If you’re a small business or home business considering lead generation strategies, the complexity – and cost – of some of the more complicated systems can be off-putting. But…it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. In fact, with a little planning you can create a lead generation strategy that is simple to use, low cost and very effective.
Generating leads for small businesses is different because small businesses are different; you don’t have the budget, you don’t have the manpower and you don’t have the time. So how can you develop an effective lead generation program?
Advertising can be expensive but small businesses and home-based businesses don’t generally have a lot of money to throw at their lead generation strategies. You need to find ways to attract people to your business so the only option is to focus your efforts on the bigger marketing picture – not just advertising.
Here are five low cost marketing ideas that you could consider:
If you’re short on time and can’t afford to have staff running around looking after your lead generation program, then the natural solution is to automate as much of the process as possible. Here are four quick ideas for automating your lead generation system:
Every small business faces the same issues – small budgets and lack of time and resources. By focusing on low-cost marketing ideas and automating as much of the process as possible, you can create a lead generation process that suits your business.
We do it for you: If you need help developing a lead generation system for your small business or home business, Click here for more info about the lead generation services we provide.
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Most sales people and entrepreneurs will tell you that they’re good in front of customers. They’re ‘people persons’. “Put me in front of a prospect and I’ll close the sale” is a common statement among salespeople and business owners. In the US, the Small Business Administration (SBA) estimates over 80% of new businesses never reach their fifth year anniversary.
If sales people and business owners say they are great in front of prospects and that they possess the traits of stellar sales people, how can the studies indicate so much failure?
Are the sales people lying?
… No they’re not.
Generating a lead and closing a sale are not the same. When you close a sale you are asking the prospect to make a decision. Making a decision is a commitment. It means risk, responsibility and stress. No matter how smooth and professional you are, closing a sale is stressful for your prospect.
Sales lead generation must be stress-free – the exact opposite of closing a sale. You need to sift through the market and allow all those interested in your offer to stand up and be counted.
Sales lead generation must adopt a soft-sell approach. Your prospect might need something you have for sale. Ideally you want her, someone who doesn’t know or trust you, to step up and introduce herself. No one appreciates being sold – not even salespeople. And without any knowledge of you or your business, every approach will be viewed with skepticism. If you push too hard at this point she’ll run away.
You want your prospect to feel comfortable, relaxed and in control – that means gaining her permission to begin a professional sales relationship. That means offering your prospect a chance to learn more about you without making a commitment. For example, to generate sales leads using a soft-sell approach you could:
Sales lead generation takes time and effort to be effective. Most small business owners don’t have lots of spare time so it should be automated. Your money is made closing sales – not generating leads. You need to automate the lead generating process so you can:
So how can you automate your lead generation process?
If you market online you should consider using an autoresponder. Autoresponders are software programs that allow you to input your contacts, add your sales messages, then program it to automatically email the messages to your list on a schedule you choose.
Set and forget.
Since you decide when to send your messages, you could be on vacation for a week and still have your sales lead generation tactics automatically working for you.
Too many small businesses fail because they don’t manage their lead generation process effectively. Understand the difference between sales and lead generation, make getting in touch with you easy, rewarding and risk free and finally, automate as much as you can.
Follow these three steps and you’ll be able to focus on doing what you do best – dealing directly with new customers and closing the sale.
We do it for you: If you need help developing a sales lead generation strategy for your business, Click here for more info about the lead generation services we provide
Do it yourself: For more lead generation ideas Download our free report
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Outsourcing your lead generation services – is it a good idea or bad?
Every small business owner is busy. That means you have to dedicate your efforts to the things you do well and where you can add value. If marketing and lead generation is something you’re good at, then great.
If not, outsourcing your marketing efforts could be a smart move.
A good friend of mine asked me this question, “As a self-employed business owner, what aspect of the sales process should I spend the most time on?”
It might seem like a complicated question but in reality it’s quite simple: You don’t make money producing leads; you do it by closing sales. That’s why many small business owners decide to outsource some or all of their lead generation activities – so that they can focus on closing new business.
Lead generation can be very time consuming for a sole trader or small business owner – but the things that take up so much time can be outsourced.
And they include:
A good lead generation company will understand your business and your target market. Their advice and experience can save you both time and money by avoiding the things that don’t work.
