Lead Generation for Machine Manufacturers: Effective Strategies to Attract the Right Buyers

Machines are key to driving industrial growth and boosting economic development in manufacturing. Without them, progress in crucial industries like food processing, automotive, and energy would slow down. The aftermath would be a huge innovation, infrastructure, and employment setback.

But for all your hard work in development, design, and quality control, there’s another piece of the puzzle you need to tackle more often: finding the right buyers. 

If the right people don’t find you or understand why you’re the best supplier for their needs, that could mean missed opportunities and slower business growth. This not only affects your company’s success but could also impact the broader market, particularly when it comes to maintaining a stable supply chain.

So, how do you ensure you get the right eyes on your products without slowing down your operations? By generating the right leads. Here are a few expert tips on how to do it for your manufacturing business. 

Key Takeaways

• Keep a steady flow of leads to keep your business running smoothly and avoid stretching your resources too thin.
• Understand who your ideal customers are and who the key decision-makers are to make sure you’re connecting with the right people.
• Use a mix of your website, industry platforms, and social media to get noticed and attract potential leads.
• Blend inbound and outbound lead generation methods to effectively reach and engage leads, tweaking your approach based on what works best for you.

A Steady Stream of Leads Is a Strong Start

A consistent flow of leads means you always have new potential clients ready to do business with you, which helps keep your workload steady. 

However, that’s often easier said than done. Many companies lack the resources and expertise to implement a lead generation system – even if they have an internal sales team.

For example, a sales team might be very skilled at managing existing accounts and closing deals. Still, it might not have specialized roles like Sales Development Representatives (SDRs), who focus on lead generation and prospecting.

With SDRs or similar roles, the internal sales team might have the bandwidth and expertise to effectively identify, nurture, and convert new leads. However, they might also need more expert tools or strategies for the same purpose.

That’s why many of them need to be careful about the types of orders and who they take them from. They should avoid orders that are…

• Difficult or expensive to make
• Don’t come around often, or
• Don’t fit well with what they do best.

For example, a machine shop might receive a one-time order for a highly custom-built machine that requires big modifications. Sounds lucrative, right? But this type of order might not be ideal if it’s complicated and infrequent, pulling resources away from more consistent and profitable projects. 

Not to mention, taking on projects from poor-fit leads could strain their resources because they require skills or equipment they don’t normally use. This means their team might become stretched thin, and they might incur increased costs for special materials and extra help, experience delays, and face disruptions to their regular workflow—the list goes on.

A lead generation program should help them attract the right kinds of orders that match their strengths and focus on what they do well. This will improve their results and make them more successful in the short and long term.

Know Exactly Who You’re Selling to (and Where to Find Them)

Even if a machine manufacturer thinks they’ve nailed down their target audience, they can still miss nuances.

Let’s say they might correctly identify a large automotive company as their ideal customer – this company fits their ICP perfectly. However, they might not be sure exactly who within that company (AKA, the buyer persona) is the best person to approach.

So, imagine that the same manufacturer contacts the Head of Procurement, thinking they handle all buying decisions. But, in reality, the key decision-maker for high-precision machinery might be the Manufacturing Operations Manager.

Without precise buyer personas, they might waste time and resources reaching out to the people who aren’t the primary decision-makers or influencers for their product. 

Still, struggling with ICPs versus buyer personas? We’ve got you covered with our targeting showdown.

Have a Web Presence

Your buyers will consider factors like supplier reliability, cost, quality, and delivery times before making a substantial purchase. 

How will they be doing that? Most likely through the web. That’s not to say that a manufacturer shouldn’t launch print ads to reach its target client. But let’s think about where a lot of people go first.

Or somebody will refer you to them. But relying solely on referrals is, as we often say, the precursor to a feast-and-famine cycle. A solid web presence can keep your business away from it. 

So, what’s in a manufacturer’s web presence checklist?

A Website

It’s a given. 63% of manufacturers use website content to educate their audience about their business. In addition, industrial websites using quote and contact forms as a lead-gen strategy see an average conversion rate of 3%. 

You need a website, and we’ll assume you already have one. That said, we always tell our clients to avoid having “website tunnel vision.” What do we mean by that?

Your website shouldn’t exist in a silo. It needs to be a step in your funnel, and ideally, people should be landing on your site with some level of interest. Although you can’t control who lands on your website, you can control where some leads come from. 

