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Three Killer Lead Generation Solutions You Can Use Today

Monday, July 20th, 2009

1. Run a Referral Promotion Campaign

Need results quick? Create a referral promotion campaign today. Offer your existing clients and contacts incentive to send you new clients. Create an offer that fits your budget. For example, a $10 iTunes for every anyone who sends you new business that results in a sale.

Promotion campaigns are an age old marketing solution that is used by corporations and individuals. You don’t need marketing materials, or a large budget to begin driving more revenue. You can execute and track promotion campaigns right from your desk using online referral software.

2. Send a Referral

As you sit here and ponder how to generate new business, it is likely that you know another small business owner who’s doing the same. Are you both actively advocating for each other? A missed referral opportunity is as detrimental as a new sale is good. Get serious about sending others new business and watch your business grow. Business lead generation is is the best way to generate qualified sales leads.

3. Solidify a New Formal Referral Partnership

Make a formal gesture to another small business owner and tell them you are serious about sending new business back and forth. We aren’t talking about adding a stranger on Facebook and waiting to figure out their favorite color. There is nothing more powerful than a serious business relationship whereby both parties advocate for each other and maintain reciprocal behavior. While a formal gesture may feel superfluous if you are not used to referral marketing, it is the sales secret shared by most successful small business owners.

Tags: business lead generation, Referral Software
Posted in business lead generation | No Comments »

Six Networking Profiles for Effective Word of Mouth Promotions

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

Welcome to part two of our social media demographic study. In part one we examined the role gender plays in your online networking efforts. (To Read Part One Click Here: Social Media Demographics)

Today we’d like to take a look at the various roles your prospects, colleagues, and friends play within an online networking environment. I recently reread “Groundswell - Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies” by Forrester Research. It’s an excellent read and if you’re interested in learning more click here.

The question I want to answer is, “What role do your connections fulfill within your small business network and how can you apply that to business lead generation?”

Groundswell identifies six profiles to consider when interacting with your network.

Creators
Are online consumers who contribute new content at least once a month i.e. blogs, videos, audio, wikis

Critics
Primarily interact with online content i.e. blog comments, forums, reviews

Collectors
Organize and aggregate online information i.e. RSS feeds, photo tagging, ratings

Joiners
Participate or maintain profiles on networking sites i.e. Twitter, MySpace, Facebook

Spectators
Are the consumers of online media. They strictly watch, read and listen to others content.

Inactives
Are people who are online but not participating in any new media

Below is a chart showing how the online world, as a whole, falls into these categories.
*Percentages add up to more than 100% because groups overlap

What This Means For Your Small Business

Whether you’re looking to generate sales leads or simply improve your word of mouth promotions, it’s important that you understand how your prospects are engaging the internet.

Here is just one example of putting this information to good use:

Let’s say you are a web designer who helps small businesses develop their websites. There is a good chance that the majority of your prospects do not fall into the “Creator” category. As a web designer you may enjoy technical Wiki’s and making connections on cutting-edge online social tools but you aren’t likely to find many prospects on those mediums.

Your prosepcts are interested in a website so it is likely that, at the very least, they see the value in an online presence. Therefore, the majority of them are probably “Spectators”. Producing content on sites like YouTube, Flikr, or even online trade publications will allow you to better connect with people seeking your services.

What profile do your prospective clients fall into?

Are you using the right mediums to reach them?

Tags: generate sales leads, groundswell
Posted in Word of Mouth Promotions, business lead generation, social media demographics | No Comments »

Take this Pole. The Tricky Side to B2B Lead Generation.

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

The truth is that no two professionals have the same exact approach to B2B lead generation. Inevitably, some professionals place a much higher priority on business networking than others. If we were all very honest with ourselves we’d probably come to the conclusion that we have quite a few relationships that are less than balanced. Either you are working hard to ensure the success of a colleague or someone is working very hard to help you; and the effort isn’t mutual. We often avoid confronting imbalanced relationships because it can be uncomfortable and easier to just ignore. We pose the hypothetical situation:

David is a property inspector with his own practice. For David, it’s all about business lead generation. He generates most of his new sales leads through his close referral relationships with talented local Realtors. Part of David’s key to success is his ability to actively seek out qualified prospects which he then sends to his Realtor associates. David often has to make difficult decisions as to who he’ll send new referrals to. He takes several factors into consideration such as the client’s specific needs, the Realtor’s area of expertise, and the Realtor’s ability to return the favor.

David met a Realtor named Kevin at a networking event. They quickly built a good rapport and agreed to send each other new business. Over the past three months David has sent Kevin six timely sales leads and Kevin has sent David one; the client Kevin referred isn’t even looking for a property inspector.

Now the easy way out is to say, “Well, he’s making a nice gesture towards Kevin and that should be enough.” But like anything, the reality is that there’s always a give and take. Every nonreciprocating lead David has sent Kevin, has been a missed opportunity to help a different Realtor. For example, Deborah just opened her own firm and she’s hungry for new prospects. She needs the business and is eager to do whatever it takes to make sure David is taken care of too. His other associate Susan is getting close to retirement and is recognized as one of the most experienced Realtors in the area.Susan advocates for professionals she believes in and having Susan’s blessing could be very powerful. She doesn’t have the energy to chase down every name that crosses her desk but she would appreciate a few solid sales leads from David.

What should David do?

Tags: b2b lead generation, business lead generation, relator referrals
Posted in Realtor Referrals, b2b lead generation, business lead generation, referral marketing | 5 Comments »