The clients that I work with every day have one of two problems: They either have a huge backlog of orders and can't get them filled fast enough or, more likely, don't have enough orders coming in the door and either thinking about or laying people off due to lack of work. If the latter is your company's issue, then let me give you a few free tips to start generating leads.
Tip #1: Unique Selling Proposition
"If you're not unique, you better be cheap."
Not everyone can be continuously innovative like Apple. But, if you have something that differentiates you or your product then you're a fool not to leverage it. I guarantee that if you have something that makes you unique and you're not leveraging it, you're missing a boatload of opportunity.
One of my clients asked for help with marketing her childcare business. I asked her to tell me about her business and she said something like, "oh, you know, basic babysitting while people worked". That didn't sound so unique so we delved a little further. After what seemed like a long time discussing the business, out of nowhere she said, "oh, I'm not sure if it's a big thing, but I do have the cameras that parents can link into to watch their kids during the day." WHAT??!!! Not a big thing??? Wow, as a parent, I'm thinking, "heck ya, that's big!". With everything you see in the news about horrible things happening at daycare, this would definitely be a unique selling point. As a parent, if you tell me you offer this service, I'm immediately interested.
Then there's the real estate broker whose proven selling techniques allowed him a 93% 30-day selling record, even in these tough economic times. He'd never even thought of using that as a selling proposition until we talked. It wasn't long before he realized that even if he had to pay 7% of his clients $2000, he'd still come out ahead with all the extra business he could attract. If you were trying to sell your house, wouldn't you call him?
The point is to spend some time thinking about what your unique selling proposition is. What makes you different? What makes your product or service different? If there is nothing that makes you or your products unique, and you aren't the least costly provider of the product or service, then you better be thinking of some way to differentiate yourself now before you do anything else.
One of my clients asked for help with marketing her childcare business. I asked her to tell me about her business and she said something like, "oh, you know, basic babysitting while people worked". That didn't sound so unique so we delved a little further. After what seemed like a long time discussing the business, out of nowhere she said, "oh, I'm not sure if it's a big thing, but I do have the cameras that parents can link into to watch their kids during the day." WHAT??!!! Not a big thing??? Wow, as a parent, I'm thinking, "heck ya, that's big!". With everything you see in the news about horrible things happening at daycare, this would definitely be a unique selling point. As a parent, if you tell me you offer this service, I'm immediately interested.
Then there's the real estate broker whose proven selling techniques allowed him a 93% 30-day selling record, even in these tough economic times. He'd never even thought of using that as a selling proposition until we talked. It wasn't long before he realized that even if he had to pay 7% of his clients $2000, he'd still come out ahead with all the extra business he could attract. If you were trying to sell your house, wouldn't you call him?
The point is to spend some time thinking about what your unique selling proposition is. What makes you different? What makes your product or service different? If there is nothing that makes you or your products unique, and you aren't the least costly provider of the product or service, then you better be thinking of some way to differentiate yourself now before you do anything else.
Tip #2: Elevator Pitch
So what is an elevator pitch you ask? An elevator pitch is a 10-30 second mini-commercial that you use to highlight the major benefit you provide to your clients that your competition does not. It's called an elevator pitch because you should be able to hook a potential customer within the time it takes to move from one floor to another in an elevator. In summary, a really quick and to-the-point sales pitch that you'll want to use over and over again in all your marketing.
So why do you need this? Have you ever asked somebody what they do and they answer with something like, "I'm a real estate agent"? What kind of impression did that leave? Would the impression have been different if he or she would have said something like "I help frustrated homeowners who are struggling to sell their homes in these financially troubling times to sell their home in 29 days or less... and for top dollar... guaranteed." If you were preparing to sell your home and you heard that pitch, would you not be lining up to ask "How do you do that and where do I sign up?"
The point is to figure out what you're going to say in 10-30 seconds if you're faced with an opportunity to pitch your product or service. If you don't have an elevator speech prepared, you're missing some really golden opportunities for generating some leads.
