When it comes to running your own B2B appointment setting program, there are a lot of things to consider, but cost is a big one. While DIY lead generation is always an option for any company, it’s not always the smartest decision financially. The cost of a tool alone could be more than the cost of an outsourced inside sales program or an outsourced inbound lead generation program. No matter which lead generation strategy you choose, or if you decide to use a combination of both, it’s important to consider costs before running these programs in-house.
To save you time, we’ve put together a breakdown of the costs you’ll incur should you choose to manage your own B2B lead generation program for a 12-month period instead of working with a B2B lead generation company. There are three costs to consider: tools, staff, and overhead.
Tool Costs = $35,331
Any successful B2B appointment setting program requires a variety of tools. When it’s all said and done, the cost of the tools required to run your own outbound and inbound lead generation programs would be around $35,331. Professional lead generation companies already have all the tools needed to successfully generate leads, and their programs typically cost considerably less than what it would cost to acquire these tools on your own.
Outbound Lead Generation Tools
For outbound marketing, your team members will need data and prospecting tools to find new opportunities. Your sales reps will need a dialer and a high-functioning CRM to manage a book of business. To close more deals or measure program success, you may need a marketing automation tool.
- Database—A database is an essential tool for any sales program. It’s the starting point and the foundation of a solid sales pipeline. A database helps operations teams and sales reps find qualified leads. Targeting the right leads is key if you want to generate new revenue. Popular databases include Hoovers and SalesGenie. LinkedIn Premium can also be a great lead source and a way for sales reps to build valuable relationships with prospects.
- Dialer CRM software—A dialer CRM software helps sales reps in several ways. First, customer relationship management (CRM) software helps your company manage interactions and relationships with current and potential customers. A CRM helps your sales reps stay organized and also helps enhance relationships with customers. Second, a CRM with a dialer lists telephone numbers and connects answered dials to sales reps who are making calls. This makes sales reps more efficient by connecting them with as many potential customers as possible. Salesforce is a top CRM tool and popular choice for inside sales teams.
- Marketing automation—Marketing automation tools like Pardot can help companies create strong relationships, grow their pipeline, and close more deals. Marketing automation tools make it easier for sales teams to nurture the best leads and maximize ROI. Plus, it can track customer behaviors to provide insight as to how sales programs could be improved.
Tools are extremely important for prospecting to ensure you are only speaking with qualified leads in your target market. For example, using a database to research and find new prospects, a managed services provider (MSP) could determine the size of a company and gauge how many desktops they may be using. Or, a commercial cleaning company could gain access to data that would specify the square footage of various facilities (maybe they only want to target businesses with over 10,000 square feet). Tools help you find and target the right prospects so you can set B2B sales appointments and generate more revenue.
Inbound Lead Generation Tools
Inbound lead generation programs use digital marketing efforts to drive more traffic to your website. It helps users who are already searching for the products or services you offer find your business first, not your competitor’s. For this type of lead generation, you’ll need search engine optimization (SEO) tools and sometimes even a hosting platform to host a website if your current one isn’t providing any value to your business.
- SEO Tools—SEO tools like Google Analytics, Screaming Frog, BrightLocal, and Moz can all be helpful SEO tools. Screaming Frog analyzes the onsite and technical SEO of websites. BrightLocal helps you increase the visibility of your business on the web. Google Analytics provides an in-depth analysis of the visitors on your website. Lastly, Moz provides features that make inbound marketing and SEO easy while also offering knowledge pieces to help digital marketing professionals enhance their SEO knowledge.
- Website Hosting—Website hosting providers like Bluehost power millions of websites by allowing users and businesses to own their domain. From there, your business can use a website builder like WordPress to build their website. If you don’t own your domain, your website may not be accessible to anyone on the web. And, without a professional website builder like WordPress, you may not be able to design a professional website with the capabilities, functionality, and optimizations to be successful with an inbound marketing program.
Staff Costs = $471,000
When companies think of the staff they’ll need to hire for their own B2B lead generation program, they typically only think of inside sales representatives. In reality, a successful B2B appointment setting program requires more than just sales reps. You also need sales development representatives.
Beyond that, inbound lead generation programs require digital marketing professionals. Any good B2B lead generation program includes both outbound marketing and inbound marketing tactics. If you’re just using outbound marketing to generate new leads, you’re forgetting about a huge lead driver for your business: your website.
Here are the full-time team members and groups of people needed for a B2B lead generation program and the yearly salary for each:
- Sales Management Team – $140,000
- Social Media Manager – $39,000
- Graphic Designer – $36,000
- Quality Assurance – $39,000
- Digital Strategist – $60,000
- Web Developer – $46,00
- Inside Sales – $36,000
- Operations – $39,000
- Copywriter – $36,000
These numbers could be even higher depending on what city you’re hiring in. No matter what type of role you’re looking at, it’s usually going to cost less than the cost of one full-time employee to outsource your efforts. Plus, B2B lead generation companies don’t only provide the team and talent, but they have tools needed to run a successful program as well.
Overhead Costs = $13,437
Last but not least, another thing you need to consider when managing your own B2B lead generation program is overhead costs. Overhead expenses refer to the ongoing expenses of operating a business. Overhead costs can include things like accounting fees, advertising, insurance, interest, rent, repairs, supplies, taxes, and so on. Basically, anything that cannot be conveniently traced to, unlike labor.
When hiring staff for B2B lead generation, the main overhead expense you need to be concerned about is benefits (when outsourcing, you don’t have to worry about this at all). New hires require full benefits: life insurance, health coverage, a dental plan, etc. Let’s just say, for example, you hire nine full-time employees. The overhead expenses for benefits would come out to be about $13,437 (and, remember, this is for benefits and doesn’t even include salary). Overhead is a big thing to consider if you choose to take B2B lead generation efforts in-house.
Grand Total to Manage Your Own B2B Lead Generation Program = $519,768
When you take into account the cost of tools, staff, and overhead, your grand total for managing outbound and inbound B2B lead generation on your own for 12 months is $519,768 (source: Glassdoor, Payscale, and Indeed). That’s more than double what it would cost to work with a B2B lead generation company for inbound and outbound lead generation over the course of a year.
Maximize Opportunities By Working With a B2B Lead Generation Company
You may think there are benefits to keeping B2B lead generation efforts in-house; you have more control over processes; you can see exactly what’s going on at all times, etc. However, when looking at costs, it’s clear what the better option is.
Why not save yourself the time, cost, and headache of hiring your own team and buying your own tools? You can work with a B2B appointment setting partner that already has all of these things and will charge you a fraction of the price of what it would cost to manage a B2B lead generation program on your own. Plus, at Abstrakt Marketing Group, we provide our partners with full visibility into their program with our online portal technology. So, what are you waiting for? We have the team and tools to run a successful B2B lead generation program on your behalf.
Are you ready to see for yourself how professional B2B lead generation could maximize your opportunities and grow your business? Contact Abstrakt Marketing Group today to learn more. Or, download our infographic to use as your own free resource for when you may be considering the costs of B2B lead generation down the road.
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