As we saw in our business budget last week, it is vital to have a steady income stream generated by sale of our services or products. That means we need customers. And customers come from leads… lots of ‘em!
Even if your order book is full at the moment, ensuring that your business has a constant source of potential new customers is one of the most important aspects of sustaining your business.
First, two ground rules for generating leads:
1. Build a Value Machine for the Long Term
Always have a long term lead generation system running alongside your short term campaigns. Nurture and retain your existing customers as part of a holistic strategy.
2. There Are No Rules!
Bear with me...
Consumers are constantly evolving and changing. So what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. And what works for one industry may not work for another. Buyers are overwhelmed with information overload, and are therefore getting better and better at ignoring the messages they don’t want to hear and researching what they do want to learn about on their own.
Wikipedia defines Inbound Marketing as, “promoting a company through blogs, podcasts, video, eBooks, enewsletters, whitepapers, SEO, physical products, social media marketing, and other forms of content marketing which serve to attract customer”
“Buying attention, cold-calling, direct paper mail, radio, TV advertisements, sales flyers, spam, telemarketing and traditional advertising" are considered as Outbound Marketing.
There are countless sources of potential customers, and each day there seems to be a new “in” trend or study. The key is to keep your eyes, ears, and mind wide-open and constantly alert. You need to constantly and actively seek out opportunities to make connections and generate leads.
IDG reports in its B2B Lead Generation Marketing Trends survey – 2013. 800+ marketers interviewed.
Don’t wait another minute!
Contact Sonja NOW for fresh lead-generation ideas, and coaching for greater interpersonal effectiveness, and increased confidence.
083 256-0378 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Next week:
Taking a step back, and looking at your business with a new set of eyes.