Where can you generate leads?

Leads are the lifeblood of any B2B or B2C startup. Without them, it's unlikely they'll be able to grow their businesses. But if you're not sure about what a "lead" is, here's an overview.

A lead is someone who has shown interest in your product but hasn't yet made a purchase decision. They might have seen your ad, visited your website, followed up with an email, or even read through some content on your blog. This person might also have done research before reaching out to you - perhaps checking reviews, speaking with friends, or looking at competitors' offerings.

Once this interested party reaches out to you, they become a potential customer. You now need to figure out how best to convert these people into paying customers. Some will buy right away, while others may take longer to make their decision. That's why lead management is so crucial. It helps ensure you don't lose any opportunities by not converting those leads fast enough.

So let's dive into where you can find leads and learn more about selling your leads.

Where do lead companies get leads?

You probably already know there's a lot of competition when it comes to finding new clients. There are tons of other services offering the same thing as yours, and many of them are free! In fact, there are plenty of resources available to help you advertise your products and services.

But just because something exists doesn't mean it works. And one way to stand out from the crowd is to invest time and money into advertising campaigns that give you quality leads instead of quantity. So where should you look to source your leads?

Google ads: Google AdWords is one of the biggest platforms for PPC (pay-per-click) advertising. With a budget of $10/day, you can target keywords related to your industry and create specific landing pages tailored to different audiences. The more targeted your audience, the better your results. If you have a high conversion rate, then you could potentially earn thousands per day using only a few hundred dollars.

Social media influencers: Influencer marketers use social networks like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc., to build relationships within their niche communities. These individuals typically endorse brands and products based on whether they believe they work well or provide value.

These types of accounts tend to attract followers, which means you can reach them easily via paid advertisements. For example, if you run a fitness app, you could pay a blogger to share your link on his or her site. Or maybe you want to sponsor a video series featuring your brand.

Content creators: Content creation is another great place to find leads. When creating valuable content around your topic, you'll naturally attract attention from prospective buyers. Many companies hire writers directly to produce articles, eBooks, whitepapers, case studies, videos, etc. to promote their products and services.

Search engines: Search engine optimization (SEO), along with search engine marketing (SEM) and organic search listings, is still very effective. While SEO tends to focus on getting relevant websites ranked higher than non-relevant ones in search results, SEM focuses on boosting traffic to your website via paid ads placed across multiple channels. Both strategies rely heavily on keyword searches, making them excellent places to gain qualified leads.

Ecommerce sites: Ecommerce sites can benefit greatly from having good SEO. Not only does this improve rankings on popular search terms, but it allows visitors to find your store quickly. Since most consumers begin researching products online first, this makes sense.

If you own an ecommerce shop or plan to soon, consider hiring an expert to optimize your site. An experienced professional can increase conversions without losing too much traffic.

The key takeaway here is that no matter what type of service you offer, you'll likely find leads somewhere else. Don't worry about trying every avenue possible until you narrow down your options. Focus on the easiest methods first. Once you've found success in one area, try moving onto the next option. Eventually, you'll discover the ideal combination of tools for generating leads.

How do I sell my leads?

Now that you understand where leads come from, the question becomes: How exactly do you turn them into profit?

There are several approaches to selling leads. Here are three of the most common ones:

Cold calling: Cold calls allow prospects to reach out to you directly over the phone. Most experts recommend avoiding cold calls unless absolutely necessary since they require patience, persistence, and often times follow ups. However, if you feel comfortable with this approach, you could call existing customers or send automated emails asking for feedback after buying a product or signing up for a trial.

Email list building: Email list building requires less effort than cold calling, but it's far from guaranteed to succeed. After all, lots of people unsubscribe or ignore your messages simply due to spam filters. To avoid this problem, you must carefully craft each message to appeal specifically to your subscribers.

Referral programs: Referral programs reward current customers for recommending your business to others. Depending on your product or service, you could incentivize referrals with discounts, coupons, giveaways, or anything else that appeals to shoppers.

