The Perfect Lead Generation Job Description Template to Attract Top Talent
According to the Onward 2024 Hiring Trends Survey, 85% of marketing and sales managers expect to hire in 2024, and 40% report understaffing their teams.
If this sounds like you, you’re probably in the same boat: needing a candidate for your sales team but finding that you’re not getting the qualified applicants you expect.
This article shows you how to rethink your job ads for your sales positions–specifically for lead generation specialists. We cover the primary skills to consider, what information to include, and a template of a job ad you can adapt for your purposes.
What Does A Lead Generation Specialist Do?
Lead generation specialists identify, qualify, and acquire leads that can become new businesses. They are a critical part of the sales team because they funnel leads from various sources into your sales pipeline.
A typical day for a lead generation specialist will include tasks such as:
Researching potential leads in databases, CRM software, or social media to identify who might match their company’s Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
Managing data entry tasks like updating lead information, researching new contact information for potential leads, and ensuring accurate information.
Conducting outreach to potential leads through email, cold calling, or social media.
Qualifying leads based on your organization’s scoring system.
Following up on existing leads through a predetermined or bespoke lead nurturing campaign over the phone, email, or social media.
Collaborating with the larger sales team to create new strategies, analyze data, and examine existing lead generation efforts.
Essential Skills of Lead Generation Specialists
While there isn’t a “one size fits all” set of skills for sales professionals, the lead generation specialist will typically come with some combination of the following capabilities.
1. Excellent Communication Skills
Communication is the bread and butter of sales, and that’s especially true in lead generation. Lead generation specialists need to communicate the value of a brand, product, or service to potential leads while considering effective tactics tied to different communication channels.
This can include:
Writing emails that can grab the attention of leads, even in an overstuffed inbox.
Calling leads and having a well-structured but flexible script that can articulate your product’s value.
Listening to understand their pain points and needs while showing why your product is the solution to those pain points.
Telling stories to connect with prospects rather than just delivering pitches
A lead generation specialist who isn’t a good communicator can ruin relationships, lose opportunities to bring leads into your sales pipeline, and negatively impact your brand.
2. Interpersonal Skills
Communication is great, but there’s a related and equally important skill to consider: the art of interpersonal engagement that brings a sense of emotional intelligence to lead outreach.
While great communication means the ability to speak about value propositions and pain points, interpersonal skills are about something deeper:
Cultivating conversational skills that make leads feel heard and understood.
Navigating difficult interactions or personalities without taking things personally.
Building relationships with leads can lead to future sales, even if the lead isn’t ready to purchase.
The difference between a good lead gen specialist and a great one is how they can build relationships rather than treat potential clients like numbers in a pipeline.
3. Negotiation and Persuasion
You may not think of a lead generation specialist as a negotiator, but they are, in their own way. These specialists should be able to engage leads and persuade them to take action–even if that action is just signing up for a demo.
These skills will involve:
Persuading leads to take action, whether that’s a follow-up call, a meeting, or a free demo.
Addressing any objections from a lead, pushing past hesitation to make uncertain prospects into potentially qualified leads.
4. Social Media Savviness
In today’s market, lead generation specialists will greatly know trends and tactics on select social media platforms. Furthermore, they will understand how different channels work and how to leverage their features best. This means:
Understanding the nuances of a given channel, whether LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or another platform, is key to engaging leads effectively without getting lost in the background noise.
Using tools inherent to a platform to research better and contact potential leads.
Tracking effective outreach using platform-specific analytics.
5. Content Marketing Knowledge
Sales and marketing should have a close relationship. This is no more apparent in lead generation, where marketing campaigns can bring successful leads into your brand’s orbit.
Specialists should understand the power of content marketing for:
Selecting and sharing content to support outreach efforts, even those not ready for a sales contact.
Collaborating with marketing teams to build content that can support the sales function, especially for target audiences.
Sweetening outreach attempts, like emails, with killer content that speaks directly to that prospect’s needs.
6. Cold Calling Expertise
Cold calling has been the backbone of sales for decades. Even with the evolution of email and social media outreach, salespeople still use cold calls to reach potential customers. And for good reason–it still works.
