Priming the Pump: Building a Lead Generation System
December 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Dear Reader,
Do you know how many leads you generated for your business last month?
Do you know how many you’ll generate THIS month?
How many will turn into sales?
And how much it will cost you to make that sale?
If you’re serious about growing your business in an economy like this, answering those questions is a must.
If you think about it, nothing happens in a business until you generate a lead.
No sales, no results.
Sadly, most business owners leave their lead generation up to either pure chance or just dumb luck.
Often times, businesses have one really good source of new leads that keeps the flow of revenue going… until it dries up and disappears.
At that point, the hunt begins for a new source of leads… with future revenue and profits hanging in the balance.
It’s hardly a secure foundation for success.
Lead Flow: the Source From
Which Most Problems Come
Not having a properly functioning lead generation system can wreak havoc on a business. And not just in the form of low lead volume.
In fact, a LONG list of business problems are often caused by a breakdown in a lead generation system. Things like poor cashflow, poor sales, a high return rate, unhappy customers and more.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the main issues I usually run into when working with a client to build or improve their lead generation system:
-A consistent shortage of qualified leads (qualified means they can benefit from your product/service, can afford it, and might be interested in getting it from YOU).
-A shortage of qualifying/filtering steps that can be managed/tweaked to constantly improve the quality of the leads.
-Inadequate metrics to spot log jams in the process and remove or fix them.
-Lead generation systems that don’t properly CREATE the need for a given product or service. (There’s more to selling than just sifting and sorting… actual SELLING is also often required 
-Depending on too few sources for leads and the feast or famine hunt for new lead sources.
In the end, most businesses suffer from a lead shortage. Either they’re not talking to the RIGHT people, or they’re not saying the right things… for a long enough period of time.
No matter how you slice it, there just aren’t enough QUALIFIED leads coming out of the machine.
And trying to create big business results when the lead flow isn’t there makes people do desperate things… like discounting products and services or worse.
Now to be frank, developing a lead generation system from scratch can often times be a daunting task. It takes some work. It takes some skill (so you don’t waste your time just going around in circles.) And it takes KNOWING your customer.
But most business owners prefer to just limp along. After all, if you’re doing OK and the leads are coming in, why mess with something that isn’t broken?
Well that’s the point. If you can’t CONTROL it, then it IS broken. Or perhaps it just has never been built in the first place.
So here are some quick tips to get your brain cranking when it comes to getting YOUR lead generation system in place:
7 Quick Tips for More
Effective Lead Generation
-If it’s not repeatable month after month it’s not a lead generation SYSTEM… it’s just luck. Eventually, everyone’s luck runs out.
-Leads are people too. They have hopes, dreams, fears etc. The better you know what those are (all of them), the better off you’ll be. (Hint: These can change over time.)
-Generating leads isn’t about YOU, it’s about them–your potential customer or client. So when you’re creating a system to generate leads, always keep your ideal customer in your mind. The goal isn’t for YOU to generate a sale. You might think that’s the goal. But if you ask your lead, I doubt they’ll say that. The GOAL is for the customer to receive value far in excess of whatever money they exchange to receive that value.
-How many fish can you catch with ONE hook? The more hooks and “front end” lead generators you can create, the better. You don’t want the success of your business riding on only ONE way to generate leads (and future sales). Get more “hooks” in the water.
-Simplify your investment decisions. If you know what your customer is worth and how many leads it takes to generate a customer… then figuring out how much you can spend to generate a lead is pretty simple. Know your numbers.
-A lead generation system that is not measurable (to the penny) cannot be methodically improved. And that means it is pretty much uncontrollable. That’s not what you want.
-Lead generation systems do TWO things. They deliver value and they create need (more accurately, they channel the demand your lead already has and focus it on YOUR product or service). Anyone can build a system that just gives things away. Knowing how to do that AND create the prospect’s need to buy your product or service is how you get big results.
-When you’re creating the pieces of your lead generation system, start with the END in mind: a happy customer who has just received value from you that FAR exceeds any money paid. Picture that end result and work backwards.
It’s Probably Not
Going to Get Easier
If you don’t have a lead generation SYSTEM in place NOW, then get on it… because the clock’s ticking.