Regardless of which method you choose, remember that once you acquire a lead, it belongs to you. Treat it with respect and always aim to close that sale ASAP.

How can I sell my lead?

When you receive a lead, it's important to treat it accordingly. Whether you use a direct mailer, respond to inquiries via email, or set up a meeting, the goal remains the same. You need to convince your prospect to buy your product or sign up for your service.

Here are seven tips to keep in mind throughout the entire process:

1. Always answer questions promptly. Prospects appreciate quick responses, especially during busy seasons. Before responding to a query, ask yourself: What would I say if I was talking to a friend? Then write down everything you'd tell him or her. Use this script whenever you reply to incoming requests.

2. Be honest. Never lie to anyone. If you promise to deliver a certain product tomorrow morning, then put it in writing. Your word is worth nothing if you break it later. Also, never pretend to be someone you aren't. Even if you think it sounds cool, your prospects won't. Make sure you show genuine enthusiasm for your product, and don't hesitate to admit any mistakes.

3. Keep things simple. Avoid long paragraphs filled with jargon unless you really know what you're talking about. Instead, stick to short sentences and bullet points. If you sound knowledgeable, your readers will assume you know what you're doing. Plus, it takes time to read complex material. Save everyone's time and energy by keeping your copy brief.

4. Show confidence. No matter how confident you appear, understate your abilities sometimes. By saying "I'm not sure," you reveal uncertainty, which shows doubt to your reader. On the contrary, stating confidently that you know exactly what you're doing gives off positive vibes.

5. Answer tough questions honestly. Sometimes you'll encounter skeptical customers. Rather than trying to sugarcoat your answers, acknowledge their concerns head on. Letting problems go unaddressed isn't going to win you any fans.

6. Offer incentives. People love deals, and you can leverage this tendency to boost conversions. Offering rewards such as 20% discount codes, free shipping, or gift certificates will encourage prospects to act sooner rather than later.

7. Ask for permission. Even though you're probably tempted to jump straight to the point, it's best practice to ask for approval first. A little extra work upfront will save you time and frustration down the road.

These tips apply regardless of which method you decide to use. Regardless of whether you opt for a referral program or cold call, always remain respectful and courteous. Remember, you're dealing with real human beings, and treating them with dignity goes a long way.

How much do leads sell for?

Knowing the average price of a lead is useful information for figuring out how to spend your budget efficiently. Since we haven't discussed pricing yet, let's briefly discuss cost factors.

Cost considerations include:

Advertising costs: Cost depends largely on your budget and campaign goals. Typically, the larger your budget, the greater your return. Paying monthly saves you money overall compared to annual plans, but both options are relatively affordable.

Marketing automation software: Marketing automation software includes apps that automate various tasks involved in running an internet business. Examples include autoresponders, drip campaigns, webinar scheduling, and analytics tracking. Automation eliminates tedious processes that distract you from growing your business.

Web hosting fees: Hosting is arguably the least expensive aspect of starting an internet business. However, you shouldn't skimp on quality. Cheap hosts usually cut corners on security measures, slow performance, and unreliable uptime. Quality host providers offer reliable connections, top-notch support, and unlimited storage space.

Leads are what make businesses successful. Without them, there’d be no money coming in and therefore no revenue streams. However, without knowing where they come from, it’s difficult to know if you have enough of them or not. In fact, most companies don't even bother doing any form of lead generation because they assume that all their customers will just find out about them through word-of-mouth (which isn’t always true).

So, where exactly should an entrepreneur look when trying to bring more people in through his/her door? Let's take a look at some tips and tricks to help with this problem.

What are the best ways to generate leads?

There are many different methods to generate leads. Some are free while others cost money. There are also varying levels of effectiveness depending on the type of market you're looking at. For example, B2B leads generally require much more work than B2C leads as you want to build trust before handing over details.

But regardless of whether you’re working with consumers or clients, here are some strategies that may prove helpful.

