In Mastering the Marketing Maze Part 1, we defined our target market, which means we know WHO will be buying our services or products.
Finding Potential Clients (and Being Found)
Now, we are ready to start getting our ideal clients to RAISE THEIR HAND and ask for more information or for a sales presentation. This is often referred to as LEAD GENERATION, and it is a major part of cultivating financial success as a business owner.
Lead generation, by its very definition, produces a list of people who are ideal prospects for you to convert into clients or customers.
The Wrong Approach to Lead Generation
The biggest mistake I see new business owners make when trying to generate a steady stream of leads for their business is attempting to do too much at once. In other words, they don’t see or utilize “lead generation efforts” as a stand-alone effort.
Instead - usually trying to save money - they typically lump “lead generation” activities in with other marketing or sales efforts. This is a big mistake because when you are learning to be a masterful marketer of your product or service, anything other than SIMPLICITY and a SINGULAR- FOCUS is often unforgivable.
A perfect example of this mistake is committed daily in print ads. A business owner buys an ad and, trying to get his or her money’s worth, attempts to do all they can with that one ad.
This doesn’t sound unforgivable yet, right? Well, consider this -
The typical ad (usually designed by a sales person, who, by the way, is usually clueless about direct response marketing) has multiple objectives... none of them very clearly defined and all of them detracting from each other. So, the ad includes:
- Information that tries to pre-sell the product or service itself - hoping (almost always in vain) that the ad alone will lead to instant sales. (To do this, you will need a lot more “copy” than is typically included in any print ad and even still, this needs to be choreographed skillfully in order to produce results.)
- Logos and graphics to build brand or business name recognition.
- Some “second tier”, last ditch effort to get them to call your business and get more information if they won’t buy right away.
Of course, that is why so many businesses buy advertising, swear it doesn’t work, and (much to my complete and utter confusion) keep buying it hoping that month 3 or 6 or 8 will produce results that will be so magnificent they will make up for the lack of results produced by the previous months. [See note below for a free report to help with print advertising.]
The Right Approach to Lead Generation
Lead generation is about getting the right people to respond to your efforts so you can learn more about them and engage them in a sales conversation or the sales process. There are, of course, examples of lead generation all around us:
- A perfect example of a lead generation campaign can be seen with those “endless” swimming pools that were heavily advertised several years ago. The pools were installed indoors and allowed you to basically swim against the “tide” without ever really moving. So, using them, people were essentially swimming in place - much akin to walking in place on a treadmill.
The television commercials, radio and magazine ads knew better than to waste valuable time or space selling you on the pool. Instead, they simply wanted customers to respond by requesting a free DVD and brochure about the product.
Easy. No risk. It allows interested prospects to raise their hand and say “tell me more”.
Of course, the purpose of the DVD and brochure were to generate sales, but you were also assigned a trained sales person to help you make your decision. It was a well-run campaign - simple and strategic.
- I invite my own website visitors to give me their name and email address in exchange for a FREE report. Coaches and consultants of all sorts do something similar.
- I’ve seen gyms run ads - not for membership - but for FREE diet and fitness evaluations. Those who respond, of course, are ideal prospects and can - with a skillful sales system - be converted rather quickly into paying clients or members.
- A brilliant landscaper ran an ad asking people to respond to receive a free report on the best landscaping jobs to generate maximum curb appeal in the “dead” winter months. Immediately, we know something about the people who respond. They want curb appeal NOW - when others are saying, “It’s too late to do anything about the yard.” Perfect prospects have just raised their hands.
So, you get the idea. Lead generation advertising efforts encourage your ideal market simply to raise their hands to find out more about your products or services, not to buy anything. Trying to get a total stranger to buy from you immediately is more than just frustrating or discouraging, it is also a waste of time and money.
Effective Lead Generation
Lead generation is the beginning of your marketing process as it invites total strangers to come - willingly - under your “tent” so you can then cultivate and choreograph the sale properly.
In a typical lead generation process, your ideal clients give you their contact information in return for a “free offer” of some sort. Now you can begin engaging them in conversation. THIS is an ideal start to a beautiful sales process.
Some additional thoughts to consider regarding lead generation:
- Don’t try to SELL and GENERATE LEADS. Keep it simple and straight-forward. Tell them what you would like them to do. (Example: Give me your name and email address to schedule a free five-point inspection of your vacation home.)
- Use a GREAT, ATTENTION grabbing headline.
- KNOW who you are trying to attract. (See Mastering the Marketing Maze, Part One, only on Job-Hunt, for more information.)
- Make sure the “bait” you are using (free report, consultation, DVD, etc.) relates to those potential buyers and is something they would find valuable.
- Have a plan and prepare to respond quickly and appropriately to any lead you get. The most frustratingly useless thing I’ve ever found in business is a person with a large list that is either ignored or poorly cultivated.
Bottom Line
Remember to keep sales and lead generation separate, and don’t waste your time and money with any lead generation activities unless you KNOW how you will follow up with each lead.
NOTE: If you buy print advertising, I wrote a more detailed report on how to make this work for your small business, which I am happy to send to you at no charge for being a Job-Hunt.org reader. Just email me at michelle@womenwhowow.com and request it.
