I feel wonderful and terrible at the same time...work catches up with you and weeks and months fly by and you suddenly realise that you are not doing the things you teach yourself....so apologies for been slow and incosistent with posts but I just got waylaid doing this stuff for other people. I also (at Iain's insistence) took a break in sunny Cyprus and he literally locked up my laptop...it took me 4 days to recover from the shock! I do hope the tips below are of some value to you...enjoy
Ten top tips to gain more high quality leads
1. Establish measurable lead generation goals.
a. Set measurable goals
Business owners often set vague targets such as ‘more opportunities’ or ‘more sales activity’ which are impossible to measure and ultimately impractical to implement and therefore unattainable.
So be specific, for example
- three face-to-face meetings per week’ or
- five leads from our landing page’
These are easy to understand, measure, and DO.
Don’t forget to track your progress weekly and adjust accordingly
2. Offer content that delivers value to buyers.
People love buying but hate to be sold. People are suspicious of anything that seems like a sales pitch. What we are all looking for is credible sources that will help them to make an informed decision. We all want to learn and even be entertained and unfortunately, most sales pitches aren’t educational or entertaining.
So rather than telling prospects about how great your product or service is and offering them brochures and data sheets, you can help your potential buyers get educated by supplying useful information or enlisting the help of more credible third-party sources, such as industry experts and analysts and sharing great information that will help them
3. Your most convincing ‘salespeople’ are your customers.
The most obvious and credible source you can use to convince prospects about the value of your service or product is your existing customers. Customer success stories and appropriate case studies are always effective. Make sure their story describes the problem that the customer is solving with your solution. Give lots of detail. Make the customer rather than your product or service the focus of the story.
4. Share your customer success stories.
Once you have written a customer success story (with the full approval of your client), send it to publications within your industry or market. Trade magazines and industry newsletters are usually in need of quality content. An independent publication will carry more credibility in the eyes of your prospects.
5. Deliver an outstanding service or product so that customers want to recommend you to others.
Always remember to thank your clients and customers for their help and – people like acknowledgement. It doesn’t have to be an extravagant gesture: a simple phone call or a personal note to acknowledge what they have done will have an enormous impact.
6. Follow up leads within the first 24 hours. – always think about how you would feel if no-one valued your time and lazy follow up procedures makes people think you are not interested or you do not value their custom
Many good lead generation efforts go to waste due to poor follow-up. Some studies show that response rates to a follow-up call can diminish by 50% if you wait just 48 hours, and as much as 90% if you wait a whole week.
7. Move prospects to take action – always include a ‘call to action’
Every piece of lead-generating material should contain a call to action.
For example: ‘Call me NOW to receive a free copy of xxxxx and latest price list.’ Or ‘For your copy of our brochure, fill out the enclosed reply card and send it freepost.’
a. Tell prospects what to do and what you expect from them
b. Tell them how to contact you (providing a phone number, email address, website address and fax number), c. Explain what will happen when they do make contact.
The ‘what happens next’ can be a brochure or any material you’ll send as a gift or any service they will receive.
8. Increase the quantity of your leads.
a. Offer your catalogue, brochure, or other literature for free.
b. Don’t make prospects answer lots of information about themselves – people are wary about disclosing too much information, and they’re worried they’re going to be bombarded by calls from salespeople.
c. Make it as easy and cost-effective as possible for prospects to respond – for instance, by mailing them a stamped reply card or providing a freephone number.
9. Motivate prospects to respond.
If you want a large volume of leads, you must provide prospects with a really excellent reason to take action. The offer of a sales presentation is not very enticing – actually, it’s more likely to repel prospects.
Prospects want
- information,
- solutions,
- help,
- advice,
- samples,
- ideas,
- designs,
- savings,
- quality,
- service,
- support,
- assurances or guarantees.
When you make your offer enticing, more prospects will take action.
10. Remove the sales pressure.
If you will not follow up the lead, say, ‘No salesperson will call.’ If you will follow up the lead by phone but not in person, say, ‘No salesperson will visit.’ Or just be open and ask if they would like a follow up call in a couple of weeks.
More tips to follow so keep looking out for the next blog and if you would like more help check out the following
www.brugconsultancy.com or just drop me an email tracy.sheldon@brugconsultancy.com and I’ll give you a bell