Content Marketing - This is one of the simplest forms of lead generation. The idea behind content marketing is simple: create useful resources that appeal to potential buyers -- so long as those buyers fit who you think your target audience is. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling a product or service, but simply creating valuable information that helps your prospects solve problems related to whatever it is that your brand offers could well end up bringing you new customers.

Social Media Advertising - If social media advertising is something that interests you, then you need to consider using paid ads instead of organic posts. PPC campaigns allow you to set specific keywords and phrases, which means that you can better tailor your message to whoever might be searching for it. You'll typically pay per click, though you can sometimes negotiate a lower rate by reaching out directly to the advertiser.

Email Campaigns - Email marketing has become very popular lately due to its ease of use and low barrier to entry. Not only are emails quick and convenient, but they’re also effective. They provide an opportunity to establish yourself as someone worth hearing from, plus you can often see results within 24 hours. Plus, email lists are incredibly powerful tools that let you send personalized messages based off of customer data collected during signup -- it’ll save you time down the line when you actually reach out to these individuals.

Search Engine Optimization - SEO is another way to boost traffic to your site. As most website owners know, Google ranks websites higher based on how relevant they are to searches. So, if your products or services are highly sought after, making sure that your website shows up high in search engine rankings makes sense. To ensure that this happens, you’ll need to write engaging content, optimize images, link back to other pages on your own site, etc... It takes time and effort, but once it’s done properly, it can really increase conversions.

Mobile Apps - Mobile apps are becoming increasingly important for both consumer and enterprise markets alike. While mobile app development wasn’t common 10 years ago, now nearly every smartphone user owns one, and this trend continues to grow. A lot of entrepreneurs are starting to realize that having an app available to download gives them access to a wider audience than ever before, especially since a large number of users won’t go to the trouble of downloading software unless it’s necessary.

How do I get started with lead generation?

Now that we've covered some basic concepts, it’s time to dive deeper into how to get started! Here are five steps to follow when generating leads for your business:

Define Your Target Audience - When attempting to sell anything to anyone, you first have to define who it is that you’re targeting. By understanding who your ideal client is going to be, you can craft a message that resonates with them specifically. Once you figure out what kind of person would benefit from your offering, you can decide what sort of language works best (or maybe what tone) for your particular demographic.

Research Potential Buyers - Before you begin pitching your ideas to prospective clients, you must research them thoroughly. Know everything possible about each individual buyer -- including things like what they have purchased in the past, why they made that purchase decision, what they currently buy, and where they live. Then, use this knowledge to inform the kinds of questions you ask and the answers you give.

Develop Relationships With Prospective Customers - Don’t wait until you already have a sale to develop relationships with your customers. Instead, try building rapport early on and establishing yourself as someone who cares about helping people achieve success. After all, the more you care about your customers, the easier it will be to convert them into paying customers.

Create Content That People Want To Read - One of the biggest mistakes that startups tend to make is assuming that everyone wants to read everything that they produce. Sure, you probably wouldn’t mind getting hundreds of thousands of views on a single blog post, but the truth is that most readers aren’t interested in reading endless amounts of text. What matters more is that readers understand the value being offered, so you should focus on providing good quality content that solves real problems.

Identify Opportunities And Act Quickly - Now that you know who your potential customers are and what they want, it’s time to identify opportunities and act quickly. Remember that every day counts -- you never know when a prospect might respond to your offer. Take advantage of every chance to speak with them and learn more about what they’re looking for.

The key takeaway here is that there’s no shortage of places to find leads -- just pick the ones that suit your needs best. Just remember that these sources vary greatly depending on your industry, so choose wisely.

What is a Lead, anyway?

A lead is an individual who has shown interest in contacting you within 24 hours after receiving information on your product or service. A lead could also refer to an individual who shows interest in buying something but hasn’t decided whether he wants to buy yet.