And with the current state of the economy, things probably aren’t going to get any easier for a while.
All we know is that people in your market ARE going to go looking for solutions to the problems they are having.
They’re going to become a lead in SOMEONE’S business. And the quicker you act to get a real lead generation system in place for YOUR business, the better the chance that they’ll end up talking to YOU.
Twitter me this…
October 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Why should I care about what you’re doing on Twitter?
It’s always easy to spot the fad of the week… because it tends to throw the tried and true rules of business out the window. For a little while that is. Until the new becomes boring and people start thinking again.
In this case, I’m talking about Twitter.
Now it used to be that business was about exchanging value. You give something to me, I give something to you.
But Twitter is defying that type of common sense for the time being.
For the past few months, I’ve been getting quite a few emails from folks (who apparently all read the same book the same week or something–perhaps Amazon was having a sale) who have just been bitten by the Twitter bug.
“Hey, I’m on Twitter, come follow me…”
“Just signed up for Twitter, come follow me…”
“It’ll make you FEEL good… come follow me on Twitter…”
The common thread between all of these emails is that not one of them addresses the only thing I really care about:
What’s in it for me to follow YOU on Twitter?
Er… um… well everybody’s doing it
“Well… if you follow me on Twitter then I can contact you to sell you something.”
(Oops… I let the cat out of the bag.)
Now most of these emails I’ve been getting are from marketers who should know better. And from marketers who I always thought would have better things to do with their time.
I admit it. Clearly I was wrong.
Frankly, I don’t care what they’re “tweeting” today, tomorrow or the next day.
I really don’t care about them at all.
And I can think of a long long list of things to do that are more interesting (and more profitable) than following yesterday’s guru on Twitter.
After all, I have a sock drawer I could be rearranging.
If you’ve been bitten by the Twitter bug, I hope your recovery is quick.
As for me, I think I’ll pass for now.
Interview with AWAI Executive Director, Katie Yeakle
October 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Here’s an interview I did earlier this year with Katie Yeakle, Executive Director of American Writers and Artists Inc. in Delray Beach Florida. This was part of a series I publish at Copywriter Catalog.
Katie works with people from all walks of life who are looking to leave the rat race behind and live “the writer’s life” as freelance direct response copywriters and artists.
Since 1997, Katie and AWAI have helped thousands of people with no prior writing experience successfully launch freelance writing and graphic design careers and prosper in the $1.8 trillion direct response industry.
(I’m one of them…)
Here are just a few things you’ll discover in Katie’s interview:
- The biggest reasons you should be working with a freelance copywriter.
- What makes a good freelance copywriter (and how to know if you’re talking to one).
- The biggest (and most expensive) mistakes business owners make working with freelance copywriters… and what to do about it.
But Katie also has tips for freelance copywriters as well… including Katie’s best advice for finding clients and getting noticed. And some ideas about what to charge.
Get a pen and some paper and enjoy the interview…
To learn more about American Writers and Artists, Inc., visit their website at http://awaionline.com
Podcast: Download
I Found Your Money…
September 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I found some money in your business and I’d like to tell you who I think took it.
Just do me a favor…
Walk over to the nearest mirror and take a look. See that person? I think that’s the person who has your money.
But the problem is, that person in the mirror is hiding your money from you.
How?
By keeping your TRUE value to the marketplace a secret.
To keep the secret safe, that person is probably telling you that what you bring to the marketplace is “normal.”
And that’s a problem. Because being “normal” is a great way to limit your income and struggle through business.
Now I’m sure you KNOW this. I know it too. But I don’t always remember it. And this week, it bit me.
Here’s how:
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But I’m Not JUST a “Copywriter”
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I had an “educational” experience a short time ago with a potential client.
Called her back after I submitted the proposal and was told, “your services are very expensive…”
I asked her to explain what she meant.
She said, “Well, all of the other copywriters’ proposals are much, much lower.”
And that’s when it hit me…
I screwed up.
I screwed up because I had not properly prepared her for what the proposal was really about. Sure, there was some copywriting in there… but that was just a small part.
