This post is really a tutorial about the lead generation process, what it is and how it can help your business. Learning about lead generation is one of the best things you can do to build a thriving online business.
We've Come a Long Way
There was a time when the only option available to grow a business was to talk to people, one on one to tell them about your products and services. People actually went door to door giving it there best shot, selling to anyone who would buy.
Savvy business owners rented space on billboards, and took out newspaper, radio and TV ads in an effort to talk to more people at one time. They would print up CDs, flyers, business cards and other materials to get the word out about their business.
That was the old way of generating leads. It was time and labor intensive and at times it could be painful if the message wasn't well received.
For example, it doesn't feel really good to have doors slammed in your face or phones hung up in your ear. But business owners did what they had to do to reach their sales goals.
Flash forward to today... Now we have the internet, which makes finding leads much faster and easier, yet we have business owners who are still using some of the old, painful methods to reach their target audience.
They are wasting money on ads, bugging friends and family and wasting time talking to the wrong people.
They struggle to make money, until they learn about a process they can use to get the word out to more people in less time. And when they learn to automate their process and leverage systems, they become unstoppable.
The Lead Generation Process
The process we're talking about is the lead generation process. It is a proven way to build an engaged, interactive audience that will buy again and again.
It eliminates the need to use outdated methods and get results with an online business. Setting up a lead generation system should be a top priority for all business owners.
It's one of the most important concepts you can learn as a new business owner. This post will tell you everything you need to know about creating a lead generation strategy that will help you build an audience of raving fans and loyal customers.
The thing is that most of us want is someone to talk to about our business. Someone who is interested and not wanting to run the other way when they see us coming.
Lead generation is the marketing strategy that will help us get loads of people to talk to. It enables us to educate, inform and promote to an audience of people who want to receive our messages.
If you don't know what all this means, and you're confused, no worries. You'll learn why lead generation is an important part of growing your business.
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Most New Business Owners Do It Wrong
When it comes to lead generation, there is a big difference between placing an opt in form (also called a lead generation form) on the sidebar of your site and hoping people will sign up, versus creating a lead generation strategy that helps you actively promote your offers, generating leads that turn into customers.
Being proactive with the lead generation process helps you not only build an audience, but in the grand scheme of things, it also helps you build an asset that you can improve and nurture over time.
Lead generation is also referred to as building a list, email marketing and list building. When you hear those terms, you may not know that they mean the same thing. If you're struggling to reach your sales and marketing goals, this process is one you should learn and focus on.
When your lead generation process works well, it helps you build a relationship with your audience. Relationships that help you build the trust and credibility needed for a thriving online business.
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What Is a Lead Anyway?
A lead is any person who indicates interest in your company's product or service. Leads are also referred to as subscribers.
They are the people who are most likely to read your blog posts, watch your videos, listen to your podcast and buy your products and services. So they are very important people.
According to HubSpot, lead generation is the process of attracting people (who are a good fit for your products, but haven't become a lead or customer yet) to your business and increasing their interest through nurturing, with the end goal of converting them into a customer.
So lead generation is not any one action, it's a collection of actions that lead to the big picture. Speaking of big pictures, check out the one below.
How the Lead Generation Process Works
Now that you have some of the background information and the definitions are out of the way, we will show you how the lead generation process works. You'll also learn how to start generating leads and getting great results.
Lead generation means that you have a process that enables potential customers to provide you with their contact information to you so that they can learn more about your business.
This normally happens via an opt-in or lead generation form that is placed on your web platform, the web pages of your shop or your blog.
Your potential customer fills out the form and hits submit. Your email autoresponder processes their information, and as an option, sends them a lead magnet. At that point, a visitor has become a lead for your business.
Once someone becomes a lead, you follow up, sending them valuable content that educates and informs them about you, your products, services, industry and most importantly why doing business with you is better than working with your competition.
Once you've established yourself as someone who knows what they are doing, and someone who can help them, your leads will most likely make a purchase.
A Video Demonstration of Adding a Lead Generation Form to Your Site
The tool we used in the video to generate leads, create opt-in forms, blog posts, landing pages, countdown timers, testimonials, and automation is Thrive Suite. If you have the self hosted version of WordPress you might want to check it out.
An Example of a Lead Generation Form
The picture below is what a lead generation form looks like. Implementing something as simple as this can transform you from a struggling business owner to superstar in your niche.
This is just a picture, the real lead generation form in case you're interested in learning more, is located close to the middle of the page.
Using a simple form like this can make a huge difference in the kinds of results you receive. Thrive Leads gives you many more options for lead generation based on your goals.
Watch this video to see how this WordPress Plugin can help you generate more leads and sales.
The Benefits of Generating Leads
Lead generation gives new business owners the following benefits:
Listen on the Go: Our Podcast Episode on Lead Generation
Why You Should Start Generating Leads ASAP
Giving visitors the ability to provide you with their contact information, is the first step a potential customer can take in building a relationship with your business.
The act of giving you their contact information means they are giving you permission to talk to them about your business.
Additionally, becoming a lead is considered the first conversion in the sales and marketing process. If you don't give your ideal clients a place to leave their information, you're leaving money on the table.
Starting your business with a blog, landing page or website makes it easier for your ideal clients to become a lead.
For example, if you start your business with a YouTube channel, you can't put a lead generation form on your videos. You would have to place a link in the description of your video and drive traffic to your lead generation landing page (funnel).
If you start with a podcast, you can't place a lead generation form on that platform either. You would have to use a tool like Pretty Links to shout out your lead generation landing page (funnel) during your podcast episode.
How We Can Help You Generate More Leads
We'll build a lead generation system on an existing site or a new site that will enable you to collect leads on auto-pilot.
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How to Implement a Lead Generation Process
To implement lead generation in your business, you will need the following;
Using Lead Magnets to Make Joining Your List More Attractive to Potential Customers
To encourage potential customers to leave their contact information, many business owners will offer something of value to their ideal clients in exchange for their information. These items are called lead magnets.
Here are a few examples of the kinds of lead magnets you can create:
Creating great offers will generate traffic that has the potential to generate lots of leads that you can follow up with.
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