The biggest frustration many of our clients have is that their sales leads have dwindled within the past year. Their marketing efforts aren't producing enough good qualified leads, so why bother? Some are even doing inbound marketing with all that entails - blogging, social media, seo, landing pages, the works. Still, the leads aren't rolling in yet. What's the problem? In many cases the root cause is simple - there isn't any real incentive for a visitor to sign up and become a lead.
Why Isn't My Offer Attractive Enough to Convert Leads?
- It's just a discount for something really expensive. If it's for a meal out on the town, sure, discounts work great. Do any of us buy cars because there's a $1500 cash back discount?
- It requires me to talk to you. Doesn't work. Give me something useful to read about your widget and how it saves peoples lives or lifestyles. Show me great examples of how my neighbors are making money or having fun using it.
- It's boring. Yeah, I know we all love spec sheets and sales brochures. Come on, you can do better than that. Show me something I haven't seen. Something creative. And don't just do a rap video about your product - that's been done.
- I don't speak techno. The perfect wrong approach is to cram a ton of detailed info into a download with lots of techno jargon, abbreviations and buzzwords. Into the trash bucket.
OK Then What Does Work?
- Something With Tangible Value. You might argue that free coffee mugs and T shirts are useless, but a lot of people would disagree with you. Creativity goes a long way here. If you're a computer company, give away a computer. If you're a restaurant, a free meal. Travel company... You get the idea.
- Not Easy to Get Elsewhere. Give away your secrets to business success or recipes or travel tips. Find out what people want to know and give it to them in a well-crafted download. Don't make it a big advertisement, but it can still be branded.
- Make it Timely - for example create a list of the best gifts guys like just before Christmas.
- Make it Entertaining. No rap videos for products - I said that already! Do something personal and invite people into your business home. An example might be a walking tour through your business (if that's interesting), or interviews with your employees about how they perceive your industry and clients. Or do the same thing with your clients. The people who may well want to become your clients want to know about you in advance.
The Cornerstone of Your Lead Generation Strategy
Build your
lead generation strategy around your offers, not your tools. You hear the word "compelling" used in many marketing blogs for good reason. Think about what compels you to fill out a form and click the submit button. Then create an offer that would work on you, people like you, and people you want as customers.
What offers work best for your lead generation strategy? 