That’s why you need your message to be visible and consistent where your audience hangs out, be it social media or Product Sourcing/Supplier Discovery platforms.

Speaking of which…

Sourcing Platform Listings

Platforms like Thomasnet.com help you showcase products and services, making it easier for potential buyers to find you. They boost any manufacturer’s visibility, as many buyers trust established directories when looking for suppliers.

Buyers can use advanced search filters to find specific products or services, so having a well-optimized profile increases their chances of appearing in relevant searches and attracting the best leads.

These platforms also allow you to message buyers directly, build detailed quotes and terms, and get paid quickly. This is a favorable option for those who enjoy having a “middle person” handle deals.

Some Social Media Presence

Your audience, even if they’re eagerly looking for a supplier, won’t be in search mode 24/7. They’ll also be browsing Instagram, Facebook, and other social channels during their spare time. 

You should be where they’re at – even when they’re not doing business. Imagine they’re searching and trying to decide between you and another supplier. During a scrolling break, they see a sponsored post highlighting your machinery on their feed. This just might be the push they need to make a decision.

For that strategy to work, you need to know where your audience likes to browse online. While LinkedIn is all the rage in the B2B industry, a platform like SparkToro can help you pinpoint the best channels to reach your audience. 

Inbound Vs. Outbound

Should your leads come to you? Or should you go to them? What’s the best approach for generating leads?

Both approaches are effective and valid as long as you test them and consider factors like your industry, your prospects’ buying cycles, and your available resources. 

Inbound

If 57% of industrial buyers make buying decisions before interacting directly with a manufacturing company. That means they will likely look at your website, social media, or platforms where you’ve listed your business. That’s inbound: it focuses on attracting prospects actively searching for your equipment. 

The great thing about inbound is that if you’re consistently building trust through valuable content and information, you have already “planted your seed.” Whoever gets in touch with you might’ve done their research. As a result, they might be coming to you with a higher level of interest versus if you had reached out to them. 

On the other hand, if you’re looking for quicker returns, inbound will likely disappoint you. It naturally takes longer to see results as you build your online presence and attract leads.

Outbound

Outbound marketing involves connecting with prospects who might not be actively searching for your products. This approach lets you target specific companies or industries, often starting conversations and, with the right approach, generating leads more quickly. Plus, you have more control over who you contact and how often.

Outbound strategies (like cold email outreach) get a mixed reputation. They can come across as pushy if not done thoughtfully, and they might not always convert well if the prospects aren’t already interested.

So, which approach to choose? 

Analyzing your prospects’ behavior and preferences (by analyzing your metrics and CRM data, monitoring engagement, and surveying your audience), as well as your own team’s strengths, can help you determine the best approach.

However, combining both has proven effective for many companies. Here’s how inbound marketing and outbound sales should work together.

Outsourcing Services vs. In-House

Similar to inbound vs. outbound, choosing between in-house and outsourced lead generation depends on what works best for your company. 

If you handle lead generation in-house, you control the process from top to bottom. Your team can craft personalized outreach based on a deep understanding of your products and align efforts with the marketing department. However, this can be costly and time-consuming if your team doesn’t have access to lead-gen tools or expertise.

Outsourcing lead generation, on the other hand, means tapping into an agency’s specialized knowledge and tools. This can be more scalable as it removes the burden of prospecting and outreach—arguably the hardest parts of the process. 

But here’s a caveat: if the agency you hire isn’t transparent about its processes, you might have less control over how things are done, and the strategies might not be as customized. Plus, while it can be cheaper than hiring a full-time team, agency costs can add up over time if there are hidden fees. Don’t hold back; take your time looking for an honest lead generation agency. 

With all that in mind, many companies find that a mix of both approaches works best. For example, they might use an agency for some tasks (such as prospecting and outreach) while keeping some marketing efforts in-house. This way, they get the best of both worlds and can adjust based on their business needs.

Over to You

Here’s the problem with casting the widest net possible: some trout may also swim along when aiming to catch bass. While that might seem like the logical strategy for earning the most leads, it leads to teams wasting their time on those without a chance of converting.

Lead generation needs to be “ITA”: intentional, targeted, and authentic.

By investing in outbound sales development tools like RevBoss, your sales team is set up to lock down your ideal clients so you can focus on connecting with the right buyers who need your machinery right now. Get in touch with us today!