Demand gen isn't new. It's old. Really old.
It's been around as long as humans have.
Hell, even animals are masters of demand gen. Take the Bird of Paradise, for example. (reminds me of some people here on LinkedIn 😆)
It does an elaborate show of song, dance, and feathers to create demand for passing its genes down to another generation.
Creating demand for your brand and product is no different- except for the flashy feathers, dancing (well, I guess there's TikTok), and puffed-out chest.
⚠️ - Get people's attention.
🗣️ - Get others talking about you (in a good way).
👍 - Encourage people to consider giving you a shot.
😍 - Delight the hell out of them so they tell others.
🚿 - Rinse and repeat.
It's been happening in taverns and villages for millennia, and now it's easier to achieve scale through social media, events, and communities.
Same principle. Different means.
Lead gen, however, is a holdover of pre-internet times.
Because the only way to drum up demand at scale was to get your hands on lists of phone numbers and start smiling and dialing. Playing a numbers game. 📣
This antiquated way of thinking has just made its way to modern selling and marketing because lists are ubiquitous, and contact information is easy to obtain.
It's also because some sales leaders and CEOs know nothing else.
They don't realize that the power of many villages is now at their fingertips.
It's time to flip the script back a thousand years to what's always worked and ditch a relic that no longer has a place.
Get back to building relationships and reputations.