Lead Generation Course Ready
November 7th, 2008My new lead generation course called 21st Century Lead Generation is ready for the public, and I am very proud of it. It has my best work to date in it. Lead generation tips and secrets, prospecting letters, videos and more.
Also, I was interviewed by Bill Glazer for his monthly Gold Inner Circle Members, and it went well. Read what he had to say.
Here’s How To Qualify Referred Leads
October 13th, 2008Here I break down how to qualify any referrals or referred leads using a pre approach letter. It’s a perfect supplement for my new video on how to get a truckload of referred leads.
Prospecting Letter Breakdown…A Sample Sales Letter
October 13th, 2008This is a new video that breaks down a sales letter prospecting letter that you can use for your lead generation and prospecting efforts.
It’s all content. No fluff.
Top trends for 2007: Marketers’ influence grows even as customers demand more control of the message
December 19th, 2006By Kate Maddox
As b-to-b marketers prepare for the new year, they are looking at a business climate in which marketing enjoys more influence than ever yet faces significant challenges, such as proving ROI and implementing new technologies.
The reach of the Internet has changed everything. Users are just as interested in creating content as they are in watching it. Campaigns must be developed with an eye toward global expansion. And in a flooded media environment, marketers must truly understand their target audience’s behavior and interests to cut through the clutter.
Following is a look at the top 10 marketing trends for 2007, based on interviews with marketers, ad agencies, media companies, analysts and industry experts. Read the rest of this entry »
Do You Have Enough Prospects To Make Your Numbers?
December 7th, 2006By Lori Feldman
Several years ago I worked with a CPA who wanted 20 new clients. We came up with a great direct marketing campaign that brought in 10 leads per 1,000 letters. His closing rate was 10%, so after his first few clients came on board, we calculated that acquiring new clients was costing him between $500 and $600. He liked the numbers (one client was worth about $8,000/year), but progress was slow. We advised him to open the spigot and mail 5,000 at a time, instead of the 1,000 he was sending. It worked, and he acquired the new clients he was looking for sooner rather than later.
I do quite a bit of public speaking on direct marketing. One question I like to ask my audience is “How large is your database?” I get answers anywhere from 100 to 250,000. I worry about companies who don’t have at least 2,500 names in their databases. Unless they’re selling high six-figure products or services or have a closing rate near 100%, they don’t have enough prospects to meet their numbers.
Database marketing is all about up-selling and cross-selling your existing customers and targeting prospects to find qualified buyers who are ready to buy now. It’s a numbers game. The more you put into the funnel, the more orders that come out at the other end. Here’s the formula for calculating how many leads you’ll need this year:
Annual projected sales / average order size / sales close percentage rate.
Let’s say your annual sales quota is $750,000. An average order is $1,000. You’re a pretty good sales person so let’s say your closing rate is 40%. Using the formula above ($750,000 / $500 / 40%), you’ll need 3,750 new leads, or 313 new leads per month. If you’re relying on traditional prospecting like shoe leather (networking, clipping “prospects” from the paper, telemarketing), you’re not going to get “there” in time! The fastest way to build a client base is to build a database of qualified prospects. Consider these shortcuts:
1. Buy a targeted prospect mailing list. Review your top 20 customers and figure out the demographics that make them ideal customers for your business. Then buy lists of these prospects. There are 40,000 different prospect lists on the market; you’ll need to find the best 3 to 4 that fit your “profile.” You may find it faster and cheaper to have a mailing list broker help you find these needles in the haystack.
2. Capture targeted leads off the Internet. Rather than cut and paste, you can use data capture software to compile your own chamber lists, membership lists, yellow pages listings, and email signatures in an Excel-spreadsheet-like format, which can then be downloaded into ACT! or any database.
3. HP, the printer company, did a study that showed 80% of a buyer’s sales decision is made by the time he calls you. Consequently, your goal is to make prospects call you. With enough prospects, you can start a drip-marketing campaign to educate and qualify them. Use direct mail letters and postcards to drive prospects to your website, where you can then capture their opt-in email addresses to start email marketing campaigns.