This person may become a customer at some point down the line, so you want to give him every chance possible. For this reason, you need to provide as much relevant content as possible to ensure that he finds his way back to your site again. This means that lead generation is one of the most important parts of business development.

In order to get more people interested in your products or services, you must first understand why they would contact you in the first place. The answer lies in understanding the buyer journey, which we'll discuss next.

The Buyer Journey

When someone comes across your website, she might browse around for a while before deciding to take action. Before taking any kind of action, however, she needs to figure out exactly what she's looking for. That's when her decision making process begins. She then moves forward by learning what your brand does well, what its benefits are, and finally what problem it solves.

Once she understands these things, she makes up her mind whether she wants to purchase your product or service. If she decides to do so, she goes ahead with purchasing it online or offline. This is known as the conversion stage.

Lead Generation is a critical part of any successful Inbound Marketing Strategy. It's one of the most important factors that will help you grow your business by attracting more people who are interested in what you have to offer. But it’s not always easy to know where or how to go about finding these potential clients.

In this article we'll discuss some tips on generating leads using different avenues including social media platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, YouTube, and other places where you might be able to find new prospects. We also want to explain how much value there really is when you use all of these channels together as an integrated approach.

So let’s jump right in!

How do you find leads on Instagram?

Instagram has over 700 million users worldwide with 50% being active daily (according to Statista). While they may not seem like ideal prospects at first glance, their influence is growing every day as they're becoming increasingly influential. This means that if you create compelling content that resonates well with them, then you could potentially reach out to their friends and followers via email and/or direct messaging which would give you access to even more leads.

If you've been following our blog posts recently, you'd already know that we recommend creating engaging content regularly so that your audience grows organically. And while this doesn't mean you should spam those followers, it does encourage interaction between you and your target audience. If you follow us on Instagram, you probably noticed that we post several times per week because we believe in sharing quality content consistently. So why not take advantage of this opportunity to talk directly to your audience and build relationships through social interactions?

This isn't just good practice though - it can actually become one of your best assets when it comes to growing your list of leads. By building trust and credibility among your community, you can begin to develop long-term connections which can eventually turn into paying customers. You don't need to make the leap from follower to customer overnight but you can definitely see results if you set yourself up correctly.

Where can I find lead customers?

The easiest way to discover prospective buyers is to look around your own neighborhood. Start with places that are close to home such as coffee shops or restaurants near your office. Ask yourself questions like "what type of products or services are they looking for?" Then search Yelp, Yellow Pages, Google Maps, etc., to find businesses that fit your criteria. Once you identify potential leads, send them a small thank you note thanking them for taking time to speak with you. Offer to schedule a meeting to learn more about their needs and interests. Even if you end up closing the deal, it still pays off to be polite and professional throughout the entire process. Remember, you never know when someone else will be searching for the same thing you are.

Another great place to find leads is through networking events. There are many opportunities available everywhere you look whether it's in person or virtually. One example would be attending industry conferences, trade shows, expositions, and seminars. These events provide great exposure for both you and your brand (and maybe even a free lunch!). Make sure to attend sessions and panels related to your niche market to show attendees that you care enough about your topic to participate. The last thing you want is to come across as disingenuous or unprofessional during a panel discussion.

You can also try starting conversations with strangers at public venues. For instance, a colleague of mine once approached a stranger and asked him if he was having trouble getting his car fixed. He ended up scheduling a garage visit with him after learning about his situation. When you meet someone face-to-face, you gain an instant connection and can often open doors for future engagements.

As another option, check out Meetup groups in your area. Some of these groups focus exclusively on specific topics whereas others welcome members regardless of interest level. Both options allow you to connect with individuals who share similar passions and goals. If you join one group specifically dedicated to your target clientele, you'll likely have better luck connecting with people who are genuinely excited about whatever product or service you're selling.

Once again, remember to keep things lighthearted and friendly. Don't push too hard with your pitch and ensure that everyone feels comfortable before asking for the sale. Take notes and jot down names and contact information for later reference. Always maintain professionalism and courtesy no matter where you encounter potential leads. Your goal here is to establish rapport and form genuine relationships with each individual.

