Following up on leads is much easier than generating leads. Customer retention is much easier than generating leads. If not, then every business would be able to find new customers among their competition. Use the following advice to help you better generate leads so that you can have a solid foundation to grow your business.
Use social media as a lead generation tool. In social media, you need to not only build a presence, you also need to build a community. It’s an opportunity to build trust which will lead to more and more leads coming your way. Don’t just look at the obvious social media channels. Consider them all.
Invite potential customers to actually opt into joining your community on your website. You’d be amazed at how many website browsers will make the decision to provide their email. Make sure, though, that you’ve got relevant content to share with them afterwards. Think about developing a newsletter or a series of tips emails.
Look into opportunities where you may be able to pay for leads. Paying for leads is not a bad thing at all. In fact there are many companies out there that can deliver you leads at a surprisingly low cost. Just do your homework before signing up with anyone. There are scams out there.
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.
Analyze the numbers surrounding your lead generation. Are you finding it takes lots of hours to discover potential leads? Are these leads qualified or rather weak? Measure the time you have in versus the conversion rate. This will help you decipher which tactics give you the best return on your investment.
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.
Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone. A lot of people get scared of making a call to generate a lead. They think it’s akin to annoying telemarketing. But if you’ve got a solution to a problem a company is having, you’ll definitely get phone time with someone. Even if it’s not a long call, pitch it and get a meeting to continue the conversation.
Consider live chat as a valuable tool for possibly generating more real leads for your business. When you offer potential customers the opportunity to ask live questions and get immediate answers, you can really influence the buying decisions. Keep an expert on hand for your site, and start generating more leads with live chat.
When using Twitter, most people think about growing followers and using hash tags. Sure, but also consider searching for keywords related to your products so that you can find people talking about buying things related to your products. Finding posts of interest can help you generate new leads within your niche.
Consider giving a yearly gift to those who bring you the most referrals. It doesn’t have to be something big, even a bottle of nice wine will do, but it shows them you care. Be sure to deliver it by hand and personally so you can tell them how much you appreciate their help.
Try to target gathered leads from those that want what you offer. Generic leads are okay when painting the big picture. But, if you start to specialize and learn who can benefit most from your offerings, your bottom line will improve.
There are many frustrated people that can’t figure out how social media sites can be their best lead generation tool. While it’s all-inclusive and goes in many directions, understand the main goal of social media is to help people. Secondly, think about the fact that you’re communicating with potential customers in a much more relaxed and unique fashion. Now it’s time to get creative!
When purchasing a lead database, it is important that the leads are relevant. What you sell may only be geared towards a certain niche audience. You may not have luck with buying leads this way. The leads you end up with might not be applicable to your demographic needs.
Test out new avenues before you go in whole hog. You don’t want to end up investing a lot of time and money and yet get nothing in return. Run a test of each new strategy you have and carefully monitor your results, then jump in when the testing reveals success.
Leads are definitely part of the foundation of your business. You must continuously be seeking new leads by pursuing different strategies. The advice provided should help you get started, and you’re going to have to make sure you maintain your focus. If you do these things, the leads will come.
