A business cannot grow without customers, clients, and business partners. And with so many other business out there, it needs a way of generating leads to target the right entity at the right time. There are several ways to go about business-to-business (B2B) lead generation. To save time and hassle, many businesses outsource their lead generation services so they can simply focus on contacting the right businesses. For years, businesses have been buying lists from such services with the goal of collecting the email addresses of several potential leads. But is list buying the best way to find leads – and is it worth the cost?
Advantages of List Buying
The main benefit of list buying is quick access to a large pool of potential leads. It’s certainly the fastest way to find a lead. The lead generation service scours the web for data relevant to your business’ needs. Then, once they’ve found a suitable number of candidates, they present this data to the business, which can then start contacting these leads.
In the past, list buying was very generalized, making it difficult for a business to retrieve worthwhile email addresses within the pile. However, list buying has gotten much more targeted and customizable over the years. Today, many lead generation companies provide detailed list buying services with customization options regarding demographics and geographic location. These services may also highlight certain leads that seem like prime candidates, and even come up with unique sales pitches.
Disadvantages of List Buying
While list buying has certainly improved in recent years, it might not be the best of all lead generation strategies. Cheaper list buying services might not offer the customization options that better services do. These companies will still provide a business with plenty of leads, but it’s likely only few of them will stick.
Part of the problem here is that certain list buying services provide similar data to multiple clients. When this happens, these leads end up receiving several similar emails from different places – and they wind up in a spam folder or directly to the trash. Any business that chooses to purchase leads is at risk of this. To work around it, businesses should avoid email templates and create unique pitches to each of their leads.
Businesses might also run into lists without data or information. Potential leads might no longer be available, or email addresses might not work anymore. The data vendor itself should be on top of such things, but the inquiring business should do its research before buying lists from just any vendor.
Quality over Quantity
In the end, a business should want to get leads that are targeted, relevant, and ripe with sale potential. Of all the lead generation strategies, list buying falls under the category of “quantity,” but that doesn’t mean it can’t offer quality leads. List buying shouldn’t be the only B2B lead generation method a business employs, but it can provide a solid foundation for businesses looking for new partners.
ProScout Lead Generation Services gets the best data for its clients. Through telephone, marketing, and data scouting, ProScout can help your business find the right leads efficiently. Contact us at our Chattanooga or Nashville, TN offices here to learn more!
