According to the 2023 Djinni research, the job that recruiters most frequently reach out to candidates for first (rather than the other way around) is Lead Generators. Our Operations Manager, Recruiter & Sourcer Lead, Marina, believes that this statistic indicates a growing demand for Lead Generators in recent times. Marina gave a lecture on "Diving into Lead Generation" in one of EvoTalents.Schoolʼs webinars.
In this article, we will discuss the most important points from her lecture. For a deeper understanding of the world of recruiting, sourcing, and lead generation, we recommend visiting our online school's page for more detailed information.
Inbound & Outbound Marketing
At first glance, you might wonder what marketing has to do with it. The answer is that lead generation processes intersect with sales, recruiting, and marketing. So, it's essential to understand each of these aspects separately.
Inbound Marketing is based on the idea that clients find your business on their own. They do this through recommendations from friends or colleagues, by coming across a successful case or your company's content on social media. The main goal here is to create an image of your business through methods that don't involve direct outreach to leads. Leads come to you on their own terms. It's important to note that this process can be lengthy because building reputation and image takes time (at least 10-12 months). A person might hear about your company or see its content several times before remembering you and showing loyalty.
On the other hand, when a business needs leads quickly despite a global crisis, the situation in the country, or other circumstances, Outbound Marketing comes to the rescue. In this scenario, the company actively approaches leads because there's no time to wait. This approach aligns with lead generation. You reach out to potential leads personally to generate interest in your product.
ICP. Ideal Customer Profile
Before creating and promoting anything, it's crucial to understand who your target audience is. For example, if you work with small product companies (50-100 employees), your ideal customer profile won't involve targeting an outsourcing company with around 1000 employees. Even if you manage to initiate discussions about your service, the chances of fruitful cooperation are lower.
All the factors necessary to create an ideal customer profile depend on what you're promoting and whom you're looking for (B2B or B2C, freelancer or a standalone player in the market). Nevertheless, there are some fundamental components of ICP.
For example, revenue. Marina explains its importance with an example from EvoTalents:
“We work with various clients: outsourcing companies, product companies, startups just getting started, and large companies. They're all different. So, we decide where to go, who we need to find, and where our leads are. We compile a list of everyone we've ever interacted with. Then we do analytics every six months and annually. We look at which clients brought us the most revenue. For example, we had excellent cooperation with a certain company; we hired five people for them, but the overall cost of the work was lower because the positions were for entry-level specialists. So, it's essential to track and document such moments. It's easier to understand if a particular company fits our ICP.”
Here are the main components of ICP (for B2B):
- Age group
- Decision-maker's position
- Industry
- Company size
- Income
- Location
By defining all these aspects, you'll have a better understanding of what your potential clients should look like. If you don't have a specific niche yet, it's essential to test hypotheses. Generate various ICPs, see what works best, analyze the data you receive, and draw conclusions.
Mass Mailing
LinkedIn is undoubtedly a suitable platform for contacting your ICP. You can use it as a single channel or multiple ones. For instance, you can send emails and build a LinkedIn campaign with invitations, messages, and follow-ups.
Marina shares her insights on LinkedIn:
“LinkedIn is a professional networking platform. So, it's worth building relationships there, even for the long term. It's a game of perspective. We add candidates today, and maybe in a month, we'll approach them with an offer, or they will reach out to us themselves.”
When it comes to mass mailing, some automation tools can help:
- MixMax (allows you to send emails only)
- Woodpecker
- Lemlist (enables you to build a funnel from the first email to follow-up on LinkedIn with personalized settings)
- Mailchimp
We would like to remind you that you can learn even more about lead generation by watching Marina's webinar on EvoTalents.School. The information in this article is just 30% of all the valuable insights Marina shares with the school's students.
