Lead generation is the marketing process that involves the invocation of customer interest in a particular product or service and subsequently capturing it with the specific targeted purpose of developing a sustainable sales pipeline. Lead generation relies on technological advances in telecommunication and those alike. Recent trends include social media use alongside professional business websites.

The volume of information available on the internet allows for the customer to be “self-directed”. The customer does their own research and the power is theirs to make their own buying decisions. Because of this, even the seemingly best Lead Generation plans can prove to be ineffective.

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Below are some of the worst lead generation tactics.

1. Relying purely on in-house lead generation experts: A whole lot of business ventures and firms out there believe that if the lead generation task isn’t handled by their own employees, the intended messages aren’t guaranteed to reach the target audience. The fear associated with an outsourced team is mostly misrepresentation. A team that specializes in lead generation may be of great benefit to a dealership as it can offer tactics that an in-house team that specializes in other aspects of the business might not have come up with.
   
   
2. Depending solely on face to face lead generation: Present day technology allows contact between the customer and the business without the need for a personal meet and greet. There are countless avenues of contact that can be achieved before or even totally without meeting in person. Inbound marketing is the way of the 21^st
   
   
3. Single Sales Channels: This is perhaps the single biggest mistake a dealership can make. The assumption that a single channel can effectively reach your entire desired client base is misplaced and misleading. Operating a business based on this model is very limiting and leaves a lot of potential clients behind. It is best to utilize many sales channels to not only draw in a greater number of interested leads, but also to study which channels are serving the dealership most and which are not working well. That information is invaluable.
   
   
4. The need for large volumes of leads, verifiable or not: A common mistake many companies make is the assumption that the larger the number of leads the better. While this can be a good indication that your lead generation tactics are effective, more is not always better. Quality of leads should be the focus when it comes to Boat sales. The reason for this being, sorting out leads by priority enables your dealership to close a more reliable volume of leads.
   
   
5. An All Star lead generation team: Lead generation individuals don’t necessarily have to be top experts on your products or services’ specifics. The folks can be saved for the tougher bit that is closing the deal. The lead generation team should basically be well versed in creation of personal relationships.
   
   
6. Ignoring the current clients: As we have discussed in earlier blogs, it is more costly for a business to generate new leads than it is to keep existing customers. While new lead generation is important, neglecting customers who have already made a purchase is a fatal mistake in any business. Dealership success is largely dependent on maintaining a loyal clientele base.

There is an unbelievable amount of bad lead generation strategies out there. The worst part is they can seem like pretty good ideas at first, until the numbers start to reveal themselves. This is a fairly common occurrence in most startup businesses. Benchmarking other seasoned and established firms can go a long way in highlighting the little mistakes likely to pop up once in a while. The six common lead generation mistakes discussed herein should barely act as the starting point; keep an open eye out for regressive strategies. The most important aspect of today’s business atmosphere and lead generation/follow up is technology. Staying in tune with current trends in technology will see that your business with stay afloat and flourish.

References
http://www.marketingcharts.com/traditional/whats-the-good-and-bad-with-lead-gen-depends-whos-asked-47203/, https://www.inveniomarketing.com/bad-lead-generation-tips-good-colleagues-social-proof-gone-wrong/,  https://www.marketo.com/lead-generation/