Three Ways to Generate Sales Leads
Written by Dave Lorenzo on October 23, 2016 / Lead Generation
Smart sales professionals use leverage to generate sales leads. You probably haven’t given this too much thought. In this article I outline three ways to attract people who want to do business with you.
One of the benefits of my relationship-based sales system is the ability attract clients quickly. If you’re like most sales professionals, you are good at developing relationships with clients one at a time. You meet someone new, the client likes you, trust is established and the client engages the you to do some work. This is fine but it limits you to developing relationships only with people you meet personally.
I help my clients develop relationships with dozens, if not hundreds of potential clients without duplication of effort. This is critical when you are trying to build a business. Here are a few ways I work with my clients to develop those relationships by using sales leverage.
Speaking
Speaking in front of large groups of potential clients is a great way to develop new relationships en mass. Being invited to give a speech to a group is one of the best opportunities you have to generate sales leads. The key is to make certain the group is QUALIFIED before accepting the speaking invitation. One of the best ways to do this is to look through the membership roster and pick out one of the companies for further research. Go through their website. Look at the products or services they sell or manufacture. Look at their executive committee. If you believe that company fits in with your portfolio of clients, there is a good chance other companies like that are members of the group offering you the speaking invitation.
Once you receive an invitation to speak at an event make sure the organization is promoting the event heavily to their membership. Ask to see the marketing materials they are sending to their invitees. A good event promoter will send a minimum of THREE invitations to people to attend an event. You should insist that the promoter of your event do the same, or you will be speaking to an empty room.
I have seen too many people accept a speaking invitation, any speaking invitation, and go to an event and waste their time. Speaking is great leverage if you make sure the room is full and the audience is qualified.
Writing Articles for Influential Websites
Trade websites and blogs are often great venues to use for article publication. If your target audience has a trade association, there is a very good chance they have a blog or article-centric website. The fastest way to get an article published is to put an outline together and email it to the editor of the websites. The editor’s email will often appear on the bottom of the website or in the bio box of some of the articles.
Trade websites are always looking for new, fresh content. Make sure your article is on a compelling topic and make sure it is highly relevant to the membership of the trade organization. If one trade website turns you down, do not hesitate to pitch the article to others.
Newsletters
Publishing your own newsletter and offering an opt-in subscription on your website is a terrific way to build a relationship with people in your market niche.
You should print and mail your newsletter once each month to your potential clients. Although electronic newsletters are effective, print newsletters will have a greater impact because they give the appearance of more significant information.
In your newsletter you can cover topics that are relevant to your audience, promote your services and build relationships by sharing information about you and your company. Although many sales professionals and business leaders believe newsletters are time-consuming, they happen to be one of the best relationship-building tools available.
Here is a return on investment example for the power of a newsletter in generating sales leads:
If you send your newsletter to 1,000 potential clients every month for a year and it costs you less than $1 per copy to send, and you develop $3,000 worth of business each month as a result, was it worth it? Your total spend on this initiative is $12,000. Your revenue is $36,000. That is a net profit of $24,000 or a 200% return on investment. That’s pretty hard to ignore.
Communicating with prospective clients in a one-to-one setting works for developing business but it takes a long time. Using leverage to generate new sales leads will help you build relationships faster
Sales (in general) and lead generation (in particular) does not need to be complicated and overwhelming. You can attract clients quickly if you look for ways to leverage the content you create.
Here are some additional ways to generate sales leads:
How to Use Social media to Boost Sales
Everyone is using social media these days. This audio program helps you discover how to get sales leads from your daily social media usage.
When you generate sales leads you cannot just look for any clients. You must look for your ideal client. This article will help you focus on those great clients that understand your value.
Networking and Sales: You can develop great relationships by using this focused strategy and it doesn’t take a lot of time.