A lead generation specialist will cultivate their cold calling skills so that they can:
Make contact with leads via phone calls and handle sales-oriented conversations and pitching.
Be confident to speak to new leads, overcome objections, and navigate personal conversations while not face-to-face.
7. Marketing Automation and CRM Proficiency
While we’ve talked about more fundamental sales tactics like phone or email, it’s equally important to remember that modern sales is a data-driven business. Good lead generation specialists must be familiar with one (or several) CRM platforms and know how to use their automation and data analytics tools.
With this knowledge, specialists can:
Utilize automation tools to streamline content creation, outreach, and lead follow-up messages.
Analyze data to determine success and failure. This data can include email open rates, social media engagement, and (in some AI platforms) behavioral analytics gleaned from lead interactions.
Create personalized communications that can lead to more direct communications and negotiations.
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8. Data Analysis and Reporting Experience
Simply having data on hand isn’t enough. A lead generation specialist should be able to navigate that data and understand the underlying meaning of all that information. This means grasping what data says, identifying trends, and effectively using that data to make effective decisions.
Good analysts will have core skills like:
Defining and tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that reflect the success of lead generation strategies. These can include metrics like response rates, conversion rates, lead qualification, etc.
Interpreting data across multiple platforms and channels to craft personalized messages for leads on each of them.
9. Industry Knowledge
An effective lead generation specialist will often have deep knowledge of their industry. While not every industry requires this knowledge, many do, especially in B2B markets. This expertise means the specialist understands customers in that field and doesn’t have to start learning about pain points or building relationships from the ground up.
Additionally, industry knowledge will also include skills like:
Having easy and informed conversations with industry experts, projecting a sense of ethos and confidence that a non-specialist will not have.
Providing more insights for content personalization based on industry trends and knowledge of major brands and their needs.
Leveraging knowledge of the industry to identify possible leads better.
10. Teamwork Skills
A lead generation specialist isn’t an island in your company. They will necessarily work closely with other specialists and teams, including other members of the sales team, product development teams, and the marketing team.
A great collaborator will have skills like:
Working with other sales department members to ensure lead gen hands off high-quality leads that fit the ICP.
Share insights from data to help colleagues understand what’s working and what’s not and get diverse opinions in both cases.
Collaborating with marketing to make sure marketing and sales are aligned.
Lead Generation Job Description Template
Location: [City/State or Remote]
Department: Sales/Marketing
Reports To: [Position Title]
Employment Type: [Full-Time/Part-Time/Hybrid/Contract]
Job Summary
We seek a highly motivated and results-driven Lead Generation Specialist to join our dynamic sales and marketing team. The ideal candidate will identify, generate, and qualify potential leads to support the sales team in achieving its revenue goals. You will play a critical role in the growth of our business by developing strategies to attract and engage prospective customers, nurturing leads through the sales funnel, and collaborating closely with the sales and marketing teams.
Responsibilities
Lead Identification and Generation: Develop and execute strategies to identify potential leads through various channels, including social media, content marketing, cold calling, and industry research.
Lead Qualification: Assess and qualify leads to determine their potential and readiness for sales engagement, ensuring a high conversion rate.
CRM Management: Utilize CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) to track, manage, and analyze lead data, ensuring accurate and up-to-date records.
Collaboration: Work closely with the sales and marketing teams to align lead generation strategies with overall business objectives and ensure seamless handoff of qualified leads.
Content Marketing: Leverage content marketing principles to create and share content that attracts and nurtures leads throughout the sales funnel.
Cold Calling and Outreach: Conduct cold calls and other outreach efforts to engage potential leads, overcoming objections and persuading them to take the next step.
Data Analysis: Analyze lead generation data to measure effectiveness and optimize strategies for continuous improvement.
Industry Knowledge: Stay up-to-date with industry trends, products, and services to effectively communicate with leads and position the company as a knowledgeable and trusted partner.
Requirements
Education: [Degree Requirement–typically an advanced degree in Marketing and Sales, Communication, or Business]
Experience: [In years]
Skills:
A Bachelor’s degree in communication, marketing, or business-related disciplines or commensurate experience is required.