Of course, to get the best results you need to find:
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Health insurance lead generation or life insurance lead generation can be difficult. It’s a very competitive market and it’s difficult to distinguish your insurance products from those of your competitors. In some cases you’ll even be selling the exact same insurance products as your competitors. So how do you set yourself apart from the others and generate more insurance leads?
Actually, the answer is in the question. You need to set yourself apart TO generate leads. Let me explain. When someone is looking for health insurance or life insurance there will be no shortage of businesses and agents lining up to take their business. From the customer’s point of view it can be very confusing. They want to make sure that they get the best possible coverage at the best possible price.
You’re in a good position to advise them but they have no reason to listen to you over anyone else – to them it’s all just a sales pitch. They don’t know who you are. They don’t know what you know. You need to create trust.
Trust is important in any business but in an industry where the customer is confused by contradictory claims and jargon, it’s essential. Trust is based on a relationship – either with you personally or your brand – but you don’t have the time to go out and build relationships with every single prospect individually. You’re still going to buy leads in. You’re still going to do all the things that you usually do. But, to generate more trust — trust that leads to leads — you should consider the following three ideas:
People are confused. Ideally they want a simple, unbiased answer to their questions: what is the best coverage for me and what is the best price I can get that coverage for. To generate trust and build leads for your insurance business, you should look for ways to answer those questions, minus the sales pitch.
You could start with a few introductory articles on your website, covering general insurance topics. People searching for this information online are good prospects. Providing that information means that they will find you before they find your competitors – and trust you more because you’ve helped educate them.
People like doing business with other people – especially people they know. Again, it’s down to trust. There are plenty of opportunities to bring your own personality into how you market your business. You could start in your local market by being an active networker.
Online you should make sure that your website – and all marketing communications – display elements of your personality and include things like personal biographies, contact details and even photos. Finally, you can use any number of social networking tools to help build your personal profile online.
Referrals are great business because they come with an endorsement attached. Accountants, solicitors, financial planners or any other professional could well be able to refer business to you. When they do, your job is simply to uphold the trust they’ve put in you and do a good job for the client. Customers are also an excellent source of referrals in the same way.
However you choose to generate leads for your insurance business (health insurance, life insurance or any other kind of insurance), finding ways to build trust is an excellent way to set yourself apart from your competitors and encourage people come to you.
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How to Buy Leads & Lead Generation & List Building Strategies & Small Businesses & Target Marketing
No budget? No problem.
Try these five free lead generation strategies on for size.
SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of making the information on your website easy to find via the search engines and improving the position that it gets displayed.
You will find a great introduction to SEO in our free report. It covers five basic SEO techniques that every business should know:
When people are in search of solutions to their problems, their first choice is normally not a company’s sales brochure. They want simple, informative and largely unbiased information. Writing articles on your industry – specifically how customers can solve common problems or improve the results they achieve – cannot only get you found, but also positions you as a trusted resource. Articles can be written for your own website, for popular 3rd party websites or for offline use like your local paper or industry trade magazine.
Networking is a great way to build contacts, get yourself known and develop new leads. Attending networking events should be part of your ongoing free marketing strategy. The first tip for networking events is to make sure you network – there’s no point in standing in the corner talking to people you already know. Go with a goal in mind to meet certain kinds of people – they may be your customer type or they may be people who come into contact with your customer type. For example, if you target students then they are not likely to be at a networking event – but teachers from the local university might be. This could lead to their support with your project. Go with an open mind, a willingness to meet new people and plenty of business cards.
People looking for solutions like information. However, written content is not always the best way to present certain information. Live events are also a great opportunity to meet people in person and include more of your personality in the information you deliver. Consider working with a community group, business groups like the Chamber of Commerce,or other businesses to help save costs and ensure a good turnout. Make it easy for attendees to opt in to receiving more information.
Referrals can come from satisfied clients and customers, professional and personal acquaintances and even arranged referral partners. Referrals are generally free but you need to put some time into increasing the chances that people will refer business to you:
Generating leads for your business doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, with a little thought you can create a great free leads program but you’ll still need to put the time in to make it work.
We do it for you: If you need help choosing the right free lead generation strategies, click here for more info about the lead generation services we provide
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Lead Generation & Lead Generation Techniques & List Building Strategies & Referrals & Small Businesses
