More Customers NOW – 90 Sales Lead Generation Ideas

Lead generation is crucial to the success of any business, I know that and you know that.

Excuse me for stating the obvious here but what are the 2 key actions required to grow a business successfully?

1. Win New Customers; and
2. Retain Existing Ones

Correct?

Now think, what did you do yesterday, last week and indeed today, which addressed the above top priorities and was the time and budget you invested proportionate to the level of priority. What is the current state of your sales pipeline?

Are you spending too much time in the business and not enough time working on the business?

The solution is simple i.e. delegate and/or outsource sales!

Many SME businesses employ less than 5 methods of lead generation regularly, even some corporate organisations. They rarely review or change their tactics.

If you want to build and maintain a successful business you need to utilise as many methods of concisely targeted and contextualised lead generation as you can. You need to monitor the success of these lead generation methods, measure their results and tweak your strategies until you find a mix which truly works spanning a management and affordable number of channels.

Once you have this mix you need to keep on shaking it up and trying other methods as well.

Here is a list of possible lead generation channels to get you started. I am not saying that all of these will work for your business because every industry and situation is different. But, what they will do is set you off on the right track, get you thinking creatively about lead generation and, perhaps most importantly, they will remove the biggest barrier to your sales success, “But I don’t know what to do next”.

Please let me know about other sales lead generation methods that have been successful for you and which are your favourites of the proposed options below. Here are just 90 lead generation ideas to help you grow your business…

1. Sales letters to decision makers
2. Classified advertisements
3. Catalogues in venues
4. Flyers
5. Leaflet dispensers at targeted locations
6. Special reports
7. Online catalogues
8. Telemarketing
9. E-Newsletters
10. Social Media (LinkedIn & Twitter)
11. Traditional newsletters
12. Viral marketing
13. E-books
14. Magazine and paper inserts
15. Associates and affiliates
16. Introducers
17. Family and friends
18. Joint ventures
19. Radio ads
20. TV ads
21. Position yourself / your company as an expert
22. Internet adverts (PPC)
23. Press releases
24. Sponsor an award
25. Chamber of Commerce
26. Public relations (PR)
27. Attend industry seminars
28. Gather and use testimonials
29. Offer a free consultation
30. Offer a free trial
31. Organise an open day
32. Promote an industry event
33. Give endorsements to prominent people
34. Write articles online
35. Form alliances with your peer group
36. Create a give away e.g. calendars, mugs, posters…
37. Write for the local newspaper
38. Syndicate a column
39. Write letters to industry magazines
40. Conduct industry research
41. Send articles to clients
42. Advertise on buses, bill boards, cabs
43. Speak at the local college
44. Panel at professional seminars
45. Write a how-to pamphlet
46. Offer a finder’s fee
47. Do pro bono work for charity with industry links
48. Sign your car
49. Make up t-shirts
50. Perform a stunt (e.g. Richard Branson)
51. Cross-promote with other businesses
52. Enter a contest
53. Create a contest
54. Direct mail new clients
55. Post card promotions
56. Business cards
57. Networking offline
58. Networking online
59. Trade shows
60. Referrals
61. Speeches
62. Cold calling – foot
63. BNI
64. IOD
65. Trade shows
66. Franchise shows
67. Blogging
68. Social networking sites
69. Christmas cards
70. Birthday cards
71. Thank you cards
72. Add value notes / paper cuttings
73. Promotions
74. Article writing
75. Online forums
76. Bill boards
77. Freebie pens / t-shirts / mugs
78. Teach a class
79. Send letters to papers as expert
80. Local radio interviews
81. Loss leaders
82. Free tele-classes
83. Webinars
84. You-tube
85. Ebay
86. Church
87. Masons
88. Golf club
89. Press release
90. Creation & sharing of quality content (e.g. white papers)

For more ideas to help towards increasing sales through sales lead generation, lead nurturing, market research and sales training, visit www.salesaccelerant.co.uk or contact us now on 0845 3058145.