Quick tips to generate qualified leads

No one likes to cold call

It’s got to be one of my least favorite things to do in life, and I certainly don’t enjoy doing it to generate business. A qualified lead is so much easier to follow up on than a cold list of names and numbers.

Create a warm and fuzzy qualified lead where you can

In this second part of the series on crushing small business marketing challenges, we are looking at a few solid ways of bringing your prospects closer to you to convert them into clients. Essentially, you want to start creating a relationship and build trust, but how?

What are your target customer’s pain points?

Think about your target audience. Where are their pain points? challenges? What are their needs? Stop thinking about what you’re all about as a business for a second and think about what they need. If you address this big question, What do they need?, you will be able to generate qualified leads in no time. If you give them what they want, and make it easy for them, they will begin to trust you… and buy from you.

My top 3

My favorite ways to generate qualified leads are trust builders, plain and simple. I am a relationship marketer and I take trust very seriously.

My favorite way to generate qualified leads are as follows (drum roll please):

1. Network!
   Whether you’re a people person or not, it’s very important as a small business owner to get comfortable talking about your business with others, but more importantly, learning to listen to other people as they talk about theirs. When you’re a good listener at a networking event, you are able to ask genuine questions based out of curiosity and a desire to be helpful. Witty repartee aside, networking and gathering cards and making contacts is my go-to way of building a business, yes, but also finding referral partners and strengthening my resource base.
2. Blogging
   I counsel clients all the time on the benefits of creating dynamic content. For some, blogging is not a big deal and they are committed to writing content that helps their web presence every week. For some, they hire out that “dreaded task”. All I know is- blogging every week helps me share with my audiences (yes, you, dear reader) my expertise. I love to write, so that’s not a problem, but what I love more is being of service to others and sharing wisdom when it comes to marketing your business.
3. Video
   For those of you who follow my Monday Marketing Minutes on Facebook, you know how a quick video might just change the way you do business (or at least I hope it does). Again, some people are comfortable with this method of generating leads, and some would rather not. That’s ok. If you can get comfortable with it, you are creating an almost intimate atmosphere for people to see you in real time, talking and sharing information. It’s powerful stuff.

Don’t forget…

No matter what, be informative. Be educational. Be yourself. People resonate with people and if you want people to connect with you, do what is authentic to your brand.

I have other ways of generating qualified leads…but I’ll leave it there for now.

Questions? Just shoot me a flare. Have a great week!