Build your list, do not buy it! – #leadgeneration, #marketingautomation

I attended this webinar on B2B #leadgeneration yesterday.  In this day and age of marketing, this slide made me completely crazy.

When asked, “What are your biggest B2B Lead Generation Challenges?”  the number 2 answer (with 42% of the votes)  was  “Lack of high quality data/lists to drive campaign.”  In what century are these people living?

The days of buying a list and then spamming them with unwanted email are over.  You need to use every tactic available to draw people to your website, webinar or tradeshow booth and then turn them into a prospect by getting them to swap their email address for some piece of content, information or insight that you are offering.

Starting with a purchased list of “technology buyers” or “decision makers” or “users of product X” is usually just a big waste of money.  It is like going to an industry event and trading a badge scan for a chance to win a tablet or some other technology gadget.   You end up with a big list of people who want that tablet or that gadget, and you then have to spend time just to figure out who MIGHT be interested in your product or service.

You have to trade something of value that indicates real interest in your product or service for your prospects very valuable contact information. By accepting your offer, that should indicate the topic in which they are interested.  That puts them on a segmented list that is used to drive a nurture campaign.  You have to engage with those prospects and turn them into REAL LEADS.  That is how it is done in this century.