The proposal was really focused on showing her something much bigger and much more valuable: I showed her just how much money she was leaving on the table by:
-Not tracking her costs per lead…
-Not tracking her customers’ lifetime value…
-Not having automated lead generation systems that can be measured and improved…
-Not taking advantage of the buying habits of her market (which are common knowledge in this industry) and presenting her offers to leverage those habits.
-Having no consistent path for prospects and customers to follow through her business. A path where results can be measured and improved.
-Not using proven strategies to increase her average order size and the frequency of those orders.
And then I offered to do ALL of that… FOR her.
To create all of those turnkey systems… for her. And I showed her (in dollars and cents) exactly what she was losing by NOT getting this done. (It was a VERY large number.)
As you can see, the proposal was hardly about copywriting.
But her head wasn’t in the right spot. She still thought I was a copywriter.
And that was my fault.
So the big question is, “Why did I do this?”
Why did I make this obvious mistake?
Here’s the reason, and the whole point of today’s issue:
It’s easy for me to take the value of what I do for granted. After all, it seems normal to me.
Normal to be able to launch a big marketing campaign including multi-step online and offline mailing sequences, pay-per-click advertising, web design, autoresponders, PR, etc.
To create a comprehensive lead and sales generating system. Completely measurable and accountable for results (down to the penny).
That’s just what I do. But it’s hardly normal.
And my hunch is that you are guilty of doing the very same thing I did.
You’re leaving money on the table because you’re taking your value for granted. And when you take the value you provide for granted, the market will take it for granted as well.
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Value that is Not Perceived Does Not Exist
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Just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean that your client or customer knows about it. And even if they KNOW about it, that doesn’t mean that they know how valuable it is.
So it’s your job to communicate that, CONSISTENTLY. That means doing it more than once. Over and over again until the message is heard loud and CLEAR.
All that matters when it comes to your value is that your clients/customers KNOW about it and understand what that means for THEM.
It doesn’t help anyone (especially your customers and clients) to play small or to be “normal.”
And as an entrepreneur, you’re cheating yourself if you don’t communicate each and every OUNCE of value that you bring to the table. If you don’t communicate it, you won’t get paid for it.
I was reminded of this lesson. And I’m happy to pass that reminder on to you…
How to make it rain in the desert…
August 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment
They say that water is hard to come by in the desert…
You wouldn’t know that by the 3 inch deep river I had flowing through my driveway the other day. It’s the second time this month. Water EVERYWHERE (including the drips from my lights in the kitchen).
Here in Arizona, we’re in the middle of the Monsoon season.
That’s when we see proof that, under the right conditions, it CAN rain in the desert. And often times, it can rain a LOT.
With the economy the way it is, you could say we’re in a little bit of a desert of our own.
After all, money’s tight (or at least that’s what the media is telling everyone), “things are tough,” the markets are in turmoil.
Sales are down… lead generation is down…
So what is a business owner supposed to do?
If you know how to create the right mix of conditions, you can make it rain ANYWAY.
And making it rain starts with generating LEADS.
Here are four possible ways to boost your own lead generation efforts:
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Reposition Yourself as a Quick Fix for Pain
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A year ago, maybe you marketed your products and services as solutions to problems, or as a way to help your clients and customers improve their lives.
That used to work just fine.
But right now, when things are “tough,” investing in solutions sinks on the priority list.
But there’s STILL one thing that almost everyone will pay to fix. And that is PAIN.
So you’ve got to position what you’re offering as a way to relieve pain.
And when you’re generating leads, the quicker you can realistically promise relief the better.
People will ALWAYS pay to relieve pain.
So ask yourself, “How can I transform my lead generation from a SELLING activity to a PAIN RELIEVING activity?”
The key here is to remember that you’ve got to identify the REAL pain in your market, the stuff that’s hiding under the surface.
So if you’re marketing to CEOs of 5 million dollar corporations, the obvious pain might be a big dip in profits. But the underlying pain might be a whole lot different.
What does a big dip in profits MEAN to a CEO? Answer that question and you’ll be inching towards the real pain.
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Take Advantage of the Secret You Know
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In marketing, the better you know the real hopes, fears and desires of your market, the better you’ll do.
It makes sense doesn’t it?
