Media exposure can be one of the strongest lead-generation tools available, simply because of its reach.
Julia Nekich, principal of Sydney PR agency The Ideas Suite says sending an e-newsletter might reach 2,000 people. At a networking event, you might speak to 15 people at most. Or you might make 10 cold calls a day.
“But get your story in a top-selling Sunday newspaper and you’ll reach an audience of 750,000-plus. I’ve heard of a business’s website crashing as a result of the number of hits a newspaper story got them – and that was in a Monday issue.”
This sort of exposure can have the phone can ringing off the hook for weeks, says Nekich.
The scattergun approach to prospecting is common, with mass mail outs and cold calling popular methods. But tailoring your approach can ensure a far higher success rate.
Emily Peterson founded a legal referral service where lawyers tender for clients work, called Legal Tender. Her most successful prospecting method is not to approach a lead unless she has something she knows they want. And her correspondence is always to the point.
“I make sure I have something that is integral to their business – a client. This usually involves a simple one paragraph email to a handful of relevant law firms to let them know we have a client that needs help.”
And the technique delivers results.
“Roughly a quarter of law firms register with Legal Tender when I use this technique. That conversion is substantial considering that direct mail methods I have previously employed returned only about 2%.”
Love it or hate it, telemarketing is popular in Australia. Julian Leahy of Perth online marketing company Search Finalist swears by it. He hires a team of 15 telemarketers who make calls on behalf of his and his clients’ businesses every day.
Leahy allocates three operators to cold calling each day, which each average around five strong leads per day. Then the closer in the team gets involved, who’s a specialist in finishing the sale.
“So with three operators generating five leads per day, that’s 75 strong leads a week. Of these the closer can perhaps close 15 of them. The rest go to the database for further contact.”
Email marketing can be super effective. You just need to know how to do it legally. If you spam, you’ll land yourself in hot water. It’s also rude to contact people who haven’t given consent. It will also turn them off your brand or offering.
Leahy says the first step to a compliant email is to build an ‘opt in’ list. This is done by putting a ‘squeeze page’ on a highly trafficked website, which outlines a free offer. Getting prospects to put their email address into a box on the site also has them agreeing to further promotions by email.
“On average, after the seventh contact, interested leads will contact you… you just closed the deal,” Leahy says.
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