Trying to get new leads for your business without the proper education and tools is like trying to find something in the dark. You are technically in the dark if you’re proclaiming things to the masses without a targeted effort. What good leads will come of that. The following advice is designed to help you understand how to generate leads within your business.
Make an offer to potential leads that is hard to refuse. This can be a discount, a give-away, or some source of information that they’ve been dying to have. It needs to be relevant to them, or else you’ll never get them to respond. Try a few different things to see what works the best.
Set time every week to follow up with potential leads. It usually takes more than one touch point to turn a potential qualified lead into a real hot lead. SO after you’ve made first contact, set time a week or two later to touch base again. It’s about frequency here to make this person into a customer.
Find some way to rate your potential leads. Not all leads are created equal, so before you start generating them know how you’ll grade them. Otherwise you can find yourself overloaded with potential leads with no way to decipher which ones are worth your time. It’s a critical step to help you be efficient.
Talk to business owners in related industries. They may be willing to share leads with you, by sending their customers your way. For example, if you own a shop where you sell balloons, talking to a florist about a joint venture is a great way to get leads from another business.
One thing you must do is to start and grow your “opt in” process for generating leads. You need a marketing newsletter or email marketing or mobile marketing plan for this. You can ask them to opt in on your website, through forums you’ve joined, blogs and in other places.
Obviously, when generating leads, you are working according to a budget and cannot pursue every venture. That is why it’s important that you do have a set budget and that you are always paying attention to discount opportunities when it comes to promotion. This being said, make sure the money is being spent wisely.
Look for people in your local community that are involved with lead groups. These are pockets of business owners that typically share their leads. The possibilities created by this can be surprising. However, you might have a customer who mentions needs for a different business, and then you can return the favor.
Create a lead generation calendar. Targets may be offended if your lead generation initiatives are excessive or intrusive. Having a set schedule is a good way to make the approach more professional. You can also save time by not pitching continuously to non-buyers.
Can you work in webinars, seminars or free tools and downloads for your business? If you can provide this type of information related to your niche, then people will sign up for them. When they do, you have their contact information as a new lead, and of course this is a targeted, niche specific contact.
If you’re using a lead database, make sure it is well suited for you. Not everyone may be interested in what you’re selling. It is useless to buy leads if there was no effort made to ensure their value. You may have a lot of leads that won’t be interested in what you have.
Stay on top of the lead generation game by producing high quality content for people to interact with. Those new to Internet marketing usually have the most trouble generating leads, but when they learn that content is king, they are making the right step. Producing content that teaches consumers about new things is a good way to generate more leads.
Don’t overlook the concept of actually paying for quality leads. It can take some time to generate leads on your own using SEO or pay-per-click methods, but paying for leads can help get your business off the ground. If you are looking to pay for leads, make sure that you do so from a reputable company.
Word-of-mouth referrals may seem like an old fashioned approach to gaining more customers, but they are like gold when it comes to generating leads. If you want to raise the stakes a little bit, come up with an offer or deal that potential customers can’t refuse. You may even be able to come up with content that goes viral in order to generate even more leads.
Say thank you in your marketing efforts. If someone fills out a form, have an email set up that sends them a thanks. If a person contacts you directly for more information, immediately give them a verbal thanks. Thank you goes a long way to building quick trust, and that means a stronger lead.
Keep in mind that direct mail isn’t dead. Direct mail may not be dead. Many marketers have turned to email, so now is the chance to make any direct mail stand out. Figure out if this method is right for you through testing and segmentation. This can help you figure out the right people to send it to without wasting your money on those that aren’t interested.
Sign up for Google AdWords. These ads target potential customers who visit various websites across the Internet. The beauty of this is that you only have to pay when someone actually clicks on the link that leads to your site. Once you have them on your site, you can convert them to a paying customer.
Are you ready to use these tips to get new leads for your business? If so, then you better get started because there is no better time than now. Leads are where it all begins, and you have information to boost your business in the right direction. Get motivated, and start implementing these strategies today.
