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Promoted by Mortgage House
A lot of businesses use lead generation to reach qualified prospects for sales conversions. However, with dozens of methods available, plus intense competition for business, knowing how to gain an advantage in reaching your customer base can be bewildering. Here are nine tips to generate leads for your business.
1: Build authority and trust
In order to stand out from the competition, it’s important to focus on your core business strengths, including niche specialisation that demonstrates your advantages and expertise. Marketing is designed to develop real relationships with partners and potential customers, so keep them in the loop, even when the wheels are spinning and progress is slow. Nobody appreciates being overlooked, particularly those who have invested time and money in a working relationship for mutual benefit.
2: Ask for referrals
A large number of company owners and employees forget to ask for client referrals, ultimately losing out on business. Clients have family, friends and associates, and if you have established a trusted working relationship with partners and associates, there is no reason not to stretch the friendship a little further and generate leads by asking for referrals.
3: Host client events
In a world where everybody is looking out for number one, it’s a breath of fresh air to feel engaged and connected. Team up with business partners and specialists to deliver advice, encouragement and inspiration that can transform into custom. Along with your own words of wisdom, you may choose an economist to provide a broad market outlook, a real estate agent to discuss local issues, and a caterer to soften customers up with tasty treats.
Client events are an opportunity to showcase your unique company advantages. Avoid pushy sales pitches that make people squirm in their seats or head for the door. Make the event fun, entertaining, educational, and positive.
4: Network
The old-school approach of attending networking events still works fine. Face-time is important for clients and partners, and is often the best way to gain solid referrals. A business card in the hand can kick-start a working relationship, so bring them with you and hand them out. The leads you establish first-hand with a personal connection are far more responsive than those generated from on-high while ensconced in an office.
5: Understand your relationships
Take time to understand how you can benefit partners such as builders and realtors. Generally speaking, the more you do to help others, the more likely they will be there for you when needed. Your service may be excellent, but every business owner claims the same thing, so a relationship with industry leaders such as Mortgage House will establish the trust needed to generate business. Here’s how they do it.
- Communicate with partners so everyone stays informed of developments.
- Provide a professional service that honours the trust your referral has in you.
- Provide a speedy and satisfying service, regardless of obstacles.
6: Differentiate yourself from the competition
Whether it’s catchy branding, a niche market, a well-known figurehead or other strategy, every business owner aspires to create a unique product that will generate leads. Chatting over coffee is fine, but partners really want to know how you can help grow their business as well as your own. Prove your competitive differentiation by actions rather than words, and don’t be afraid to be unique – it sure beats getting lost in the crowd.
7: Manage partnerships effectively
It’s important to retain individual relationships with partners, rather than treating them as a homogenous collective. Here are a few ideas.
- Make lists of different types of partners with varying needs, including real estate agents, economists and builders.
- Line up face-to-face meetings with referral partners in order to extract as much valuable information as possible.
- Remain focussed on both individual and collective partnership strategies for the benefit of everyone involved.
8: Follow-up connections
A golden rule of relationship building is to follow-up all leads, whether from clients or partners. Be confident, enthusiastic and inspired rather than pushy or over-ambitious, and the payoff will make the additional effort worthwhile. Even if only a few partners follow-up with regular monthly leads, revenue will increase.
9: Get reviews for your business
Sometimes it only takes one favourable review from a reputable source to create an avalanche of interest in a product, service or business. In today’s online world, approximately 90% of consumers read business reviews prior to their purchasing/investing/borrowing decision, making ‘reputation marketing’ a major means of promotion. Having a highly-regarded company such as Mortgage House supporting your enterprise will foster favourable reviews, generate leads, increase revenue and future-proof your business.
