General
Effective Lead Generation Strategies You Should Try
“We need more leads”
If you’re in sales and marketing, you’ve probably heard these words or said them to your team.
Rightly so, since growing the business depends on your ability to attract high-quality leads and gradually turn them into paying customers.
For this to happen, you’ll need lead generation strategies that increase brand awareness, generate interest in your products/services, and encourage potential customers to engage.
Strategies that create new opportunities for you to capitalize on and close.
To that end, we have laid out five tactics that may help boost your lead generation efforts.
1. Invest in Lead Generation Software
Sales and marketing teams spend a lot of time collecting and analyzing contact information manually. The process is tedious, time-consuming, and may yield inaccurate results.
Lead generation software makes work easier by automating the process, allowing your team to focus on other aspects of selling.
The software captures a visitor’s information at points of contact, whether that is a visit to your landing page or a document download, etc. You’ll learn how potential customers are interacting with your business and customize their journey accordingly.
Here are some features to look out for:
- Ease of use: look for software that’s designed for marketing teams not web developers or programmers. The team should be able to use the software without referring to or dabbling in code.
- Integrations: your preferred software should sync seamlessly with your existing Martech stack. This will make for effective inter-tool communication and reporting.
- Scalability: software that can grow with you is software worth investing in. The system should have the capacity to handle expanding operations and related needs.
- Analytics: the ability to analyze collected data and generate reports will help you streamline marketing efforts, improve operational efficiency, and improve customer interactions. Go for software that can help you do this.
2. Host Joint Venture Webinars
At some point, you realize that you’ve pitched your products/services to existing audiences and now need to find new audiences to generate sales.
Joint venture webinars are an excellent way to reach new audiences with your message. You partner with brands in complementary niches to pitch to a fresh audience.
Here are ways to make joint venture webinars more impactful:
- Choose the right partner. The best partnerships are those that involve companies that offer complementary products/services, have complementary customers, and audiences that are interested in the partnered event.
- Promote the webinar. Work with your partner to create a promotional kit that ensures your narrative and takeaways are the same – think email copy, images, videos, etc. Choose distribution channels that work for both companies.
- Prepare, prepare, prepare. Conduct dry runs to help the presenters get comfortable with each other, the webinar software, and equipment. The dry runs will help you pick up any technical difficulties that can be dealt with before the big day.
- Follow up. Capitalize on the interest you’ve generated to follow up right after the event and convert those audiences to qualified leads.
3. Create Gated Content
It takes tremendous time and effort to research, compile and package valuable information for audiences.
Putting it behind a gate means those who are genuinely interested in what you’re saying won’t mind trading their contact info for it.
Not only does gating content increase your likelihood of capturing good leads, but also gives you better insights into what prospects are looking for.
Best practices include:
- Create an optimized landing page for the specific gated content. Let the message focus solely on the material you’re sharing to ensure your visitor doesn’t get distracted and leave without completing the action.
- There is more to gated content other than PDFs. Many marketers associate gated content with PDF documents, but these aren’t the only options or formats available. You can create video series, webinars, exclusive access, exclusive communities, templates, and checklists.
- Quality over quantity. A short,information-packed e-book does more for your business and reputation than a hundred-page one full of fluff. Observe proper editing principles and deliver high-quality work.
- Make navigation easy. Use the clickable table of contents, ensure any links embedded on the document work, and use images to make the information more palatable.
4. Make Cold Calls
Research by RAIN GROUP shows that many senior levels buyers prefer to be contacted on the phone. By senior level, we’re talking c-suite and VP buyers—just the group you want to target.
Cold calling provides a platform for tapping into new markets and gaining key information concerning your target market’s needs, challenges, and expectations.
So how about brainstorming your value proposition then getting on the phone to lock in that deal?
Here are some considerations:
- Know what prospects want. Tough? Not really. Buyers are looking for ways to solve their current problems. By sharing detailed information about the features and services your solutions provide, you can influence their decisions.
- Pre-qualify prospects. Now that you know what prospects want, it’s time to pre-qualify them. Develop strong buyer personas to help you understand your target market and identify brands with the potential to turn into customers.
- Prepare for the call. Come up with a script that comprises a strong opener, a middle, and a conclusion. Test different opening statements to find the one that draws in prospects. Your middle should contain key features of your products/services, questions for the prospect, FAQs, and objections. In the conclusion is where you ask for your goal.
- Follow up. Cold calling experts say it takes on average five follow-up calls to get leads to convert. While it’s easy to give up after one or two follow-ups, don’t do it. Persistence is key in this business.
5. Leverage Email Marketing
With over 300 billion emails exchanged daily, email marketing is an effective communication channel between brands and their customers.
B2B sellers use this channel to build relationships, send out promotions, and stay in touch with customers—past, current, and potential.
Having said that, the email marketing technique will only be successful if you have the right contacts and adopt the right approach. This approach includes:
- Updating your email list. An updated and clean list ensures you reach your target audiences with messages that interest them in your offerings.
- Keeping email content concise. Life is fast-paced, readers are busy, and hardly have the time to read through lengthy emails. Shorter emails with visuals or images that can be read on the go are preferable.
