Setting Smarter Tech Consulting Firm Lead Generation Goals and Expectations

Any discussion of the firm’s marketing goals should begin with this statement: The business and marketing goals should be aligned and directly connected.

Why stress this? Firms with aligned business and marketing goals are 67% more effective at achieving their targets (Source: Forbes).

This assumes that the business goals and objectives are clear. If they are not, it is impossible to set effective marketing objectives.

I like to use the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) approach when mapping business and marketing outcomes. By doing so, we ensure alignment and provide a platform for monitoring and communications.

This alignment is imperative because it ensures that the firm is spending its money on activities that will actually help it achieve its business goals. If the goals are not aligned, then the company may be investing in activities that are not going to lead to meaningful results.

To put it simply, if you are not aligned, you waste time and money on marketing.

Goals

Lead quantity and quality are two primary elements used to establish marketing goals.

Everyone concentrates on quantity, which is normal and natural.

But we also want quality prospects and leads – those likely to progress over time into revenue-producing clients that have multiple projects and help us market to others just like them.

Thinking about the future and achieving consistent and predictable outcomes, goals should go beyond these two.

Other elements in the marketing goals for tech consulting firms include those that point to building future capability (content processes, operations, case studies, etc.) and the leading indicators of future lead generation success (website traffic, social media engagement, email engagement, and contact capture).

Your marketing goals should reflect near-term success (lead generation quantity and quality) and long-term success (i.e., contact growth, content production).

Marketing goals should be reviewed frequently, and most firms have monthly goals and KPI reporting cadence.

Campaign reporting and measurement may be more frequent and in real time than the normal process and timing.

Expectations

Tech consulting leaders should also have reasonable lead generation expectations. If your firm has had no or minimal lead generation capability and activity in the past, your expectations shouldn’t be equal to firms with finely tuned marketing departments and abilities.

Don’t expect hockey stick growth charts if you are just getting started with formal lead generation.

Instead, tech consulting leaders should take into account their team’s existing capabilities and resources when setting lead generation expectations.

Conversion of leads into projects is also an expectation that needs to be reasonable and data-driven. Forrester reports that the typical lead-to-customer conversion rate is about 5-10% for tech consulting firms.

It is commonly reported that only 3% of your market is in the buying stage of their journey when they engage with a potential vendor. That 3% is not the percentage of prospects that respond to your call to action. It’s the total in the entire market. Only a fraction of this will become a prospect for your firm.

Don’t be discouraged by the “small” percentage of the market that responds to your lead generation efforts. You don’t want every prospect. You want the ones that are right for your business.

Setting aligned, data-driven lead generation goals is crucial, but expectations must remain realistic. With sound strategies and commitment to continual optimization, tech consulting firms can work toward consistent and predictable lead targets that support their consulting firm’s growth.

Want to learn more about tech consulting firm lead generation?  Check out this new eBook and improve your lead generation results.