9 Methods For Lead Generation

One of a business’ biggest challenges will be the never-ending quest to find new clientele.

It’s one of the toughest challenges new entrepreneurs face and if not done correctly, can cause a business to fail.  At the end of the day, we can be the best pizza shop in town but if no one knows about our pizza, we won’t be in business for long. You should never want to be the best kept secret.  

This article is centered around how to attract new clientele while simultaneously leveraging your current customers to ensure you always have someone to do business with. 

It’s important to do both when building a book of business because the most successful businesses have repeat and referral based businesses. Going out and obtaining a new client is very expensive for a new business owner, so the ability to make the most out of what you already have as you continue to build your clientele is very important.

As an entrepreneur I’ve had experience in doing all the following. Some have worked for me, and some haven’t; however, your business is unique to your vision and your goals. I'd advise you to give them all a shot and see what works for you. 

Warm Market

As a new entrepreneur, you may not have the money to run ads or the time to travel and make new connections; however, some of us will be blessed to have established some sort of network before becoming entrepreneurs. 

Your warm network consists of your friends, family, colleagues from previous jobs, and peers from school. When starting a new business, these are the first people that should know what you do, how you do it, and who you do it for. The reason being is that these will be the first people to either do business with you or refer business to you. 

The correct way to go through your warm market is to pick up the phone and call everyone in your warm market explaining your decision to go into entrepreneurship, what your service is and asking them questions to see if there’s anything that would qualify them as a potential prospect. 

If they aren’t a potential prospect for you at the moment, that’s okay. Ask them if there’s someone they know that would benefit from your service and see if they would be open to introducing the two of you.  

Cold Calling

Some of us haven’t been fortunate enough to have established a warm market and that’s okay. That’s where cold calling comes in. 

Cold calling consists of gathering a list of people that you’ve never interacted with and the only reason you’re calling them is because they fit the profile of a person you’re looking to do business with. 

For example, let’s say a financial advisor needs new clients and his ideal client is young affluent doctors. He would gather a list of doctors that work in different hospitals across the country and call them with the intention of introducing himself, his service and express his desire to want to do a deeper dive with them in order to see if there’s any way he would be able to help that client. Lists can be gathered from ZoomInfo. There will be costs associated with using the platform, but it’s a great way to create lists for entrepreneurs looking to hit the phone. 

Cold calls should be limited to 5 minutes or less. The end goal is to walk away with an appointment. Keep in mind this method is based on the law of numbers; the more dials you make the more of a chance you will have to set up appointments.

Tabling

This is an old school way of finding leads; however, even with all of the technology out there there’s still something about face-to-face interaction that beats everything else. 

Tabling works as follows: typically, you will find an event, ask them to sponsor, and then ask them to set up a table in exchange for your sponsorship. At your table, you should have something that would catch someone’s eye like a raffle or a Starbucks gift card. When people sign up for the raffle, have them write their name and number down on a sheet. Explain to them that everyone that signs up gets a complimentary consultation and make sure you call the leads from that event within the next 48 hours. Your goal when calling this sheet should be to set up appointments.

The event’s you’re looking to sponsor should be events that your ideal client would find interest in attending. You can find these events through social media, or even googling associations that are meant for people who are your ideal client. 

Ads

Some of you may have graduated to a place where it is time to scale. This is where ads come in. Now, you can do them yourself or hire someone with experience in this department. It will be expensive to learn and it will be expensive to pay someone, so pick your poison. 

Ads will help you reach people who are your target audience. The first step to running an ad is to identify who your target audience is, and then determine what your budget is to run the ads. Ads can be tricky because they aren’t straight forward and most people won’t generate much activity with their first couple of posts; however, these first couple of posts are important. They will allow you to collect data and see where you’re going wrong. They’ll also show you important metrics including cost per click. After some trial and error, you should be able to figure it out. From there, you can reach clients on a wider scale, and you’ll be able to grow your business on the internet. This is important as most transactions will take place on the internet as the years progress. 

