Gathering leads for your business can be done in many ways. If you are a
small business, chances are you or your employees gather them by networking, cold calling, referrals, or hitting the pavement. There are professional lead generation firms for a fee that will also supply you with leads but I have found most of these are a waste of time due to the fact that their lists are usually outdated or inaccurate. The other problem I have found is they supply you with a contact name that is usually the gate-keeper whom you can't get past anyway. I once got a lead from a lead generation company that when I called for the follow-up the guy had no idea who I was o had any record being contacted previously. This was after the lead generation company told us they "contacted" this firm and they were anxious for us to call for a follow-up. Needless to say, this put a sour taste in my mouth for using lead generation companies. I am sure there are good lead generation firms out there but for the fees they charge, with proper research and knowing what your market is, you can accomplish much on your own. Many of your distributors work with lead generation companies and offer this service for free and if that is the case, by all means use them as you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Take the time to look at your lead campaign and if you wish to hire a professional company, make sure you have all your ducks in a row and look at your ROI before hiring. If you wish to start your own lead generation campaign, here are a few pointers. The Point Guard Appoint a staff member if it not going to be you to be in charge of the leads. Make sure every step of the campaign is followed through. Quality Leads Make sure your leads fit your product or service. Go for a quality lead. You do not need to have 100 leads. If you have 3 solid leads that fit your business, you have done well. Always pre-qualify the lead so you do not waste your valuable time on chasing "ghosts". Action Plan How are you going to run the campaign. Are you cold calling? If so, what are your resources? Are you going to go door to door? If so where? Are you going to email? If so are you following spamming laws? Whom are you directing your emails at? Why would they want to hear from you in the first place? Have a data base Make sure you keep track of your leads. Know who you contacted, if you set an appointment with them, all information about the contact is saved, and any follow-up that is needed. Did the lead result in a sale? Speaking of data bases as my last point, you can purchase your own data base of leads but again, I throw caution to the wind on doing this as many lists are outdated or have a mix of businesses that have nothing to do with what you offer even though they (the sellers) say that it does. I speak from experience. Always get some sort of guarantee in writing that if the lists are not what you expected, they offer a refund or credit. Most lead company boast they guarantee a sale, or an appointment. Always check the fine print. Good luck with your lead generation campaign. They do work if done properly but do not set your expectations high. One to 5 appointments set or even a sale and you done your job. The amount of leads you wish to garner is the threshold you must decide on your own. Set a reasonable contact list and then go to work. Comments are closed.
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