One of the most difficult things to do for your business at times is to generate new leads. You must have a layered plan in which you take your business down many avenues to seek out that targeted customer base. But, your efforts must be direct and focused, so follow along with this article to gain some new ideas.
To generate leads for your enterprise, make people an offer. The offer can be in the form of a free ebook, newsletter, coupon or other enticement. Make sure it is high in value and relevant to your particular audience. When you make a tempting offer, you will generate plenty of good leads.
Be more active on niche-relevant forums and discussion boards to generate easy leads. If you hang out where consumers ask questions, you can gather trust, brand yourself and be a go-to source for them. Not only will they appreciate your assistance, they will also most likely visit your site for more info or to make purchases!
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 online marketplaces that cater to your niche. For example, real estate agents can use realtor.com to find leads. You can even post classified ads to sites like Craigslist or Kijiji. Check out forums as well as you never know who else might be reading there, but don’t spam!
Find out if any local publications available for free fit within your niche. For example, real estate agents can get into the local “New Homes” guides found in boxes around the city. If you are a dentist, you could get an ad in a free kids’ magazine which details local attractions.
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.
Stop trying to butter customers up! When you need to generate more leads, use a direct approach with them, because chances are good that neither you nor they have a lot of time for small talk and schmoozing. Get to your point, offer a great price for clicking the “buy now” icon and get better results.
Create a local reciprocal referral database for yourself and other local businesses. You can set it up on Google Documents and ask people you know to join it. If you know someone who needs dental work you can refer them to a dentist on the list and, if he knows someone who needs you he’ll, do the same.
Generating leads can happen when you talk to your customers. Knowing what drew your customers or what drives them within your niche can be very useful. This can allow you to tailor your lead generation to target that customer niche. This allows you to better separate your leads for each marketing push.
Start a newsletter and send it out to your current clients. You can also send them to those who have brought in referrals in the past, and even people who just happen to live near you. If you make it concise and clear people will read it, and you might get some new leads.
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?
People love the word “free.” Free spreads by word of mouth and social media as well as in other ways. Free can mean free giveaways, free trials, free consultations and more. So, think about how you can incorporate the word free into your business objectives and goals for generating new leads.
In order to grow your mailing list, hold a contest. You can do this on your website, on Facebook or Twitter, or even locally if your company is locally-focused. Just ask for an email address and name in return for an entry into your contest, and you can even give bonus entries to those who refer their friends.
Focus on your calls to action to generate leads. This is true of your website, social media posts, email newsletters, or even direct mail. A compelling call to action is what gets people to move from potential to concrete leads. What can you say that they just can’t refuse?
Be careful if you purchase social media followers. This can help your numbers, but buying these followers may not actually help with your leads. Often, these are not the best leads to get paying customers. It might be that you are sharing great information to empty accounts.
Has this article helped you with direction as to what you need to do to get new leads for your business? Even if things have been working out for you, the well can always run dry. Staying ahead of the game is what it’s about with getting new leads, so use the advice that has been given.