So why do you need this? Have you ever asked somebody what they do and they answer with something like, "I'm a real estate agent"? What kind of impression did that leave? Would the impression have been different if he or she would have said something like "I help frustrated homeowners who are struggling to sell their homes in these financially troubling times to sell their home in 29 days or less... and for top dollar... guaranteed." If you were preparing to sell your home and you heard that pitch, would you not be lining up to ask "How do you do that and where do I sign up?"
The point is to figure out what you're going to say in 10-30 seconds if you're faced with an opportunity to pitch your product or service. If you don't have an elevator speech prepared, you're missing some really golden opportunities for generating some leads.
Tip #3: Business Card
What happens when a potential customer at a networking event is interested in learning more about what you do? They ask for a business card, right? What happens to the business cards you collect? Don't the vast majority of them end up in the trash can? What makes you think your business card will end up any different? If your business card is typical, then it might as well be blank like the one you see to the left.
The typical business card contains nothing but contact information and does NOTHING to continue to nurture the interest your elevator speech created. It typically fails to compel a potential customer to follow up with you. Create a business card that extends your sales pitch and drives the person holding it to do something more to learn about you.
Obviously your card still needs to have your contact information on it, but expand the information to list things like social networking sites you belong if they have the potential to generate leads. Consider creating visual demonstrations of your product or service (YouTube makes it sooooo easy to do this now days) and put the link on the front of your card. Use red lettering to highlight a special offer held on the back of your card. "Back of my card?" you ask? Yep, there's two sides for a reason and you've already paid for the front so why not use all of the real estate you can to win potential sales? Either have the back contain a compelling offer or display a link to the offer on your website. Take a look at the two examples below.
The typical business card contains nothing but contact information and does NOTHING to continue to nurture the interest your elevator speech created. It typically fails to compel a potential customer to follow up with you. Create a business card that extends your sales pitch and drives the person holding it to do something more to learn about you.
Obviously your card still needs to have your contact information on it, but expand the information to list things like social networking sites you belong if they have the potential to generate leads. Consider creating visual demonstrations of your product or service (YouTube makes it sooooo easy to do this now days) and put the link on the front of your card. Use red lettering to highlight a special offer held on the back of your card. "Back of my card?" you ask? Yep, there's two sides for a reason and you've already paid for the front so why not use all of the real estate you can to win potential sales? Either have the back contain a compelling offer or display a link to the offer on your website. Take a look at the two examples below.
Better than the traditional contact only business card, isn't it? Notice all of the compelling reasons a person has to look a little further. If your business card isn't helping to grow your business, then either get rid of it or redesign it.
I get asked the question all the time, "Chris, what if I sell different things?" The answer is that you should have different business cards. I coach companies on a variety of topics from Lean, Six Sigma, Strategic Planning and Sales and Marketing. If I'm speaking at a Lean conference, I hand out my Lean business cards as that's where the potential interest lies. If I'm talking to a group of folks that are interested in my online marketing program, I give them the card above. It is absolutely okay to have more than one marketing tool and version. My only point is to just be ready with something other than a piece of cardboard with your name and telephone number on it.
I get asked the question all the time, "Chris, what if I sell different things?" The answer is that you should have different business cards. I coach companies on a variety of topics from Lean, Six Sigma, Strategic Planning and Sales and Marketing. If I'm speaking at a Lean conference, I hand out my Lean business cards as that's where the potential interest lies. If I'm talking to a group of folks that are interested in my online marketing program, I give them the card above. It is absolutely okay to have more than one marketing tool and version. My only point is to just be ready with something other than a piece of cardboard with your name and telephone number on it.
Lead Generation Tips Recap
Okay, so here's a recap: Unique selling proposition, elevator pitch, business card. Yes, in that order. These tips work and can do more for lead generation than you could imagine. Put it to the test. When you're ready for more details, check out my free mini-video series. What have you got to lose?
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