Unfortunately, that’s why so many promotions end up tanking… Whoever puts them together misjudges what is going on inside the minds of the market.
Instead of creating a system that can be tweaked and improved over time, they create a promotion that’s little more than a crapshoot.
But when there’s turmoil, that gives you an edge.
Because you have a much better idea about what everyone is thinking about.
That’s HUGE when it comes to generating leads for your business.
All you need to do is put your newfound knowledge into action. Connect to what’s already going on in the minds of your market.
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If You Sell It, Give It Away First… THEN Sell It Again
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Frankly, I have no idea why this works. But it does.
In fact, I know of one consultant who does just this… quite successfully.
He gives away much of his best advice through his books and other writings.
And when his clients pay his six-figure consulting fee, what type of counsel does he provide?
Much of the VERY SAME information.
Of course the advice is tailored to their specific needs, but the principles are the same.
To bump up YOUR lead generation, consider giving some of your best stuff away… on the house.
The trick is to get the positioning right so that you can LEVERAGE the value you are providing instead of creating the perception of being an oracle of f*ree advice.
If you’re selling hard goods, you’ll have to think about how to apply this one. This strategy will still work, you just have to be creative.
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When In Doubt, Make Someone ELSE Look Good
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One of the most effective ways to generate MORE highly qualified leads is to take advantage of the leads someone else has already created.
What businesses around you have already INVESTED the time, money and effort to create leads that might also be interested in your products or services?
What could you offer to those leads (through the company they already have a relationship with) to enhance the image of the company that generated them?
The trick here is to position your offer so that it does actually deliver a HIGH amount of value to both the business and the leads they’ve generated.
You’ll make them look good AND create your own leads at the same time.
If you want to talk about “making some rain” for your company, take me up on my offer for a complimentary 30 minute Strategy Session by visiting the link below.
We’ll talk about how to increase the flow of leads into your business FAST and figure out if I can help you make that happen in a big way.
Here’s the link:
P.S. I’m using strategies just like these to help a current client generate about 2,000 new qualified leads a month for his business.
Converting at 8%!
July 9, 2008 | 1 Comment
Sometimes, “professional marketing advice” stinks…
In this case, I’m talking about my own advice.
Specifically, my past advice about using the Google Content Network.
That’s the first cousin of the Google Adwords system, where you can pay Google to display targeted ads along side its search results.
The Content Network is where Google displays your ads on its network of Partner sites… NOT in Google’s own search results.
So you might see your car parts ad displayed somewhere in an article about car repair on about.com.
In the past, the Content Network has been a little like throwing stuff up against the wall hoping something sticks.
Rarely did much stick.
But I’m in the middle of an experience right now with a client that is changing my mind… FAST… about Google’s Content Network.
In this case, my client’s ads on the Content Network are actually converting BETTER than the keyword campaigns.
In fact, the Content Network campaign is converting at about 8%.
That’s NOT clickthrough rate. That 8% is the conversion rate. 8% of the folks who click on the ad actually become LEADS.
And the cost-per-lead is WAY below what my client is paying for his keyword campaigns. About 50% less in some cases.
Just goes to show you, marketing is about the numbers, not about opinion.
Educated guessing is a place to start. And of course, Monday morning quarterbacking is a favorite past time of many marketing “experts.”
For me, I’m happy to get egg on my face. It means I’ve learned something that I can turn around and use to help grow my clients’ businesses.
If YOU haven’t tried advertising on Google’s Content Network, give it a shot. The results might really surprise you.
Here’s the bottom line:
Good marketing is marketing that works. And if you ever meet anyone who can guarantee what exactly that is on the FRONT end… just run the other way.
Unfortunately, you can’t be sure good marketing is GOOD until the results come in.
And that’s when the real work begins.
Looking for a Few SERIOUS Entrepreneurs
May 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment
If you’re a small business owner, and you’re interested in growing your business… Take a look at the video below for a huge value:
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Converting at 53%!
May 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment
So the latest lead generating web page I wrote for one of my clients is converting prospects to sign-ups at 53%…
That’s one out of every TWO visitors taking the “right” action for my client.
