bite.

When we finally narrowed our focus to our ideal client profile, our conversion rates tripled.

Lesson 4: Sharpen Your Sales Skills

Remember those old-school, pushy salespeople?

Yeah, let's not be them.

Today, sales is all about building relationships.

We invested $100,000 in sales training for our team last year.

Our close rates went up by 30%, and client satisfaction scores hit the roof.

Lesson 5: Practice Makes Perfect (Especially for Closing)

Did you know that 80% of big sales need at least two follow-up calls?

But most people give up after one.

Don't be most people.

We make our team practice their closing techniques every week.

The more you do it, the better you get. Our average deal size has grown by 25% since we started this practice.

Lesson 6: The Fortune is in the Follow-Up

We implemented a strict follow-up system last year.

Every lead now receives at least three touch points, no exceptions.

Each follow-up message must include:

1. Personalization: Tailored content addressing the prospect's specific needs.

2. Value-Added Content: Insights or solutions relevant to their business.

3. Clear Next Steps: A specific action or decision point for the prospect.

The result?

We closed 40% more deals, including some we thought were long gone.

Final thoughts

There you have it - the seven lessons that transformed our lead generation game.

Success in B2B lead gen isn't about fancy tricks.

It's about understanding your customers, focusing your efforts, and never giving up.

Whenever you are ready, there are 3 ways we can help you:

1. Cold Email Lead Generation - Get booked sales calls with your ideal clients on a pay-per-lead basis. You pay a fixed fee whenever you get a response from your ideal customer. Click here to learn more.
   

2. LinkedIn Appointment setting - Want a trained sales rep in your Linkedin inbox, speaking to prospects & booking sales calls onto your calendar? Our appointment setting service will do just that. Click here to learn more.
   

3. LinkedIn Paid Advertising - Want to get in front of prospects you never thought possible? Our irresistible LinkedIn Ad funnels will help you grow your business rapidly. Click here to learn more.