Do the math! Start building and marketing to your prospect database now, and you’ll meet your numbers by year-end.
Lori Feldman teaches small businesses and sales executives how to make more money with customers they already hav. She is the Database Diva of Aviva, a database marketing and ACT! Software Certified Consulting firm. She has been a mailing list broker for 20 years and is a recipient of the Direct Marketer of the Year award from the the Direct Marketing Assn. of St. Louis. Reach her at http://www.theDatabaseDiva.com
Internet Lead Generation For Insurance Agents
November 22nd, 2006By Brian Maroevich
Insurance agents have two sources of leads when it comes to Internet lead generation. An agent can buy leads from an Internet lead generation company, or they can build a lead generation web site and create their own leads.
Buying Leads
It’s important to buy leads from a company that has experience generating Internet insurance leads. New Internet lead generation companies have a tendency to rely upon questionable marketing tactics, and this can affect the quality of your leads.
Internet insurance leads can range from $5-$30 each, depending on what kind of lead it is (life insurance, annuity, auto, etc.), and whether it’s an exclusive lead or not. An agent should verify if the leads are exclusive because some lead generation companies sell the same leads to multiple agents.
Also, legitimate Internet lead generation companies will credit you back for bad leads. You should be able to call into the lead generation company and speak with a service representative on the phone in case you need to discuss a bad lead so that you can get credited for it. Read the rest of this entry »
Lead Generation And The Free Report: What Should It Really Contain?
November 22nd, 2006By Kenneth Edwards
Lead generation is a simple process that, in it’s essence, contains two parts.
The first part is running an ad, article, or some kind of advertising or direct response marketing piece, that gets the attention of the readers and gets them to take action. Actions like going to your website or calling your 800 number.
The second part is a response mechanism that captures the contact information of the prospect.
If it is online, you will be using an autoresponder to capture the contact information and if it is offline, you should be using an 800 number with a recorded message. Read the rest of this entry »
Three Steps to Qualify Your Sales Leads
November 17th, 2006You can’t buy more time no matter how wealthy you become. However, you can become wealthy by managing your time more wisely. Properly qualifying your sales leads is one of the easiest ways to gain control of your valuable time and start generating more wealth for you and your firm. There are three basic steps to properly qualifying leads. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Thanksgiving Is The Best Time To Mail…
November 12th, 2006Are you sending your prospects a greeting card this Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is the best time to mail during the Holiday season for two reasons:
1. At Christmas, people are hit with more greeting letters and promotions than any other time of the year. As a result, your marketing message gets substantially diluted.
2. At Thanksgiving, very few marketers are sending direct mail (compared to Christmas). But ironically, it’s the biggest shopping season of the year!
What are you doing to keep in touch with your clients and prospects this Holiday season?
Photography Business: How To Generate Leads
November 7th, 2006Guest Article:
Sending out a postcard to a mailing list can be risky business. Whether you send out 1,000 or 10,000 postcards, statistics show the most response you can expect is 1 to 2 percent. And that’s being generous.
There is a way to increase your odds, and have better luck with your mailings. In fact, I’ve seen response rates in the area of 10 percent and more, simply by changing a few things with your mailing.
Start with your message. As a photographer, you’re probably use to showing images and using a small amount of text. Photographs are important, but it’s also important to communicate with your readers.
Your prospects need to understand why you are contacting them. What is the purpose of this postcard? If you can define your purpose in a sentence or two, it becomes easier to communicate that message on your postcard.
Build your postcard around that message. Use several photographs to showcase your ideas, and use your copy to describe your offer. If you have trouble creating a dynamic postcard yourself, use a graphic artist. Your local printer can recommend some to you if you don’t have a good one in your files.
You may also want to work with a marketer or copywriter if you aren’t sure of how to word your message in an effective manner. A copywriter can create motivating text that drives your prospect to take action.
All good mailings have two things in common. First, they ask the reader to take action. You can do this in a number of ways.