I’m pretty happy with that and so is my client. But I’m not telling you this to brag about how “great” I am. Okay, maybe just a little bit…
The real reason I’m highlighting it is because results like this are caused by something that every business owner needs to focus on.
Results like this come when…
You’ve got the right offer for the right market (at the right time) and you’re using effective sales copy to get the job done.
It’s a beautiful thing when it works.
But it’s about MORE than just your product…
About MORE than just your market…
And even MORE than just your sales copy…
It’s about ALL of those things working together at the right time. Because when that happens, a huge amount of money can be created very quickly, with very little effort.
=================NOTE=================
If for some reason, your “Market Meltdown” copy of Small Business Big Results didn’t make it to your REAL mailbox this month, you can download your copy right here:
Download Small Business Big Results…
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If you’re not seeing huge results in your business right now, then one (or more) of the pieces I just mentioned aren’t quite right.
Maybe your offer is wrong…
Maybe your market isn’t receptive…
Or maybe it’s just the wrong TIME for what you’re marketing.
How do you figure it out? You test quickly, you implement quickly and you never, EVER develop the fear of taking risks.
Sometimes the difference between huge results and no results is a very small thing.
The quicker you can FIND that thing, the better off you’ll be.
Market Meltdown: How to Transform Tough Times of “Doom and Gloom” Into Huge Profits for Your Business
April 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Dear Business Builder,
It’s almost unfair…
But when the “invisible hand” of the markets moves to create the financial “catastrophe” like we’re all experiencing right now…
The huge opportunity that is plopped in your lap as a business owner really tilts the playing field in your favor.
It’s an opportunity for higher sales and bigger profits.
And despite what every media talking head is spouting, times like these are great for business. Especially if you’re smart and know how to leverage what’s going on for your benefit.
Here’s what I’m talking about:
What’s the biggest challenge you face in creating a successful marketing promotion?
Is it getting the right list of prospects for your offer? Probably not.
Is it creating a product that someone actually wants? Perhaps, but that’s really not so hard.
More often than not, the biggest challenge is simply to get your promotion noticed. To build enough empathy with your reader that he actually sticks around to hear everything you’ve got to offer.
You Can’t Sell Squat With
Promotions That No One Reads
That’s why the most successful marketing promotions start off by meeting the reader exactly where he is… at the moment he opens your promotion.
If you start out by spouting off the virtues of investing in a particular stock or investment, and your prospect just got downsized by his Fortune 500 employer, you’re going to lose him.
But if you meet him where he’s at (he’s in a pickle) and help him realize you understand just how tough times are, then you’ll have a chance of getting him to stick around long enough to hear what you’re saying.
The trick is really to know what your market is thinking…
And that’s why turbulent times like these (where everyone’s talking about impending doom) are such a huge opportunity for you as a business owner.
The secret is that times like these give you a huge leg-up in overcoming the big marketing challenge I just mentioned. “Tough times” let you peer inside the minds of your target market. And that means…
You Have the Inside Scoop on What Your Prospects
and Customers are Already Thinking About
You know what they’re thinking about…
You know what they’re worried about…
You know what’s “keeping them up at night…”
That’s gold for a marketer or business owner.
But don’t get me wrong…
This isn’t about manipulating your customers simply by scaring them to death. That’s an extremely shortsighted view of business and, in the end, a really dumb thing to do. Push them over the edge and you’ll lose them for good.
What I’m suggesting is Business 101: using everything available to you to maximize your profits.
The fact is, if you’re running a reputable business—marketing products and services that truly benefit your customers—it’s even more important in times like these that they hear from you. That they hear about how you can help them.
But before you jump in… there’s one very important ingredient you need to leverage what’s going on and maximize the results for your business. That ingredient is:
S-P-E-E-D
Think back to the “old days.” Before the internet.
Any direct mail promotion would take a few weeks to go from idea to hitting mailboxes. A LOT could happen in that amount of time.
Stock markets could crash… entire industries could disappear.
A promotion had to take a snapshot of what your target customer was probably thinking and feeling at one particular moment in time. When that promotion hit mailboxes, the chance was slim that your target market was still thinking those exact things.
Of course, if you know what you’re doing, a slim chance is all you need to make millions. (Plenty of folks do.)
