One of the most common small business fears that my clients and colleagues express (and one of my own fears early on!) is a fear of not getting enough clients. This fear relates to every one of the other small business fears we’ve examined this month: fear of failure, fear of losing money, and fear of making the wrong decision. Without enough clients, your business will fail, you will lose money, and you’ll realize that somewhere along the way you made a bad decision either to start the business or in the way you sought clients.
Even so, don’t let a fear of not getting enough clients hold you back! If you have dreams of being a small business owner, have a product or service that has a market, and the wherewithal to be your own boss, you can find enough clients to make it. Yes, it does require some work, but who ever said that being an entrepreneur was easy?
The best way to ensure you have enough clients to make it is to create a predictable way of getting clients. One of my favorite ways to do this is to set up an email list as your database and focus on getting qualified leads on your list. In the rest of this post, we’ll take a look at just how to do that.
Turning An Email List Into A Lead Tool
So, how do you turn a list of email contacts into a lead generation tool? It starts with creating a decent list! The most important thing to do is make sure the leads are quality leads. That is to say, leads that are likely to be interested in your product or service or able to put you in touch with someone who is. Equally important is to make sure to include phone numbers on the list along with email addresses.
Setting up the list will be slow-going at first. You’ll begin with leads, colleagues, and networking contacts you already have. Once your business gets up and running, start posting content on your website and social media accounts. Sharing content is a terrific way to showcase your knowledge and expertise and start spreading the word about your business. Always, always, always include a way for site visitors to opt in to an email list, newsletter, or new product announcement at the end of every post or as a sidebar on your website.
Here are some ways to attract would-be clients to your site or content:
- Giveaways! Giving something away for free on your website will drive organic (natural and relevant) traffic to your site. The benefit of organic traffic is that the people who find it will be genuinely interested in your product or service, making them much more likely to sign up for your email list and become a qualified lead.
- Create A Special Landing Page. Landing pages are pages of your website that have been expressly designed to welcome paid traffic to your website or business. If you have created PPC ads, make sure they link directly to a page that captures visitor contact information. Be sure to track the metrics of paid ads and the corresponding landing pages so you know which ads/pages are working well and which ones are a waste of resources.
- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, network! Networking remains an extremely effective way to generate leads, particularly face-to-face networking; people have a hard time saying “No” to your face when you ask them if they’d like to be added to your email list! You can also network through LinkedIn and other social or professional sites and platforms. Digital networking can be just as effective as face-to-face networking as long as you can still capture contact information. Carry your business cards with you everywhere and hand them out every chance you get. Ask for others’ business cards or require a business card or contact information in exchange for them receiving a giveaway from you.
- Put Yourself Out There. Sign up to speak at local or industry-specific events. Every time you give a presentation, include a slide or handout with subscription information at the beginning and end of your presentation so audience members can reach you for additional information. Make sure you stick around to mingle and answer questions afterward.
The most important part of building a lead list? Follow up. Once someone is on your list, you need to follow up with them. Start sending them great content to warm them up to you and your business and when the time is right, you or your sales team needs to follow up with them to close the sale. Track your metrics throughout the entire process. Track how many calls lead to conversations and how many conversations lead to sales. Improve everyday.
Get A Jump On Your Email List With Help From The Marketing Shop
If you need help with setting up and implementing a predictable marketing and sales process, please contact me! This process has changed my life and enabled me to grow my business while leading a life I love. I know I can make it work for you too! Contact The Marketing Shop at 860-615-6182 or online to get started.