Who are lead customers?

It's impossible to say exactly who your leads will ultimately become since you won't know until you ask. However, there are certain characteristics that tend to attract people towards buying a particular product or service. Here are three key traits that distinguish a buyer from a non-buyer:

1) Passionate about something

People buy based on emotions rather than logic. They feel strongly about a cause, idea, belief, lifestyle choice, etc. If you think back to your childhood days, did you ever experience passion for anything? Did you spend hours playing sports, reading books, or watching movies? Chances are, you were passionate about something as a child and had strong feelings about it. Now imagine that feeling multiplied tenfold and applied to your adult life. Would you choose to live that way every single day? Of course not. That's why you must understand that people purchase goods and services based on emotions instead of reason alone.

When you communicate authentically, you engage emotionally with your audience. People buy when they feel connected to you and your message.

2) Interested in solving problems

I'm sure you've heard the saying 'people buy solutions' - especially when they're experiencing challenges. Many companies sell their solution to solve a problem without considering the underlying reasons behind the challenge. Instead, they only focus on making money and forget about how their product or service benefits their consumers. A true leader understands that people buy solutions to problems and helps them uncover the root causes of their issues. As a result, they become motivated to change their current situation and move forward with confidence.

3) Ready to act now

Sometimes, people aren't ready to commit to purchasing a product or service immediately. Their hesitation stems from fear about being disappointed with the final outcome. What you need to realize is that people want to avoid pain. Whenever possible, they prefer to wait and watch before committing to a decision. So if you truly desire to convert your leads into customers, you need to address their concerns head on by giving them reassurance that your offering solves their problems effectively.

These three qualities represent the core fundamentals of effective marketing. To put it simply, you need to capture attention, inspire action, and motivate behavior. Whether you're trying to generate sales leads, promote your latest promotion, or spread awareness about a special event, understanding these principles will serve you well.

Where can I prospect for leads?

There are plenty of places where you can find potential leads.

LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is arguably the best platform for B2B marketers to gather qualified leads. Most professionals who work within a corporate setting utilize this site to advance their careers. Since its inception almost 10 years ago, LinkedIn has grown exponentially and currently boasts over 200 million registered users worldwide. With so many professionals actively participating on the network, chances are you'll run into people whose job title matches your own.

One of the biggest mistakes that marketers make is thinking that their marketing efforts are confined solely to the websites they manage. If you haven't yet started utilizing LinkedIn as a tool to drive traffic to your website, you're missing out on valuable resources.

Twitter:

With millions of monthly active users, Twitter provides a great avenue for reaching out to thousands of people at once. Use hashtags (#) to break up messages and increase engagement rates. Also, consider adding links to relevant articles on your blog or landing page. This allows your followers to easily navigate to the source material and read further details regarding your offerings.

Facebook:

While Facebook primarily serves as a newsfeed for family and friends, it's also a powerful medium for targeted advertising. Businesses can advertise on Facebook to reach audiences outside of their geographical location. Be careful with this tactic however as it's difficult to track conversion rates accurately due to the nature of user privacy settings.

YouTube:

Similar to Facebook, YouTube hosts a vast library of videos designed to entertain viewers. Although it lacks the sophistication of a traditional video ad campaign, there is a large number of people viewing videos that are seeking answers to common problems. You can leverage this phenomenon by uploading short educational videos to your channel explaining the ins and outs of your products and services.

Other Places:

Google Analytics & AdWords:

Both tools allow you to monitor visitors to your website to determine areas where improvements can be made. Analyze visitor demographics, behaviors, and locations to pinpoint where to improve your campaigns.

Gmail:

Email marketing remains one of the most cost-effective forms of lead generation. Send personalized emails containing helpful tips or links to useful articles. Encourage readers to opt-in to receive updates from your newsletter.

Pinterest: