What Options are there for Lead Generation on a Budget?

Before delving into Apollo, let’s take a moment to understand the current lead generation landscape. What are the different ways to generate leads, in the world of B2B? I won’t go into the topic in too much detail, since it’s a whole topic by itself. Let’s explore the obvious lead generation options.

Organic Lead Generation

This is the cheapest option! People come to you! How awesome is that. It is tough though, and can take a long time to see results. There are two main ways to get organic leads. These are by your social media (outside of paid ads) and by Search Engine Optimisation (SEO – see article on top tools to help your SEO efforts). Both can take a long time to grow into anything substantial. While you work on this in the background, you’ll need something else.

Paid Advertising

This is on the other side of the scale. It is probably the quickest way to get leads, but it is expensive. I repeat, it is expensive! The typical route here is via paid ads on Facebook or Google ads. You either pay per click on Google Search, or you pay for Google or Facebook to display your ads either on their respective platforms or on third-party websites.

If you are looking for lead generation on a budget, this is not for you. Each click or person reached costs more that you would like, and you can rinse through budgets in a flash.

Conferences and Events

This is a great way to meet people, and create connections. You can start conversations at focused events on topics that are sure to attract your perfect target customer. These connections can be valuable, and mean that you effectively automatically create ‘warm leads’, as opposed to ‘cold leads’.

The down side? Events are expensive. They normally charge an entry fee if you just want to attend (often above $1000). If you want to sponsor, or have your own table or display unit (foe example, like a trade show), then you might end up paying $5K, $10K, sometimes much more if its a high value event. Again, this is not my pick for companies looking to generate leads on a budget.

Lead Generation on a Budget: The Apollo Way

Affordable Lead Generation Tool Without Compromise

One of the primary reasons why Apollo stands out is its price without compromising on quality. The Apollo platform offers you a range of tools and features at a fraction of the cost compared to its competitors. Small businesses, startups, and solopreneurs can use it to compete on a level playing field without burning a hole in their pockets. If you’re looking for data on potential prospects, then its database is far cheaper than, say, ZoomInfo (see article on ZoomInfo vs Apollo tool comparison).

Apollo’s User-Friendly Interface

If you are an expert, or a novice, then Apollo’s user-friendly interface makes it a great option. The intuitive design makes for an easy lead generation process, ensuring that you can set up and manage campaigns with ease. This is particularly beneficial if you don’t have a dedicated marketing team. One comparison is Apollo email sequencing vs Sendgrid. The Sendgrid UI is awful in comparison. Apollo makes it easy for you. You can sequence. You can A/B test. It’s all integrated to the database too.

Apollo’s Data-Driven Decision Making

Apollo gives you actionable insights through its analytics and reporting features. Understanding your audience, tracking campaign performance, and optimising strategies leads to more informed decisions and better results. This data-driven approach is crucial if you are aiming to maximise your return on investment (ROI). The reporting isn’t perfect, but it has some great features such as metrics vs dimensions, so you can measure time of day, day of the week, subject line performance, A vs B vs C, and much more in a few clicks.

How Apollo.io Works

Targeted Outreach for Your Persona

Apollo’s advanced targeting means you can reach your ideal target persona. You can use data such as demographics, behaviour, intent, technology use, interests and other ways to find the ideal person at the ideal account. You can use this data so that your campaigns resonate with specific customer segments. This targeted approach not only increases the chances of conversion but also ensures that every marketing dollar is well-spent.

Apollo’s Automation and Plays

Time is money, and Apollo has some decent automation features, especially for this price point. The platform incorporates automation features that streamline repetitive tasks, saving you valuable time and resources. From email campaigns to social media outreach, automation allows you to maintain a consistent and impactful presence without the need for constant manual intervention.

Let’s say you want to send an email on day 1 of a campaign, send a LinkedIn connection request on day 3, send another email on day 5, and be notified when a prospect reaches a certain level of engagement (e.g. they’ve opened 3 emails). This kind of lead generation automation setup is doable, and can be very beneficial.

Integration with OtherTools in your Tech Stack

Apollo integrates with popular CRM systems and other marketing tools, providing a cohesive ecosystem for businesses. These integrations ensure that your lead generation efforts align with your broader marketing and sales strategies. It’s a plug-and-play solution that enhances efficiency and avoids the hassle of managing disparate systems.

To be more specific, whether you use Salesforce, Hubspot, Pipedrive or Zoho, there are ways to integrate your lead generation efforts with your marketing automation and/or CRM systems.

Tips for Maximising Apollo’s Potential

Continuous Learning and Optimisation

While Apollo is designed for ease of use, staying abreast of updates and continuously optimising your strategies is key. Attend webinars on lead generation, read the latest guides (ahem, this blog for example), and participate in marketing and sales communities to ensure you’re making the most of the platform’s features with best practice strategies.

A/B Testing

ABT: Always be Testing

Experimentation is crucial in the ever-evolving landscape. Apollo allows for easy A/B testing, enabling you to refine your approaches based on real-time data. This iterative process ensures that your lead generation efforts are always improving.

The Apollo.io Playbook for Lead Generation on a Budget

Create an account

I would recommend the professional plan, as one user. You can start you 14 day trial here.

The reason I suggest a professional plan, is that you can link up to 5 mailboxes with a professional plan, and only 1 mailbox with a basic plan. You can try the free plan, but it is very limiting and you won’t get far with your lead generation.

Set Up an Alternative Domain and Inboxes

You need to protect your root domain. If your domain is, for example, leadgen.com, then create a couple of subdomains (e.g. contact.leadgen.com), and set up up to 5 inboxes that use these subdomains. Alternatively, you can buy an alternate (perhaps similar) domain. I like GoDaddy, it’s got the easiest to use user interface and the domain prices are pretty standard whether it’s GoDaddy or NameCheap or elsewhere. You’ll also need to set up the SPF, DKIM and DMARC on those domains and inboxes.

Link your Mailboxes to Apollo

After you have set up your inboxes, including ensuring the configuration is all correct, you can connect the to Apollo.io. 

Source the Right Prospects

Use Apollo’s prospect finder feature to find the relevant contacts you want to include in campaigns. Think about job titles, company size, revenue, funding, location, interests, intent and anything else you can use to refine your search. Remember, the more targeted it is, the better the campaign is likely to perform.

Set Up your First Campaigns

Create your first campaigns. You can use a mixture of email, LinkedIn, or other channels (e.g. phone, other socials etc) to start engaging with potential prospects.

Review and Iterate

Make sure you are regularly iterating. This is key to understanding the efficacy of the messaging, targets, data and methods of engaging with your audiences.

That’s it. My quick guide to generating leads with Apollo. You can check out their website here.