Lead Generation - The Key To New Business Success

Lead generation is often the most difficult sales problem businesses have to overcome.  While being expert in supplying the product or service it delivers, a business may struggle to get in front of prospective customers in the first place. Lead generation is never easy but it is possible to promote a business proposition quickly and cost effectively and this section will give you some ideas:

Where Are Your Leads Going to Come From? 

The first step is to identify to whom you currently sell. Profiling the type of customer that usually buys from you and when they buy is vital. Once you have this information you can create targeted marketing campaigns to an audience you know already needs your products or services.

Your current customer base will also be full of sales leads - you just have to find them. Make sure you know what other products or services your customers buy and whether you could supply them. To do this you need to have a solution in place to capture all the information you need to know - a simple CRM solution will provide you with this information.

Every happy customer provides an opportunity for referrals - don't be frightened to ask! You will be suprised by your clients willingness to recommend you.

Choose your Lead Generation Campaign

Once you know your target market you can then plan the best and most cost effective way to reach as many new prospects as possible. The most common lead generation activities are;

• Event or Trade Show Marketing
• Direct Mailing
• e-Mail Marketing
• Web marketing & Search Engine Optimization
• Telemarketing

Execute The Campaign

Choose your message carefully. A good way of managing a lead generation campaign is to use you CRM solution to create multiple, small target audiences based on what you know about them. Next, deliver a highly personalised message that will get your prospects' attention because it is means something to them. For example, you could use your CRM solution to identify all the contacts you know that use a particular competitor. Tell them why somebody you know switched to your product or service. Illustrate your USPs (Unique Selling Points) and explain why they should be talking to you instead. Your conversion rate will be much better than a generic lead generation campaign as you already know that your prospect buys exactly what you are offering.

How to Turn Your Leads into Business