Excellent Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively engage and persuade potential leads.
Interpersonal Skills: Building rapport quickly and maintaining positive relationships with diverse individuals.
Negotiation and Persuasion: Proven ability to handle objections and persuade leads to take action.
Social Media Savvy: Proficiency in using LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media platforms for lead generation.
Content Marketing Understanding: Familiarity with content marketing principles and how to use content to attract and nurture leads.
Cold Calling Expertise: Experience with cold calling and the ability to maintain professionalism and persistence in outreach.
Marketing Automation and CRM Proficiency: Experience with marketing automation tools (e.g., HubSpot, Marketo) and CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) to manage and analyze lead data.
Data Analysis and Reporting: Strong analytical skills in using data to measure and optimize lead generation efforts.
Industry Knowledge: Understanding of the industry in which the company operates, with the ability to speak knowledgeably about relevant products, services, and trends.
Team Collaboration: Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams, particularly sales and marketing.
Salary and Benefits
Competitive Salary: [Specify range or "commensurate with experience."]
Bonus Structure: Performance-based incentives and bonuses.
Health Benefits: Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
Retirement Plan: 401(k) with company match.
Paid Time Off: Generous PTO policy, including vacation, sick leave, and holidays.
Professional Development: Opportunities for ongoing training, certification programs, and career advancement.
Work Environment: Flexible work arrangements, remote work options, and a collaborative team environment.
How to Apply
Interested candidates are encouraged to apply by sending their resumes, cover letters detailing their relevant experience, and any supporting materials (e.g., portfolio, references) to [email address]. Please include "Lead Generation Specialist Application" in the subject line. Applications will be reviewed regularly, and early submissions are encouraged.
Top Tips for Writing a Lead Generation Specialist Job Description
1. Highlight the Right Skills and Experience
When creating a job ad to fill a role like this, you must focus on the essential skills needed for your role and cut the fluff. A study from Ladders showed that applicants took roughly 49 seconds to decide if a job was a good fit for them. That means you have less than a minute to get your job across to good candidates.
Make sure to highlight any of the preferred skills listed in this article–and, if possible, describe them so that the applicant can see exactly what you are looking for.
Avoid lengthy descriptions or additional, vague skills that don’t fit your ideal employee’s profile. Adding a required skill like “time management” doesn’t tell you anything about a candidate.
Additionally, highlight specific tools and platforms you expect them to know. If you use something like Artisan or HubSpot, then mention the platform and the specific tools you want them to have experience with.
2. Showcase Your Company Culture and Benefits
Applicants increasingly want to know that their new position is with a company with a supportive, engaging, and stimulating culture. To attract the right pool of candidates, highlight aspects of your company culture, including mission, values, and keywords related to your approach to work (collaborative, innovative, flexible, etc.).
Also, don’t attempt to hide salary or benefits. Include a detailed description of benefits like healthcare, retirement packages, additional training, signing bonuses, or equity plans.
Also, don’t omit salary. According to LinkedIn, 91% of job seekers on the platform state that a salary range on a job ad affects their decision to apply. Provide a range if you want wiggle room, but don’t expect a candidate to follow a multi-step process without compensation.
3. Incorporate SEO Best Practices
Nearly every job ad is online, and with tools like Google Jobs, every hiring platform is tied to Google Search. SEO is a no-brainer for getting your ad in front of the right candidates.
Use relevant keywords throughout the ad to ensure the right candidates see your job. Keywords like “lead generation specialist,” “B2B lead generation,” or “Sales lead generation” can make sure your job ads stand out to the right candidates.
Ready to Hire a Lead Generation Specialist?
Hiring a lead specialist can be a challenge. Instead of investing time, energy, and money into a lengthy round of hiring, consider what it would mean to bring AI into your workflow. Instead of hiring a new lead generation specialist for inbound and outbound sales, trust Artisan and our new AI SDR, Ava. Ava helps busy salespeople manage data, prospecting, and pipeline management all at once, allowing you to spend less time researching and entering information and more time engaging with new customers.
Want to reap the benefits of lead gen specialists without going through the hassle of hiring one? Hire Ava, our AI SDR, who can help automate lead generation.