Mari Anne Vanella is a lead generating expert. As CEO of the The Vanella Group, a firm specializing in B2B lead generation, she understands how to get businesses what they want: more leads.

I was curious to know how lead generating experts use their own website as a lead generating tool. So I caught up with Mari recently. After picking her brain, I came away with three important lessons:

1. Focus Until Your Head Hurts

Vanella makes it as easy as possible for web visitors to know what they do. They have a niche and they don’t hide it. The first sentence of the home page tells you what you need to know within seconds.

The Vanella Group, Inc. is the leading provider of expert, high-quality, B2B telemarketing and telesales-based lead generation services exclusively for technology companies.

Many businesses do a decent job focusing on a specialty offline, but surprisingly few are able to communicate it quickly and effectively online.

As Mari put it, “Avoid a laundry list of benefits and services. Instead, find a few things people are searching for and that they are most likely to call you for. If your messages are crisp and targeted, people will connect.”

2. Beware of Email Squashing

Just because email is free doesn’t mean you need to squash your list and overload them with content. The Vanella Group is very deliberate about what they send to their list and how often.

Think about your own email inbox. Does it not frustrate you to see the same companies pop up on a daily basis with information that’s not important to you?

The key to email marketing is relevancy. The more targeted and relevant your emails are, the more often you can send. The Vanella Group segments their list by job title and creates different targeted emails for different segments. For instance, they may send one email to CEOs and a completely different email to product managers.

3. Share the (Marketing) Love

Although your website is a valuable marketing channel, don’t forget about traditional methods such as trade shows and networking. Mari and her team continue to work offline just as much as they do online.

The fastest growing companies are those that diversify their marketing strategy. In order to optimize your reach within your target audience, explore both on and offline lead generating tactics.

For more information on lead generation, check out these related articles:

  • Lead Generation Strategies for Professional Services Firms
  • How to Build Your Professional Services Lead Generation Plan