The goal of any business owner is to grow a profitable business. In order to do this efficiently, you need to build systems.
It’s not a collection of systems you need to build, but systems that work together. One such system is a Lead Generation System.While Lead Generation has been around for years, there are new approaches using the tools of the internet to automatically bring in pre-qualified prospects. While it is critical for every business to have a Lead Generation System, the magic comes from how you use it in conjunction with your other strategies and systems.
Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking they have a Lead Generation System when, in fact, what they really have is just a way to collect names and emails. They heard that the “money is in the list” so they build a system where they collect names and emails then wonder why nobody is buying from them.
If your Lead Generation System is producing traffic but not sales, it may not have anything to do with your Lead Generation System. It simply may have to do with a number of other processes that feed into it and off of it, which can cause the entire system to fail.
An effective Lead Generation System will do several things:
- Pre-qualify your prospects
- Cultivate a relationship
- Obtain relevant data
- Follow Up and Keep In Touch
Just as important as having a Lead Generation System is how you use that system. A Lead Generation System should:
- Be completely permission based. Just because you meet someone at a networking event does not give you permission to add them to your Lead Generation System. They need to opt in to it.
- Capture names, emails and even mailing addresses. If you’re wondering why nobody is opting in to your Lead Generation System, you will want to encourage them by giving something that adds value for your prospect and establishes your credibility as an expert in your field. This might include an ebook, audio, or even a coupon for a product or service.
- Ask your prospect what they need most. If you don’t have a way to ask your prospect what their biggest need is, or their biggest frustration or struggle, then you will end up creating a big list with no idea how to serve them.
When many of my prospects (who are now clients) went through my Lead Generation System, they often wrote in to thank me for not only asking them their biggest struggle and frustration about growing their business but also for providing a helpful tip or solution through my blog, Ezine, and/or video training. Can you see how one part of the system (asking them their biggest struggle) fed into other strategies (blogs, Ezine, and video training)?
With each and every marketing strategy, you should consider how a Lead Generation System fits into your sales flow and other strategies. Making your Lead Generation System operate more effective simply may have to do with a number of other marketing tactics that feed into it and off of it.
P.S. Join me for my upcoming complimentary high-value, high-content webinar: Amazingly Simple Steps to Wake Up Profitable on Thursday, January 31 where you will discover how to:
- Get clear on what you’re doing behind the scenes to attract more clients
- STOP the overwhelm and START playing your A game
- Get focused and taken seriously in your area of expertise
Leads are just the beginning. Sales can drop off for any number of reasons; you lose people on something as simple as making it hard to access the help chat, not answering a question promptly when the customer does access it, then not answering it at all and when the customer returns to the chat to find the answer, he is logged out of the chat. Well, that happened to me last week, so they lost a sale.
Great points, David. Customer Service and Support Systems can make or break a sale as you’ve unfortunately experienced. A good reminder to always test our own systems to make sure they are still working. Thanks for sharing your experience.
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