But why stop at one million when you can make tens of millions today? With far less effort, risk or expense?
But you need to be fast. Fast enough to take an event like the collapse of investment bank Bear Stearns and turn it into sales for your business.
Or fast enough to take the latest housing numbers and use them to your advantage.
And that’s why the “contact your customers 10-20 times a year” idea is going to force you to leave a lot of money on the table. Money that should be going right to your bottom line.
Consider this…
If you have something valuable to tell your prospects and customers, exactly how often do you think you should be contacting them?
Once a month? Once a week?
If someone had a product or service that could transform your life, just how often would you want to hear about it?
How About EVERY SINGLE DAY?
Increasing the number of times you contact your customers is one of the smartest things you can do for your business. And staying that closely involved in the conversation that’s going on in your target market will mean bigger profits for you.
The internet makes it possible and profitable.
Plus… you won’t be guessing anymore about what your market’s thinking. You’ll know. And you’ll have the information you need to position your products and services the smart way.
Tough times are a huge opportunity to profit. The only question is whether or not you’ll act fast enough…
As always, if you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at info@leistermg.com.
Now go get started…
Podcast: Download
How to Profit from the Bear Stearns Deal
March 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment
So Bear Stearns is about to get sold for a “paltry” 236 million dollars. That’s down from a value of about $20 billion only a year ago.
Now before we go any farther… let it be known that I’m no financial expert. So please don’t take this as investment advice to go out and buy up JP Morgan shares.
This is a marketing and business letter after all.
So my financial “analysis” here (if you can even call it that) is just to illustrate a larger idea… it’s extremely oversimplified. You’ve been warned.
BUT…
When I see something like the Bear Stearns deal go down, it’s not my financial ears that perk up, it’s my business ears that pay attention.
So in this case, JP Morgan is about to purchase a (struggling) billion dollar business for peanuts.
JP Morgan is the face on the deal, but the government is behind them every step of the way.
So they’re acquiring Bear Stearns for $2 per share with their risk backed by Uncle Sam. Their risk is virtually zippo.
Sure there are possible future pitfalls. But all in all, kind of an amazing turn of events.
Plus… provided the big wigs in charge can push the sale past angry shareholders (who are about to get the shaft and could get more return on their investment simply by putting a FOR SALE sign on the Bear Stearns building in Manhattan…), JP Morgan will enter the prime brokerage business overnight. And they’ll walk away with a prime brokerage business that’s about DOUBLE the size of Bank of America.
Not bad for a weekend’s worth of negotiations…
So what does all this mean?
It’s just one more example of how someone ALWAYS thrives in turbulent times.
Why shouldn’t it be you and your business?
Here are some ideas about how to turn all of this turbulence to your advantage:
1. Trouble in the market gives you an unending supply of TIMELY “hooks” to use in your marketing to capture the attention of your market. How can you use this “f*ree” material to get more attention for YOUR products and services?
2. Trouble in the market creates opportunities others will be too scared to see. While everyone else is pulling back, standing on the sidelines, waiting to see what the other guy’s going to do, the action takers swoop in and capture opportunities that might have been pipedreams in other circumstances (just take a look at JP Morgan… they’re about to get a multi-billion dollar business practically for f*ree.) How do you spot the opportunities? You just have to look at things differently. Don’t look at things and accept what everyone else is saying about them. Look at them and ask, “How can I use this to my advantage?”
3. Times of trouble give you and your business the opportunity to stand up and lead. People want to be led. They want advice about how to deal with the problems. And if you can help them, then why not march up to the front and start leading? Do you think that might be valuable to your customers, clients and prospects? Just think what that could do for your positioning in the marketplace?
4. Times of trouble make it easy for you to stand out… especially if you’re preaching something OTHER than the doom and gloom that most people are getting in the media. There’s always hope… there’s always a way out… there’s ALWAYS someone thriving in the midst of chaos. Start talking about THAT and your business is going to stick out like a sore thumb. In good times, you invest a lot of money in marketing and advertising to do just that.
Apparently, things might just get “worse” before they get better. But is that a reason you and your business shouldn’t prosper anyway?
I don’t think so. Good luck.