A common question among business people is, how can I get more leads.
To be successful in business, we need a steady stream of people who become leads and prospective buyers of our products or services.
In the online world, without consistent traffic, your business is doomed.
These 8 tips are proven ways to generate more leads for your business.
1. Embrace the right social media.
Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn have billions of monthly users.
Online and off-line companies should adopt a “be everywhere” mindset where social media is concerned.
Social networking for lead generation also means attending local, regional, national, and possibly even international social gatherings relevant to your business.
You’ve heard the saying, “fish where the fish are”. The same is true for social media. For example; If your target audience is women over 50, Pinterest might be where to spend most of your efforts.
2. Create a valuable “FREE OFFER”.
This is the classic lead generation technique. Provide prospects with something valuable that solves a problem for them.
This can be as simple as delivering an e-book or digital report, or handing out free samples and trial offers.
3. Build your email list.
You may have heard that “the money is in the list”. This is true, yet some business owners fail to capture email addresses from their prospects.
With a brick-and-mortar business or a virtual offering, building an email list allows you to communicate with all of your prospects in a few keystrokes.
Your email list is a pre-qualified list of people who like what you offer. It is the most valuable asset to grow.
4. Narrow your focus.
A laser-targeted marketing focus qualifies your prospects before you ever communicate with them.
Stop trying to appeal to everyone, and go after your ideal customer.
5. Ask instead of offer.
If you are having a problem generating leads, why not ask your marketplace what they are looking for?
Instead of the same old lead generation offer, ask your prospects what you can do for them.
When you then offer the solution, you’ll have a ready supply of warm leads from the people who gave you feedback.
6. Fish where the fish are.
This is worth repeating! Any good fisherman knows that to put fish in the boat, you have to go where they are.
Find out where your ideal prospects hang out, congregate and mingle, online and off, and establish a presence there.
7. Engage your prospects.
Live chats, webinars, and conferences let you interact with your prospects in a person-to-person manner.
A static landing page, piece of direct mail, or television ad is impersonal, “one-way”, and indirect.
The more you interact and engage with your prospects, the more they get to know, like and trust you.
8. Ask for referrals.
One of the best leads you can have is a happy customer referral.
You have probably eaten at a restaurant or seen a movie because you heard someone raving about those experiences. This is the power of a referral from a satisfied customer.
Ask your customers to spread the message about your business. You can even incentivize this marketing tactic to motivate past purchasers to generate interested leads.