Image: Getty Article Contributor: Nick Leighton
Five Lead Generation Strategies For Your Business
You can’t successfully run a business without a consistent revenue stream. No matter how strong your ideas are, they won’t be of much use if you don’t have a way to continually bring in money. As a business owner, more revenue usually means more security, and that will lead to more satisfaction with your business from both the client and team perspectives.
So, how can you go about bringing in more revenue for your business? You can’t simply will the money into existence, as much as we all wish that we could. The truth is that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy for revenue generation — after all, every company and every industry are vastly different. However, you can probably get a good start by focusing on lead generation.
Why Are Leads So Important?
Every company must sell their product or service if they hope to succeed in the increasingly competitive world of business. Whether they do this through old-school cold calling and traditional sales reps or through high-tech marketing channels, they will always need one thing — leads. While you can always get better at selling, the magic is in the leads.
Sales reps can’t just call on random people or businesses to see if they require a product or service. It would be a colossal waste of time. You may have heard stories of powerful reps in the ’80s simply running through the Yellow Pages and calling every number they could find. Those might be impressive, but they are a rarity, and becoming even more so in today’s world.
If you’re selling large-scale corporate servers, for example, there’s no reason to spend time calling local pizza restaurants or independent contractors. However, it would probably be beneficial to have the contact information for the corporate buyer at a national accounting firm or large manufacturer.
Sales is essentially a numbers game, and it is important to reach out to as many people as possible to sell your product or service. But targeted, relevant data is far more helpful than unvetted, random data that won’t lead you to potential customers. The number of leads you generate is important, but it is also essential that they are quality leads.
How To Generate More Leads
You now know just how important it is to focus on lead generation. But you may still be confused as to how you can generate high-quality, relevant leads that can be used to grow your business. Fortunately, there is a wide range of ways to help your company find and communicate with prospective clients.
Referrals
Referrals are often considered the gold standard of leads. If you already have valued customers who like your product or service, they can help you generate more business. There’s no reason to be shy when asking for a referral, as many of these contacts will want their other vendors and suppliers to work with companies that they trust. This recent Forbes article goes into more detail.
Lead Generation Software
If you have the funds, there are a variety of software companies that can help curate large lists of leads that are relevant to your industry. They use sophisticated algorithms and data mining to ensure that contacts are up to date and that you have direct access to relevant decision-makers and groups. The downside is that most of these leads will require cold calling.
Social Media
Today, social media is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reach out to a wider audience. If you have a strong social media presence, fans of your company will share and promote posts, allowing you to enjoy more exposure without even paying someone to do it (although we suggest having a social media manager on payroll, even if as a secondary function of their job).
It’s easy for older companies to want to resist social media, but it has quickly become one of the best marketing tools for those who are willing to adapt. This recent Forbes article is a great starting point.
Networking Events/Trade Shows
In many industries, face-to-face communication is still key in developing relationships. People trust others more when they can meet them in person, and that isn’t likely to change even with the recent adoption of video conferencing by many companies. Networking events and trade shows not only provide you with the names and contacts of companies you may never have heard of, but they let you actually speak with people and describe your product or service.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO is a huge part of gaining new customers, and it’s no surprise that the companies with quality SEO writers have better conversion rates. When you can target the right prospects through the language and algorithms on your website, you are constantly driving revenue opportunities in a passive way. Yes, you have to create and update the content, but the number of views and clicks you get will increase exponentially if you focus on quality SEO.
These five lead generation strategies, if carried out well, will increase your revenue. And with increased revenue, as a business owner, you can achieve anything. In fact, you can achieve your Champagne Moment.