Social Media

There are a few ways to market on social media; however, I’ll just go through the method that I’ve personally seen business owners succeed with. The end goal with social media is interaction. The more interaction we get, the happier we will be. 

The first part of this method involves building an identity on social media. People need to know who you are and more importantly what you do. To build an identity, you will need a logo, mission statement, and something that you’re known for. For example, Target is known as a one stop shop for all home needs. 

While building your brand it will be important for you to post everyday regardless of interaction because even if you don’t believe it, someone is always watching; however, make sure your posts are always in alignment with how you want to be perceived and are provocative enough to make people want to interact with you. 

The second part of social media marketing will revolve around directly messaging people about the service you provide along with questions and offers. People enjoy offers and love feeling special. People also love feeling like they’re learning, so ask questions to see if you can get an “idk” response. But do it in a way that’s constructive to learning, not in a way that makes them feel less than. 

The third part of social media ties into #4 and that’s running ads. Ads will help you grow your interaction on social media and that’s a good thing. Just remember there’s trial and error at first. 

The fourth part of social media is utilizing it to generate referrals. Social media allows us to have access to people and we get to see who they know. If someone you know has a person in their network that may be your ideal client, it’s important for you to ask that person for an introduction. 

Community Outreach

Community outreach is not the best way to get clients. It’s simply a way to make you more attractive in the eyes of important people who have important connections. If someone sees you making a positive impact in your community, they’re going to want to connect with you because they’re going to feel like you’re important. 

Important people want to feel like they’re interacting with other important people. While you may not get the most clients from this, you will be able to say you know XYZ person. 

And sometimes being able to say you know someone will be more valuable than doing business with them. 

Referrals

YOU NEED REFERRALS. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. Referral business is the heart and soul of a thriving business because it makes it so that clients come to you. Imagine a life where you wake up and people are calling YOU to do business. That’s a very happy life for any entrepreneur. 

In order to get referrals, you HAVE TO ASK FOR REFERRALS. Also, you must be good at what you do WHILE BEING PERSONABLE. If people feel they can’t relate to you, people are not going to refer you to their peers. 

The best way to ask for referrals is to know your “why.” 

Lay out your reason for expansion and ask those who do business with you if there’s anyone they know that would benefit from a conversation with you. You should also be honest and sincere. A lot of times, we want people to perceive us as the mega entrepreneur with everything figured out; however, that is almost always NEVER THE CASE! If you need help, don’t be ashamed to ask for it. What better way for your clients to help you than to bring you more leads. 

While I was obtaining my first 100 clients this is the exact script I used: 

Me: “So (Insert name here), did you find any of the things that we spoke about helpful?”

Client: “Yes, thank you so much!”

Me: “I’m happy to hear that. The truth is I’m trying to speak to as many people as possible because I’m in the beginning stages of my business and I’m looking to grow. Can you think of one person that would benefit from a conversation like this?” 

Clients love to feel like they’re helping young business owners get off their feet. If they see that you are great at what you do, they’ll even start referring you to show off. For that reason, you want to be exceptional at what you do and always provide the best customer service. 

Call People

Entrepreneurs need to always be on the phone. Sometimes literally for no reason. The reason being is that YOU NEED TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS. 

If you’re out of sight, you’re out of mind. Call people to just talk. It does not always have to be about doing business at that moment. Build your relationships, call for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Just reach out. 

You will literally stumble upon business by accident through just talking to people about the most important thing in their life at the moment. 

Show Up

So many people want opportunities and don’t show up to anything. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come across an opportunity just for being there. It’s important for you to show up and take advantage of any opportunities that may be in front of you. You will lose opportunities by staying home. There is literally nobody at home for you to do business with. Stay outside but be productive. 

These are some of the methods I’ve seen entrepreneurs use to get their business off the ground. However, no matter the stage of your business, it’s important to always keep expanding.

If we’re not growing then we’re shrinking. Stay ready and be present. The world is waiting for you to come knock at their door!