4 Ways to Find Your Next Sales Lead
Building business takes time. Generating new sales leads can be frustrating and time-consuming, but once you find a method that works for you and your business, it can become more of an automated process. It’s essential to remain professional and kind at all times. You never know who could be in need of what your business offers. Potential sales leads are everywhere!
1. Be Informed
Obtaining new leads would be tough if you are pitching your product or service to an audience that is not interested in your product. By knowing your product or service thoroughly, you will appear informed, educated and professional. A knowledgeable, helpful salesperson is one you remember! This will encourage potential leads to trust you. You should know all you can about what you are marketing, or at the very least, know who to contact for the exact information a potential client may need.
Secondly, you should know your target audience. Who you are pitching to is just as important as what you pitch in successful sales management. Certain products draw certain crowds. These groups may require different tactics or approaches. For example, a younger audience may be less open to cold calls and more inclined to interact via email, text or website. Social media will also play a role. Knowing your target audience will enable you to tailor your approach and may increase your chances of success.
2. Build Relationships
You should always stay polite and friendly to build healthy, lasting business relationships. An email list and newsletter can keep you in contact with those interested or on the fence and may purchase in the future. It also keeps past clients in the loop in case they need a newer product. Past clients may see an update in a newsletter that makes them think of a family member or friend who might be interested in your product.
You should also keep in contact through follow-up emails and phone calls. This maintains and grows customer relationships. Just be sure not to nag or be over the top with your outreach, as this may push customers away.
3. Social Media
Social media can help spread the word. Work to build up your followers by posting quality content and being responsive. Each person that shares your posts or tags you and your product exposes your company to all of their followers. This sharing can result in unexpected new leads. Find ways to create engagement and prompt others to share your product, your page and your information.
Contests for customers who post a picture with your product or share your posts are great ways to spark engagement and increase outreach. Hashtags and trending topics that are relevant may also help reach new individuals. Create a catchy hashtag for your product and use it heavily on your pages. Then, be sure to add other relevant tags so that your content shows up in those searches.
4. Referrals
The best promotion you can receive is a positive referral. Think about it; if you are curious about or looking for a new product, you will ask friends, family or coworkers for a recommendation. By maintaining professional relationships with your customers and offering quality services or products, you are more likely to stand out as someone or something they would recommend to others.
Encourage satisfied customers to refer you, write testimonials, complete reviews and help spread the word. Don’t be afraid to ask customers for referrals. They can probably think of at least one person interested in it or who could benefit from your product.
Generating sales leads is a constant work in progress and something you will actively do regularly. Make a note of which tactics work best for you and your company, but don’t be afraid to try new approaches. Be knowledgeable about your product and your target audience as you work to build new relationships. Most importantly, always remain professional and helpful because you never know who is around you that may turn into your next sales lead.
