How to Generate Sales Leads: Strategies and Tips

There are many ways to generate sales leads, you just have to find which ways work for your company and put them to practice! We have compiled a list of how to generate sales leads with tips and strategies that are sure to benefit your company AND they are relatively easy to implement. 

We’ve also included a software that will make these strategies and tips even easier!

What Are Sales Leads?

There are so many terms out there: prospects, leads, suspects, potential customers. So what are sales leads? 

Sales leads consist of individuals or businesses that are prospective buyers. They will also fit your buyer persona. Sales leads can be found through the use of referrals from customers, social media, networking (LinkedIn), product trials, or consultations. 

The sales leads are in the market for the product but they don’t realize they need it or have yet to say ‘yes’ to the product or service for whatever reason. Hence, they are potential customers waiting for the right product or service or maybe they are waiting for the right company to sell to them. That company could be yours.

How to Generate Sales Leads Tip #1: Ask Current Clients For Referrals

Here is why this works: 

• The customer has already used your products/services and know that they work, especially if they are repeat customers. 
• The customer is in the industry that your company sells to, surely they know other companies or individuals who might need your product or service. 

The warm referrals you get from customers creates a comfortability level right from the start because the company has sold to their friend or someone else they know personally. Saying “Hi Sam, Lucy said you might be interested in a custom window decal to promote your new products. Since she likes hers so much she thought she’d refer you” sounds a lot better than “Hi Sam, would you be interested in a window decal to prompt your bakery?” 

How to Generate Sales Leads Tip #2: Contact Closed and Lost Opportunities

As you know, “no”, in sales doesn’t always mean indefinitely. Sometimes “no” just means they weren’t ready to purchase or that they didn’t have the budget for it at the time. This is why your sales team should never throw away leads that didn’t turn into sales. In another article we discuss the importance of sales follow-ups and how to generate a sale even after a failed attempt. 

Don’t expect a sell after the first follow-up call or email. Just like with a new lead you will have to nurture the lead again to gain their trust. This will mean several more calls and emails until you can finally secure a meeting. 

The point is, keep the ‘disqualified’ leads and try again at a later date. Continue contact every few months to keep your company on their radar and give them space at the same time, so when they are ready to purchase they’ll think of your company first. 

Pro Tip: Power Dialer, has a built-in CRM and has the ability to keep track of all the history between the assigned agent and the customer, so you can easily contact them at appropriate times and provide information that will most appeal to them. 

How to Generate Sales Leads Tip #3: Find Leads on LinkedIn and Other Social Media

Social media is incredibly efficient in connecting people by similar followings, similar locations, similar interests, similar likes, etc. It’s a great tool for the individual for a social purpose but it’s also a great tool for a business purpose. Businesses know that social media platforms are one of the most effective platforms for marketing and gaining business, so we must also utilize them for reaching out to leads that never made it through the pipeline in your company. 

LinkedIn is the most well known social media platform for business professionals and just like other social media platforms it has perfected the art of linking and suggesting individuals and businesses that your company should reach out to. The more people your company adds to its existing networks the better! 

After you’ve created a large network of individuals and businesses in your industry, your business will need to post informative, appealing, and creative material. It’s important to express what your company is about, who the ideal customer is, and what your product/service has to offer. While the company’s post will bring in some interest you will also want to make contact with accounts in your network that fit the ideal customer to get the most out of your lead generation on social media. 

How to Generate Sales Leads Tip #4: Create an Email Sequence

There are three types of email sequences:

1. Predetermined Intervals:
   
   1. For Example: 15 days after a purchase, your salesperson or software will send them an email asking about the product, send updates about other products,etc. 
2. Trigger-Based:
   
   1. For Example: When an individual makes an action on the website, like clicking a link, the website sends the individual an email related to their click. 
3. Email Sequence for retaining prospect: 
   
   1. For Example: Your company is trying to make contact with a lead to turn them into a customer, so you will send them an email sequence that gives manageable information to think over until the next email. 

How to Generate Sales Leads Tip #5: Content Marketing

Clearly your company is knowledgeable about something, so write about it! Let your customers and potential customers know that your company is well informed and has experience in the field/industry. Not only will it add credibility but, it will help individuals and businesses gain trust in the company. Trust is valuable and goes a long way in business. 

Creating content that brings value and information is key to generating more business. 

Think about buying a car. You ask, “What are the safety features on this car?” 

Salesmen A says, “It’s got the standard safety features you’d expect in a car.” 

Salesmen B says, “It’s got shatter resistant glass, 6 airbags placed evenly throughout the car, an anti-lock braking system, which helps the car make a fast, yet safer stop, stability control, a backup camera, and four-wheel steering for better grip when off roading or in the case of bad weather.” 

Now, who are you going to want answering the rest of your questions? 

Certainly not from Salesmen A.

This is exactly how you should view your company’s approach to content marketing. Your company is striving to give the potential customer the most valuable information as well as answer any questions or concerns they may have about the product. If you can accomplish this, your company WILL generate more sales leads. 

How to Generate Sales Leads Tip #6: Use a Chatbot

Don’t forget about the chat box on your website! 

I can’t tell you how many times I have used the chatbot to inquire about a product or service and heard NOTHING back. I speak from experience when I say, they lost business, because I did not return. 

Though your company might not have an issue with responding to chat inquiries, it might not be utilizing that contact to its fullest either. 

On the rare times that I do get a response back, They simply answer my question or show me where to find the information on the website. Yes, it’s helpful but they failed to secure a follow-up with me. 

That individual or business is on your website using the chatbot for a reason. First off, you know that they are at least interested and second, you know they haven’t committed to another company for the need they are searching for. So, when they do contact your company through the chatbot, answer their question, AND try to keep the conversation going. If possible, get an email address or phone call to keep contact. Also, include what your company has to offer them. 

Implementing those 6 sales leads tips will undoubtedly boost your businesses sales and help your business build more B2B or B2C relationships for the future. The next step is understanding how to qualify your leads and lucky for you we have a blog that will help you do that. Read more here How to Qualify Your Leads + Questions to Ask

Works Cited

Tyre, D., 2021. How To Find Leads Online. [online] Blog.hubspot.com. Available at: <https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/how-salespeople-can-generate-their-own-leads> [Accessed 25 January 2021].

Business.com. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.business.com/articles/how-to-generate-more-sales-leads/> [Accessed 25 January 2021]. 

EVS7. 2021. Power Dialer Software With CRM: Dolphin Cloud – $89/Mo Unlimited Calls. [online] Available at: <https://www.evs7.com/power-dialer-dolphin> [Accessed 25 January 2021].