When times are tough, and the pressure to close deals is more intense than ever, there's a tendency to design lead generation campaigns to "short cut" the sales process - that is, to generate only highly-qualified leads from companies that are all but ready to buy.

As a result, companies are inclined to utilize offers such as free trials, reasoning that this will serve to weed out unqualified leads and deliver only those "hot" prospects willing to invest the time and effort. This, so the logic goes, will produce more short-term sales opportunities.

Alas, such offers are self-defeating and too often depress response significantly. Here's why:

Offers like free trials presuppose the target company has already 1) identified the problem, 2) determined the type of product or service most likely to solve the issue, and 3) decided to actively evaluate said products. This effectively eliminates all but a tiny subset of potential customers, many of whom may not know your type of product or service even exists, or even that they have a problem to solve in the first place.

Furthermore, "no risk" offers like these require a sizable commitment of time and resources on the part of even the most qualified prospect. For example, many won't want to spend the time downloading and installing software, assuming their IT department allows it in the first place, so the need to evaluate your product has to be so acute as to overcome these obstacles.

A compelling information offer, because it requires little or no commitment and therefore is easier to say "yes" to, attracts a broader spectrum of prospects including those that are more qualified. In addition, presenting free information as your primary call to action doesn't preclude also extending a free trial or other qualifying offer. Just don't make it so prominent as to scare off other, less-qualified prospects. For example, use an approach such as the following:

"In addition to the free executive guide, we also have a limited number of free 30-day evaluation copies of WidgetPro 1.0 available to qualified companies. To find out how your organization can qualify, contact your WidgetPro representative at 1-877-4WIDGET."

In such a scenario, highly-qualified prospects will still respond, but in addition, you'll also create a dialogue with a much larger pool of leads, many of whom, once better informed, may represent the short-term sales opportunities you're looking for.