What is a Lead?
That is such a simple question, but has a very challenging answer. A lead can be anyone with interest in what you do who connects with you. It can be a website visitor who shows up by searching for a keyword. It can be someone who saw your advertising campaign. A lead can be someone you meet in a networking meeting, or a referral from a friend.
The real challenge with leads is:
- Knowing that they exist
- Understanding why they have an interest in you
- Confirming that they are a good fit for your business
- Having a good lead conversion system for connecting, educating, and then selling them when the time is right
We call this process Lead Conversion
The 5 Steps of Lead Conversion
Step 1 – The first step is generating interest in your business. This is generally called ‘lead generation’ in the marketing world. It can be accomplished by a variety of means. How many on this list do you utilize?
- SEO
- Pay-per-click (SEM)
- Blogging
- Podcasting
- YouTubing
- Advertising (radio, TV, print)
- Social Media
- Networking
- Public speaking
- Thought leadership
Step 2 – The next step is capturing these new ‘leads’ in a way that allows you to follow up. The most effective websites have contact forms and free information give-aways. Some have memberships or offer training. These are all ways to capture the new leads in a way that allows for future follow up. Some ideas for lead capture include:
- White papers
- Webinar registration
- Point of purchase contact capture
- Newsletter
- Event registration
- Free text offer
- Social media connections
- Blog comments
- Website memberships
- Training content
Does your marketing include any of these tools? Do you use other methods for capturing your contacts? If so, please share your ideas.
In our next post, we’ll look at getting your new contacts ready for the first Sales Conversation. This aspect of the sales funnel is often the most challenging. It requires consistent follow up, strong prospect filtering, and educational information that informs and builds interest.
In the meantime, if you would like more information on the lead conversion process, please contact us. We’ll be happy to meet with you and review what you are doing and discuss ideas you can put in place to improve your process.
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