Customer attrition, or what’s more popularly referred to as churn rate, is inevitable for all business. Hence, a steady flow of sales leads is essential to the survival of all businesses.
You may have the best product in the world and have offered it at an unbeatable price, but your ability to turn an operations-centric firm to a sales-centric firm lies in your ability to 1) understand your customer, 2) leverage marketing to drive growth, and 3) develop a sales team to close sales. For a company to combat churn, it needs multiple channels to generate leads. Today, let’s talk specifically about the topic of lead generation.
Lead generation is your ability to drive interest in your product with your perspective customers. Here are three of our favorite approaches for generating leads:
Networking
One of the most tried and true methods for generating leads is attending professional networking events. Whether it is a breakfast gathering or an after 5pm networking gathering at a bar, people are there with the same intentions as you – to connect professionally! Networking allows you to broaden your professional network and gather valuable business referrals, while also gaining industry insights and other useful information. Networking also helps you to reconnect with existing clients or colleagues, connect with new contacts and build relationships that eventually turn into qualified sales leads.
Don’t forget to follow up with your new prospects within the first 48 hours while the memories are still fresh. Send them a personalized message and suggest further discussion over a coffee meeting.
Trade shows & Exhibitions
Trade shows and exhibitions are all about face-to-face interactions. Popular events within your industry allow you to gain access to a massive number of followers and attendees that may have similar buying interests. All of the attendees are potential leads for your business. Some of them may even be attending the events to make purchases. Ensure that you ask for your prospects’ contact information during your presentation. In cases where prospects are not ready to close the deal at the trade show, let them know that you will be in contact with them after the event for further discussion.
You may also be able to find leads among other exhibitors at the events. They may find interest in your products and services or even connect you with one of their contacts. Why skip out on the opportunity? While you are there anyways, be the speaker. Speaking at conferences and trade shows is highly effective for establishing yourself as an authority within your industry. You can easily capture everyone’s attention by delivering an informative speech on stage. Ensure your speech is NOT an infomercial sales pitch. Remember, you are on the stage to build a positive image for your business. You will have plenty of opportunities to network with your prospects during the conference.
Customer Referrals
Our favorite, by far, is customer referrals. We all can recall a time being indecisive on which hotel to choose for your next vacation. Then a friend of yours suggested the ABC Resort where she had an amazing experience along with many fun stories to tell. Your friend’s suggestion instantly becomes the main deciding factor in your hotel selection. People tend to make purchasing decisions based on customer referrals and feedbacks. Referrals from happy customers will boost your business’s creditability.
There are countless strategies and approaches to generate sales leads. Some commonly used techniques include cross promotion/complimentary partner referrals, using LinkedIn to find prospects, webinars, and cold calling. The effectiveness of each approach will vary based on your situation and the nature of your business. There is no need for you to stick to a single approach as the strategies are meant to be used simultaneously. We’d love to hear your story on generating sales leads. Drop us a line. We can help you put together an effective lead generation program.
