“I don’t need any more leads.” These are words I rarely hear. But if you are saying that please give me a call and I’ll help you develop a plan to qualify them and move them through your funnel. For the rest of you that do need more leads, developing leads is something that needs to happen on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Instead of having a plan for ongoing lead generation many companies go about it haphazardly at best. Too many times you are caught desperately trying to close a couple of deals that really shouldn’t close or aren’t ready to close because you have nothing else in your sales funnel to work on. If you keep your sales funnel full, this won’t be an issue. You will have plenty of leads to qualify and work through the funnel.
Here are six ways to keep your funnel full:
1. Networking: Networking remains one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to generate new business. Get out to the events your target audience attends. Make an effort to meet the people you don’t know. Be a great listener and be sure to follow up.
2. Referrals: Referrals are one of the best lead generating tools any company could have. If you have satisfied customers, most of them would be happy to give you a referral. They’ll either do this through some type of program where you would reward them to give a referral or just ask. Most people will be happy to introduce you to other people who can buy from you.
3. Direct mail: Yes, direct mail does still work. If you have targeted your audience and have a good list you can get great results. Frequency and message are key. Direct mail should be integrated with your social media and other advertising.
4. Social Media: It’s not necessarily fast, but it can be effective. There are lots of great ways to generate leads and build your list, but you need a plan. Sit down with someone who knows Social Media and can tell you the most beneficial things to do to get the required results. Your social media should integrate with your other marketing efforts.
5. Email Marketing/eNewsletter: This is not something that can be taken lightly, you will end up with tons of unsubscribes. You need a plan and you need to understand how to use email effectively. You have to engage your reader and make them look forward to the next email. Use proper subject lines, offer great content, and make sure there is some sort of an offer or call to action so that the person continues reading.
6. Cold calling: Cold calling is still effective in some industries. But for the most part it is inefficient and ineffective compared to other methods. If you use cold calling as part of a campaign, where you’ve already perhaps sent them an email, some direct mail and have interacted with them on Social Media, you will have a better chance of connecting with them on the phone. But it is still a lot of work. Effective cold calling campaigns need to be planned. Just printing out a list and picking up the phone to call a hundred people you don’t know will take a lot of time and your results will be unrewarding. [Tweet “Lead generation is one of the most important things to focus on in your sales process.”]
Choose a Few
Lead generation is one of the most important things to focus on in your sales process. Choose a few methods and do them consistently. If the funnel runs dry, it makes it tough for everyone. Lead generation should be part of your annual strategic planning, a budget needs to be applied and someone needs to manage it. If you don’t have a plan, you need to sit down with your team and go through the above ideas and see which ones you’re going to use to generate leads and maybe come up with some others. Then you need to make a plan for each one of those, as well as how they will all be interrelated with each other.
Need help? Schedule a free strategy session to discuss the best ways for your company to generate leads.
Alice is nationally known for her expertise in elevating sales to increase valuation for companies with a B2B complex sale that have exceptional growth potential. She’s originally, from the widely known Miller Heiman Group. Spending her time strategizing with CEOs and their leadership teams to build the strategies that find new business and grow existing accounts is her passion. Her clients love her spirit and the way she energizes their sales organization.
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