I was given a press copy of a recent benchmark study by the Wellesley Hills Group, “What’s Working in Lead Generation,” which provides plenty of insight into professional services firms attitudes and activities in getting new business. What caught my eye right away, was what participants identified as their top 5 most effective lead generation tactics:
1. Making warm phone calls (to existing clients)
2. Speaking at conferences
3. Running our own in-person events
4. Becoming members of professional industry organizations
5. Connecting with press contacts
In a competitive market (84% of respondents expect a “significant” or “moderate” increase in their lead generation efforts within the next 2 years) whether you are a boutique firm or a large firm, you should expect that your competitors will be contacting your clients and prospects — by phone and at events. Also, if you’re workday is anything like mine, the default forms of communication have become asynchronous (e-mail, texting, etc.). There is now added value in a phone call — seems like it really is the next best thing to being there.
For more information, you can download an executive summary of the report, which asked 700 professional service firm leaders about their lead generation activities. I will post some more revelations once I get further into the study.