- Scrap the “no-reply” email address. It makes your company look dubious, and your email just might end up in the trash. It also limits the subscriber’s ability to reach you, which may cost you countless leads.
- Link emails to specific landing pages. When a reader clicks through to your site, send them to a landing page that correlates with the email and shares more information. It saves them from navigating your site looking for information and possibly losing interest and leaving.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has approached the court against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over an alleged N800 billion campaign fund diversion.
The organisation is seeking to compel the electoral body to investigate allegations that about N800 million from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations was diverted by governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to finance political and campaign activities.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1426/2026, was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja last week, but no date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
SERAP is asking the court to issue an order of mandamus directing INEC to investigate the claims that the governors channelled public funds into a dedicated campaign account allegedly meant to support President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
The organisation is also requesting an order compelling INEC to demand full disclosure from the governors and the APC on any contributions made to such a campaign fund, including the identities of donors and the lawful sources of the funds.
In addition, SERAP wants the electoral commission to commence a comprehensive review of compliance with Section 91 of the Electoral Act by political parties and candidates, particularly regarding campaign financing and the sources of political donations.
According to SERAP, the allegations raise fundamental concerns about transparency in political financing, electoral fairness and the constitutional rights of Nigerians to participate freely in democratic governance.
The organisation argued that opaque campaign financing remains a major avenue for corruption and weakens public confidence in democratic institutions.
It maintained that the alleged misuse of public funds for political purposes threatens the credibility of the 2027 general election and undermines public trust in the electoral process.
In the suit filed by its lawyers, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare and Ms Kehinde Oyewumi, SERAP argued that the reported diversion of public resources for campaign activities warrants immediate action by INEC under its constitutional and statutory responsibilities.
The group stated: “The abuse of state resources for electoral advantage undermines democratic integrity and public trust. Fairness, transparency, and accountability in political or campaign finance are essential safeguards against corruption, state capture, and undue influence in democratic processes.”
SERAP further argued: “The allegations of diversion or opaque use of public funds pose a grave risk to the integrity of the 2027 general elections.”
The organisation said large-scale public financial allocations, combined with weak oversight and limited transparency, provide sufficient grounds for INEC to activate its investigative powers.
Referring to Section 91 of the Electoral Act, SERAP noted that the law empowers INEC to regulate political donations, enforce contribution limits, demand disclosure of funding sources and impose sanctions where violations occur.
The organisation explained that political parties found to have exceeded donation limits risk fines of up to ₦10 million and forfeiture of excess funds, while individuals who exceed prescribed limits are liable to penalties amounting to five times the excess contribution.
SERAP also contended that campaign financing derived from public resources distorts electoral competition and violates constitutional principles guaranteeing free, fair and transparent elections.
According to SERAP, INEC has a constitutional duty to ensure compliance with campaign finance regulations and to investigate allegations that could compromise the integrity of the electoral process.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has shifted the deadline for political parties to submit the names and credentials of candidates seeking to contest the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections.
The electoral body announced that parties now have until midnight on Tuesday, July 14, to complete the process, extending the earlier deadline of Saturday, July 11.
Under INEC’s timetable for the 2027 general election, political parties were expected to upload the names and personal particulars of their presidential, Senate and House of Representatives candidates before the initial cut-off date.
Explaining the decision, INEC said the extension followed appeals from political parties that had encountered difficulties meeting the deadline.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr Mohammed Haruna, said the request was formally conveyed through the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC).
According to him, IPAC sought additional time on behalf of parties that were yet to complete the submission of their candidates’ details through the commission’s portal.
“The decision to extend was based on an appeal by the Inter-Party Advisory Council, on behalf of political parties who were unable to upload the names and personal particulars of their candidates within the scheduled timeline,” Mr Haruna stated.
INEC noted that the extension is intended to give all eligible parties a fair opportunity to comply with the requirements of the electoral process while remaining within the framework of the law.
The commission also urged political parties to utilise the extra period to finalise and upload all required information ahead of the revised deadline.
“The commission enjoins political parties to take advantage of this window of opportunity and ensure that all necessary details are uploaded before the expiration of the new deadline,” the statement added.
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigeria’s Vice President, Mr Kashim Shettima, will run as the vice-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 presidential election.
President Bola Tinubu retained Mr Shettima as his running mate for re-election next year, according to the National Chairman of the APC, Mr Nentawe Yilwatda.
In a post on Friday on X, the ruling party chairman described this as “another significant milestone in the journey of our great party.”
He also said it reaffirms the party’s collective resolve to sustain the Renewed Hope Agenda and deepen the progress already being recorded across the country.
It was gathered that Mr Tinubu submitted his presidential nomination forms today through his Special Adviser on Political and Other Matters, Mr Ibrahim Masari.
The submission was done ceremony at the Continental Hotel, Abuja, attended by several party chieftains, including The event brought together an impressive array of leaders of our great party, including the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and Governor of Imo State, Mr Hope Uzodimma; Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State, as well as other governors, party executives and critical stakeholders from across the federation.
“The All Progressives Congress remains focused on strengthening its grassroots support, consolidating the achievements of the Renewed Hope Agenda and working together to build a more prosperous, secure and inclusive Nigeria for all,” the party leader stated.
