Grow Your Business - Lead Generation
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As a Business Coach, one of the greatest rewards I have is helping people in business really grow their business and create BIG results from the simple activities they master each and every day.
I do this by working in partnership with my clients to come up with a plan every 90 days that is congruent to their 12 month short term goals, as well as their 3-5 year long term goals. And the 5-Step system covered in last months article, 5 Ways To Grow Any Business:
- Number of Leads: the total number of potential buyers that you contacted or that have contacted you in the past year.
- Conversion Rate: The percentage of people from your leads who bought your product or service.
- Number of Transactions: The average number of times your customers buy from you over a 12 month period.
- Average $$ Sale: The average amount purchased by your customers; add up your total sales and divide by the number of sales.
- Profit Margin: This is the percentage of each and every sale that's profit. In other words, if you sold something for $100 and $25 was profit, then you've got a twenty-five percent margin.
Now, the 5 Ways system as a whole is very powerful….but the true power comes from breaking each of the 5 activities down and focusing on one or two at a time every 90 days. So...over the next 5 articles, we will do just that.
Lead Generation: The first activity of this formula is Lead Generation. Lead generation is a marketing term that refers to the creation or generation of prospective consumer interest or inquiry into a business' products or services. Consistently filling your funnel of sales leads is extremely important to the growth of your business. As an ActionCOACH, I have over 70 different lead generation strategies to pull from to assist clients. Here is a sample:
- Networking: One of the least expensive, yet most powerful of the strategies. Join a group of like-minded business owners that meets weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Attend networking events in your area sponsored by chambers, business groups, associations, trade organizations. Plan out your month ahead of time and get these on your calendar to attend. No matter what your product or service, the consumer is buying you first…..what better way to sell you, than to network!
- Structured Referrals: The goal of every business owner is to create a 100% referral based business. Create a system around the referral generating process. Position your current clients when you begin your relationship that you will ask for a referral if they are satisfied with the product or service you provided. Sometimes, it’s as simple as asking.
- Strategic Alliance: Find other business owners that are in your industry but have a different focus. Ex: if you are a photographer, create an alliance with a florist or wedding planning to co-market and build leads that will generate business together. Leverage each other’s area of expertise and database to create more business for each other.
- Only Advertise if You Can Test & Measure: There are a number of traditional media methods to advertise your business. Some will work better for you than others. When you decide to invest in advertisement marketing such as print, radio, billboard, yellow pages, etc., the key to knowing your success is to Test & Measure your results. Be sure to create a system of finding out how each lead came to you and track the responses. By testing and measuring how each lead comes to your door, you will be able to make an informed decision on whether you are getting a return on your investment. If a lead generated by an advertising method converts into a paying customer, and the profit on that customer is greater than the investment of the advertising, then you have run a successful lead generation strategy for your business. You have gotten a positive Return On your Investment(ROI).
These are just a handful of lead generation strategies you could use in your business. The key is to find one or two over the next 90 days you want to try. Decide what increase in leads you want to generate: 5%, 10%, 20%. Then work it consistently and with discipline….and Test & Measure your results!
For example, let’s say you currently have 400 leads in your database right now. You have decided that you want to increase your leads by 10% = 40 more leads in the next 90 days. Choose the strategy you will use, work it consistently over the 90 days, test & measure your results and Bingo! You will create more momentum and knowledge of what works and what doesn’t work for you and your business. And Knowledge is Power!
Commit to working smarter this year, not harder. Grow your business, one strategy at a time!
Pamela Muldoon, Certified ActionCOACH Business & Executive Coach, has over 20 years experience in communications, sales, marketing, training & development. She has an extensive background in such industries as Radio Broadcasting, Theatre Arts, Travel and Financial Services.
Aligning people on all levels of an organization, Pamela Muldoon helps leaders unleash hidden potential within themselves and their teams. She empowers individuals to identify and create their own customized path to success, achieving a life of wealth and abundance that includes a healthy life balance.
Pamela holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a Certified Project Management certification from the University of St. Thomas. A community advocate, Pamela serves on the Board of Directors for the Lake Minnetonka Chamber of Commerce, as the Lead Ambassador for the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the American Society of Training & Development-Twin Cities Chapter. Pamela is a public speaker on business education, an author and teacher. She has taught Radio Sales & Marketing to students at Brown College in Mendota Heights where she also received her Radio Broadcasting Certification. She is also a member of the Graduate program for the National Speakers Association-MN Chapter.
ActionCOACH Business Coach
763.670.7238
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