Inbound Lead Capture Forms

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First, you need a means by which to capture these inbound leads in a structured format. In the previous chapter, we talked about setting up a sales@yourcompanyname.com inbox as an early solution. And that can work to start—it’s definitely much better than nothing. But it also makes for a really difficult time of capturing the relevant demand signifiers in a helpful way. So as soon as you’re able, swap that email link out for a big fat Request Demo call to action on your homepage (ideally following the user down the page), and then point that button at some sort of form that lets you capture structured data. Don’t make it subtle. If someone shows up on your homepage and is eager to talk to you, make it damn easy.

Below are some examples of how to do this.

Figure: Demo Call to Action on HIRABL Website

Source: HIRABL

Textio uses a free trial that acts as the primary call to action (but which routes through a lead data-capture form).

Figure: Textio Free Trial Offer

Source: Textio

Your form tool, to start, could be something simple built with Google Forms, Wufoo, Typeform, or what have you. They’re all pretty much the same, and all you want to do is allow the prospect to express interest in a structured way. Make sure the form works on mobile, as that’s where a lot of your email outreach will be read. Often CRMs’ lead capture forms (like Salesforce’s Web-to-Lead) will include a feature that routes those leads directly into lead objects in the CRM, and can even provide a prospect-facing response email and a notification email to alert you to a new inbound lead.

What information do you want to capture? Resist the temptation to go crazy here. The biggest thing you’re trying to capture is qualification information and a means by which to get in touch with the person. Honestly, the minimum minimum could be a work email address and phone number, if you believe that you can garner all of the relevant qualification data from a company website or LinkedIn with just the name of the company (from the email domain!).

That said, that level of minimalism might be a little weird given that most prospects are used to providing name and company, so I typically recommend first name, last name, company name, title (this quartet helps you understand who you’re talking to); email address and phone number (this provides you the means by which to get in contact—and remember, these leads are asking you to get in touch, so definitely ask them for their phone numbers); and then the minimum viable demand signifiers that you can’t get on your own.

Here are some examples of demo request forms.

HIRABL asks for the type of ATS/CRM that a recruiting agency uses.

Figure: HIRABL Demo Request Form

Source: HIRABL

Textio can get all the demand signifiers they need from looking at company career pages (though they really should ask for a phone number).

Figure: Textio Free Trial Request Form

Source: Textio

Immediately probably could find out how many salespeople a given account has worldwide on their own using LinkedIn, so they don’t really need to ask that. But knowing the email system and CRM system the lead runs is important for their qualification process, so it’s good they ask for it.

Figure: Immediately Demo Request Form

Source: Immediately

Once you have a form set up, in addition to adding those Request Demo calls to action on your homepage (and other relevant pages on your website), you need to make sure it’s merchandised in your outreach emails, as well. In most of those emails, you likely have a direct call to action like, “Just go ahead and respond to get something scheduled,” but putting a link to your demo request form in your footer is a good addition.

Lastly, there are folks who like to get in touch the old fashioned way, and for them that means a phone number. You might think that putting a phone number (even if it’s just for your cell phone) might lead to unwanted things like vendors calling you, or unqualified leads calling you and wasting your time. I assure you, your bigger problem is people not caring about you rather than there being too much inbound. Instead, consider the decision-maker who is interested in getting a response really quickly, and used to doing business on the phone (salespeople and recruiters are frequently verbal people, not text people), staring at your demo request form, cousins of which they’ve filled out so many times before with nary a response. Plus, typing is hard. And so she closes the tab instead of requesting that demo, because you didn’t populate a number. Populating a phone number somewhere on that demo request form gets you that demo. And make sure that phone number has a voicemail box that is checked when you aren’t monitoring it. If you do get to a point where there’s too much irrelevant inbound, and it’s legitimately a waste of your time (I’d be shocked), you can always take it down later.