Salesstudio

Demand and lead generation

To support your business and to give you sales guys a true point of focus Demand and Lead Generation are a must. It can be a very costly operation and it definitely has the potential to be a big black hole. So what are the first steps to take setting up a good campaign.

Step ONE:
Clearly define your target audience. The most critical thing. Offcourse you know (or can define) your potential new customer but, can you reach him. Other then by phone off-course. A true campaign drive a volume, telesales or telemarketing can do so but... Needs the budget to. So Defining your target audience is step 1. The finding the ways to connect to them the second step. The most cost effective is to make sure you build your database from day one. Keep track of everybody that you talk to and maintain and cherish their data like gold.

Side steps - Creating a database of your target audience

Buy is easy, there are tons of list brokers out there that can supply you with just the list you'll need. Please note that in most of the country's world wide there is a opt in policy, you cannot just go out and blast email to these folks... Double opt in base is what you need.

Affiliate publication with a list. Is probably the better way to go. But then how will you get the profile data you need... There are some tricks to that, ill go into that in the Step: Triggers in campaigns.

Social Media provides tons of variety's of groups. Again you wont own that data but it can give you easy acces to the people you want to talk to. For instance LinkedIN groups have the option to start discussing a topic, people can come back to you and you can engage with them.

Pay Per Click is one of the easier way to get traffic, to do it right is a whole other story. But if you have a solution based service or product it is definitely that place you need to be in. Find your keywords, create some adds and hook up with the Google folks. Make sure you are present. Google offers regionalized and timeline connected advertising. Next to that go through your website and check the meta data to make sure you get as high as possible on the natural ranks as well.

Step TWO:
Have clear expectations. The first action you will take will not bring you the fortune... Conversion rate in social media and on cold lists is somewhere between 0 and 2% that first go... Depending on the triggers and the message. Like everything in life it takes time and you will need to invest in it. Not necessarily money, but hours for sure.

Step THREE:
The message and the trigger. What will you communicate and what do you expect a person to do. Imagine the persuasion it will take you to find someone you do not know yet, explain to him that he will benefit from you and have him jump a hoop. That in mind is a good starting point. Like all entrepreneurs we all have a clear picture of our KPI and USP's we offer to our clientele. They wont. In this area of expertise you will be able to find tons of agency's specializing in assisting you on this very step.

Low or high cost: Ask you relatives and friends. (NO not the ones you hang out and drink beer with) But rather grandma, grandpa your guys in that supermarket or the person behind that kiosk you go to for coffee. To listen to your elevator pitch. If they get it within 30 secs you are on your way. If not go back to the drawingboard or find an agency to pitch in. -- Your message needs to be crystal clear and a long way from your "lingo".

Triggers: The what is in it for them gig. What will you offer that is so appealing that people will hook up with you. I can promise you this, most of the goodies that will work will not directly be your services or product. Specifically in the IT sector people will act more easily on 'real life' references then buying your services or product from a flashy add you pulled together.

Here comes that crux into play, leveraging out of your customer base will be one of the best scenario's for marketing on a cold database. A webinar with conducted by someone with the experience of your service can be a great way.

Step FOUR: How do you capture your potential new customers so you can follow up. The most common ways now are on the internet. The call to action, phone me, mail me or do something you did not plan to do today does not work and will decrease your conversion. So a online click will be the best way. Set up a landingpage on your website where people join. Create your own group, follower crowd or little community where you can start building your one to many communications around.