Perhaps you’ve been doing “okay” with your lead generation efforts, but you really want to know how to tap into those valuable resources. You could generate so much more leads within your business niche if you just knew how. Consider the following helpful advice as you think about how your plans should change.
Build your presence on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the most business-friendly social media channel out there. People use linked in to network and even broker new deals. It’s the perfect place to create lead generation opportunities for you and your company. Invest in a Premium membership as it will allow you to see everyone who has viewed your profile.
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.
Create engaging content. Lead generation relies a lot on building trust with your product or service. Smart targeted content does a lot to help get you there. Your target audience will be more likely to do business with you if they feel you are providing great service and that you legitimately care.
Use customer reviews and case studies to find new leads. Consumers are more likely to give their information and will probably buy your products when you provide supportive data. Use studies that are relevant to help your product stand out, and offer testimonials from customers you made happy in the past.
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.
Check out events in your area and see if there’s a way you can use them to generate leads. For example, if there is a cycling race, buy a sponsorship package. Then you can get yourself on TV talking about it, or in the paper, or just talk to people who are there to watch.
Target people seeing freebies as part of your list generating efforts. While giving things away doesn’t usually make money right away for you, there will be plenty of people ready and willing to sign-up for the free stuff. Keep this list separate from your others, but include it in all your future campaigns.
Don’t forget your website! Many people create a site and then just leave it, believing that “if you build it, they will come.” They won’t unless you actually put some effort into it. Create a blog and update it frequently, or add new content as often as possible to the site itself.
Team up with other companies to cross-promote and generate more leads. For example, if your website sells nails, join forces with a site that sells hammers. The mutually beneficial relationship should gather more leads and most likely sales for both of you. Just make sure the partner you choose is closely related to your industry and highly reputable.
Building content on your site sure does take time. If you get frustrated and forget to do this often, then nothing is going to really work for you. Keep up with posting new content, and interesting content is going to attract people. Always make sure you never put this strategy to the side.
Consider volunteering to help build leads. Choose a group which somehow relates to your niche, such as Cub Scouts if you are a dentist or a French club if you happen to be a tutor. Volunteering shows you have a good soul and can help build a positive reputation.
Consider who might have an insider’s view on who would be interested in what you’re selling. For example, real estate agents could get tips from local HR professionals on people moving to the area to start a new job. Who would know of people who would need what you are selling?
Gathering leads from your website needs traffic. Traffic building is what any site needs, but even more so if your site is also set to generate leads. Make sure that you target traffic for your products and services, but also take the time to push traffic for your lead generation as well.
Remember that trending on social media isn’t the be-all and end-all of marketing. If you can get any positive buzz at all about what you’re selling, you’re generating leads. When using social media, the content is king as long as you present it in a way which doesn’t sound like spam.
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.
Use cost-effective advertising. Target those who are already interested in your niche with your ads, and offer them something of value. People like to receive free or discounted stuff, so getting them to your website this way will not be tough to do. Just make sure that more great offers await them on your site.
Well, what do you think you’re going to do different now after reading this advice? Surely, you’re going to make some changes, and it’s now time to put those changes into effect. If you want your business to survive, it takes generating new leads, and you’re about to surprise yourself by following what you read.
