Lead generation is a crucial sales activity. It’s how we obtain new customers and grow our businesses. If new business is lacking and find yourself stuck for ideas on how to generate new sales leads, we’ve put our heads together to bring you three great ways to make it happen.
What is a sales lead?
Essentially, a sales lead is a prospective buyer for your product or service. You identify new sales leads through various sources, some traditional, and some a little more innovative.
Larger companies often have marketing departments to keep new prospects in the pipeline. However, if you are a small company or just starting out, you probably don’t have that luxury. If that’s the case, there’s no time like the present to try out some new methods.
Here are our top lead generation tips:
1. Get out of the office
With today’s reliance on digital technology and social media, it’s easy to get bogged down in all the potential and devote all your time to these methods. However, sometimes there’s nothing like getting out among the people and doing some good, old-fashioned, face-to-face networking.
Some of the ways you can put networking to work for you include:
- Attending a networking event that either focuses on your niche or an associated niche. Networking events not only help you meet new prospects, they expose you to new trends and may inspire you to try new things.
- Join your local BIA or Chamber of Commerce. This will introduce you to other members of the community and potentially, send some new business your way.
- Get involved in a local cause. This will give your company much-needed visibility in the community and send a message that you and your company cares.
2. Get blogging!
Blogging is a fantastic way to generate interest in what you do, but it also great for generating new sales leads. Post regular blog articles to your website, cross post them on social media and think about where you might be able to land a spot as a guest blogger.
Are you stuck for ideas? Just think about your customers. What are their pain points? How can you solve them? Tip sheets, how-to’s, and top-ten lists of “what to avoid” are always popular. If you can solve a customer’s problem for them in such a simple way, it builds trust and positions you as an expert in your field.
Don’t have the time to write a regular blog? Think about hiring a freelancer from Upwork or Fiverr. All you’d have to do is come up with an outline and some bullet points, and you’ll be good to go.
3. Offer a free consultation
When you’re growing your client base, sometimes you have to give a little to get something back. Offering a free consultation for new customers gives them an easy way to try out your service without too big of a commitment. Once you’ve hooked them with your awesomeness, the world is your oyster.
Do you have any lead generation ideas to share? We’d love to hear about them. Drop by My Annapolis Office today for a tour. The coffee’s always on!
