How to Generate More Leads
In Glengarry Glen Ross, underperforming real estate salesmen complain that “the leads are weak.” They believe the reason they aren’t selling anything is because they don’t have qualified leads. And without qualified leads, you really have nothing.
The solution? In the movie, they offer new, qualified leads…the Glengarry leads. These leads are golden, the best of the best. They include highly targeted prospects who are interested in buying.
How can you get your own Glengarry leads?
Some common methods for generating leads include:
- Pay per click advertising (PPC)
- Hosting webinars/teleseminars
- Direct marketing with sales letters
- Using email marketing
- Attending trade shows
- SEO to attract quality traffic
I could go on and on, but I think most of us are aware of the places where we can get leads. Today, I want to talk about how you can be a more effective lead generator when you’re at these places. Here are a few tips for helping you get more qualified leads.
- List the characteristics of your best customers—All leads are not created equal. If you want to get the Glengarry leads, you need to know who you’re targeting. My advice: Look at your best customers. Make a list of their characteristics: who they are, what’s important to them, how they found you, general demographic information, etc. If you want, call or email your best customers. Ask them why they chose to do business with you and what it is that keeps them coming back. These are the points you’ll want to focus your message on when trying to attract similar customers.
- Use customer-centric messages—Whether you’re building a landing page or preparing to attend a trade show, you need to remember that it’s all about the prospect. It’s not about you, so don’t spend all your time talking about yourself. Use customer-centric messaging, letting prospects know how they’ll benefit when doing business with you. Your customers only care about what’s in it for them. Never forget that.
- Offer a freebie to lure prospects in—One of my favorite techniques for building leads is to offer a free eBook or whitepaper to visitors who sign up for my email list. By starting with a soft sell and giving them something helpful, you slowly reel them in, allowing them to get a little more comfortable with you before you ask for the actual sale. Freebies are powerful tools for increasing your response rate.
How do you generate leads for your business? Share your tips by leaving a comment.
April 15th, 2010 at 10:55 am
Those are some nice and proven ways to generate the leads for the business. For my business apart from these techniques we use cold calling by Tele caller and believe me we are getting really nice response and getting business as well!
April 20th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Good free content that prompts debate is a great way to find email addresses for that direct mail campaign you mentioned. It also means your clients are more receptive to your offers.
April 21st, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Hindi–Have you had a lot of success with cold calling? It seems like a lot of work
April 22nd, 2010 at 1:09 pm
I usually try to present my customers with a survey at the end of the sale, this short and sweet survey actually helps me to figure out why they chose me in the first place or why they keep coming back as you rightfully mentioned. Repeat customers are the greatest asset for retailers.
apart from that the freebe idea is ok sort… not really as good as its projected everywhere, i have not used it much though and from my experience, giving something for free dose not make people jump for it, and those free loaders are never going to buy as well. but then am planning more on this option actually, will test out the freebe idea a bit more and see if it works,
April 23rd, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Otreva–
Good point about finding out the things you do wrong (i.e. your weaknesses). This helps you improve your weaknesses and focus your messaging on your strengths.
April 25th, 2010 at 6:07 am
it's all about listening to the lead and rather than trying list your benefits to them. Listen and answer their questions don't try and shove all your information in their face at once they may not even know what you are talking about half the time. Listen to them, help them understand by answering THEIR questions