4 ways to generate leads
Spending time creating the perfect product or service is just one part of the equation, but getting the right people to actually know about what you offer – and invest in it – is another! This all comes down to lead generation, “the process of attracting and converting strangers and prospects into someone who has indicated interest in your company's product or service”.
If you’re struggling to find the best places to find your dream clients or customers, follow these tips below.
DEVELOP A MARKETING STRATEGY
If you don’t have a marketing strategy yet, this would be the first place to start! Marketing builds awareness and increases visibility for your company, which then establishes the know / like / trust factor with your audience. Meaning, once people know you, they start to like you; once they like you, they start to trust you; and once they trust you, they purchase from you.
Notice, however, that we used the term “marketing” generally instead of focusing specifically on social media — and that’s because you get the best results when you dive into as many methods of marketing as possible, for the opportunity to make a bigger impact and reach larger audiences, rather than putting all of your eggs in one basket.
Your marketing strategy can consist of:
Social Media (The Month of May is all about Social Media!)
Email Marketing (see our post on 5 ways to grow your email list)
PR
Blogging
SEO
Paid Ads
And more. All of these outlets also lead into one another, meaning, when someone goes to your website they can join your email list, when they go to your social media profiles they can be led to your website, when they read your newsletters they can be brought to recent publications in which you’ve been featured, etc.
The more places of yours people go, the more you’re pushing them down that sales funnel and encouraging them to hand you their money!
BECOME A MEMBER OF NETWORKING GROUPS AND BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
Besides The Collective Co., are you a member of any other memberships, networking groups, or business organizations? Joining these communities is an easy and effective way to be directly seen in front of the individuals who are your ideal audience.
And not only do these groups open you up to potential clients or customers directly but also indirectly. You may meet someone in this group who will say, “I totally know someone who could benefit from your product or service!” and introduce you to said person, which can lead to more connections (and more money!) than you might have ever had before
Plus, who doesn’t love being able to meet new people in general?
See Our Post: 4 Ways to Build Your Network
FIND YOUR IDEAL CLIENT OR CUSTOMER AND EMAIL THEM
Although there’s a lot of negative chatter around the concept of pitching someone your products or services via email, it can be effective when done the right way. If you find the perfect fit for a client or customer online, what’s the harm in reaching out to them? Selling is serving! There are people out there who really could use your products or services, so it’s almost as if you are leading them down the wrong path if you’re not bringing awareness to how you can help them.
To get started with cold emailing, there are a few important components to keep in mind:
Make the Pitch Personal
You don’t need to write a totally new email every time you reach out to someone, but you do need to offer some type of personalization or customization within your email template to show that it’s not totally copied and pasted. Nothing makes someone delete an email faster than when they read an email that doesn’t even use their name or something specific about their business
Whether you mention this person’s products or services specifically, compliment what they’re doing with their business, or even create a short video, these small touches go a long way.
Identify Their Pain Points and Share How You Can Help
Being good at sales ultimately comes down to understanding how your clients and customers are struggling and sharing the solution to that problem. In your email, you want to point out what they can improve upon with your help without insulting them. That part is key! It’s beneficial to:
Point out their area of improvement.
Share the good things that can happen once they improve it.
Once you do those two things, they’ll start to be intrigued… and then you can give the specifics of how you can help them, even if it’s just listing your products or services directly. This leads us into the next part!
See our Outreach Email Template
HAVE A CTA / OFFER SOMETHING FOR FREE
You never want to just drop off the email as is and expect them to respond — you always want to have some sort of CTA that encourages them to take the next step. Bonus points if this CTA offers something of value for free!
These free offers can be:
Invitation to your Facebook group
Complimentary consultation call
Link to grab your lead magnet
The person may not reply to your email, but if they accept one of these other offers, that’s even better!
Need ideas for CTA’s? Download our CTA Worksheet
LEVERAGE YOUR OWN CONNECTIONS
Have you ever thought that the people you currently know could be a really great fit for what you’re offering? It’s time to tap into the resources you already have!
Do this by:
Posting on your personal social media profiles to share more about who you are, what you do, and how you help
Reaching out to people directly to see if they could benefit from what you have to offer or if they know someone who could
You’d be surprised who may be interested in what you have to offer!
Although these are only four ways to increase the leads that come through for your business, there are so many more ideas out there, which is important to remember because what might work for someone else might not work for you and vice versa! It’s all about testing different methods to see what brings you the best results.