Almost everyone agrees that a steady flow of quality leads is crucial to the survival and growth of a business. However, what people can’t agree on is what the best way is to go about their lead generation activities. While some do their lead generation in house, others outsource this activity to a lead generation agency. There are pros and cons to both approaches, and the best option for your business will depend on your capabilities and potential for growth. Here, we take a look at the various factors involved.
In house
In an ideal world, you would do everything in house. Businesses that perform all sales and marketing activities under the same roof can ensure greater cooperation and oversight, which results in better overall efficiency. When sales and marketing teams work more closely together, it’s just so much easier to streamline the processes shared by both departments. But, before you jump in, you should ask yourself these questions:
Is the risk worth it?
Doing lead generation internally does have its drawbacks, most of which are related to the fact that you have to find the right people – strategists, designers, writers, and telemarketers – and then train them yourself. Recruitment and training are time-consuming and costly, and there is no guarantee that you will see a return on the money spent. Worse yet, if your internal lead generation efforts fail, you will still have to pay the salary of staff who are not doing what they need to.
Can you spare the necessary people?
The other problem with hiring and training your own lead generation staff is that these activities require the time of your more experienced personnel. These strategic thinkers are often the busiest people in your business, and time spent training is often time better spent making important decisions. The scalability of internal lead generation is often limited for this very reason .
How ready are you to adopt new technology?
Other drawbacks to in-house lead generation include the adoption and implementation of the technology needed to support this kind of operation. Regardless of whether your lead generation operations involve telemarketing or inbound marketing, you will need certain specialised software (and sometimes hardware) as well as the skill sets needed to utilise these fully.
The bottom line is that lead generation is a specialised marketing activity that can put a drain on resources. Businesses that are attracted to this option should consider their capabilities carefully.
Outsourced
The advantage of outsourcing is that it allows you to focus on what you do best, while the lead generation agency does what it does best. The disadvantage of this approach is that you make yourself reliant on another business, one whose goals may not always align with yours. To ensure that you choose the best possible partner, ask these several important questions when vetting potentials.
Do they have a proven track record?
If they are experienced professionals with a proven track record, you won’t have to worry about them not doing their jobs properly. If you try to cut costs by going with a cheaper, untried agency, however, you risk mistakes that could end up costing you a lot more than just the money paid for their subpar services.
Do they have experience in your industry?
The right partner will have experience in your industry. In fact, they will need to pass themselves off as you, so make sure that your chosen lead generation agency knows what they are trying to sell and who they are trying to sell it to.
Do they practice what they preach?
Any agency worth its salt will market itself in the same way that it intends to generate leads for its clients. If you are attracted to an agency by an effective email workflow or a tactful telemarketing call, you know at least that they believe in what they do.
Do they rely on time-tested processes and lead scoring?
A qualified lead generation agency will have finely-honed processes and a lead scoring system. WIth such a structures in place, they should be able to tell you where in your sales funnel a lead is before your sales team even picks up the phone.
The best approach?
The best approach for any business is determined by its appetite for risk. A business with well established core competencies might not want to put their reputation or revenue at risk, in which case the best option would be outsourced lead generation. Other, less risk-averse businesses, on the other hand, might feel that they can afford to make a few mistakes as they have less to lose. For this reason, they might want to experiment with doing lead generation in-house, though many will first take the opportunity to learn what they can from an outsourced lead generation agency.
If, after this, you feel that you need to understand more about lead generation before you can make an informed decision, you can download our guide on holistic lead generation which covers best practices for aligning both your outbound and Inbound lead generation channels. 
Image credit: http://mvmg.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com
