This is a bit different than the last 2 tips I’ve given on lead generation. The first week was about using Google+ communities, and the second one was about using LinkedIn groups. Both of those methods are nice to add to your arsenal, and great for content marketing.
Today I’m going to be discussing something a bit different, it’s about forcing certain methods. What I mean by this, and you all have seen it, is going to a forum and being sold by the “sure fire” method that will make you the big bucks.
For some, it is LinkedIn, others, it is cold emailing… But more often than not, people are attracted to the topic of cold calling. They aren’t attracted to it because it’s sexy, or something they enjoy doing. Nobody ENJOYS cold calling. They’re attracted to it because other people have success and they think they can have success with it too. They probably can in all honesty, but the problem is that they’re trying to replicate a different person’s strategy without playing into their own individual strengths.
Why You Shouldn’t Force a Certain Lead Generation Method
Story time…
Here’s a story about 2 marketers, let’s call them Peter, and John. It’s not a biblical story though, it’s a story of misconceptions, misguided approaches, and non-tactical motivation.
Both John and Peter dislike the concept of cold calling. They don’t want to pick up the phone and call these people on a lead list. They both push through and attempt to make some calls, because they see success stories from other people in different situations that have done well, and built a business by cold calling.
We’ve all seen the luring headlines about how much money you can make in X amount of time. We see the sales copy, glowing reviews, and all the other hype that was driven by affiliates. It’s like the mythical sirens in Greek mythology that have such a beautiful, enchanting and hypnotizing sound. Well, John and Peter heard the sounds, they followed it and fell into the trap of believing what they found was good for them.
I have cold called, I’ve used a lot of methods for marketing and lead generation, I’m a big believer in diversifying your marketing efforts once you have a system in place. I’m not a cold calling, telemarketing basher. I’m not anti-any-method, because I understand that certain mediums will reach certain people. I understand that some tactics and methods will produce shorter sales cycles, whereas others may be a longer sales cycle but for a larger sale value.
John and Peter don’t understand that though, they are stuck in the trance thinking that cold calling, telemarketing is the only way to make money, to generate leads and to close sales.
It’s easy to think, well they could be worse off, cold calling is great to generate some sales and I agree that there are certainly less effective and less efficient ways to get sales especially in the b2b space. However, John and Peter are different, they are just doing something they HATE TO DO, and don’t make any headway with it.
Usually the cycle goes like this:
1.) Pumped about the opportunity
2.) Have to get things in order before doing anything
3.) Hesitating to make their first call
4.) Killing time, taking notes, doing “busy work” to avoid making the next call
5.) Stop Making Calls
6.) Forget about the dream, and move on.
That’s what usually happens to all the John’s and Peter’s out there. They’re focused on a goal, that’s good, but it’s a trance like focus that ends up hurting them in the long run and decreases their likelihood of success.
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One Method of Generating Leads, is NOT Enough
I remember when I first started, I was cold calling a lot and noticed that I would plateau. I couldn’t get over a certain monthly amount in sales, until I started implementing other tactics.
You want to play into your strengths.
If you have money to invest, then run some PPC campaigns, you can get pretty cheap clicks with Bing, and Facebook. You can also do pretty well with Google Adwords, although the price to really get going is much higher.
Your marketing should be complimenting each other, not just for the short term, but for long terms gains. Not long ago I talked about the “Quadruple Marketing Threat” and using it to increase your conversion rates.
This method included:
- Direct Mail
- Cold Calling
- Email Marketing
- Advanced FB targeting with custom audiences
Using the quadruple threat allows you to get in touch and reach business owners through multiple mediums.
You’re still not limited to just those tactics, you can be bringing leads through inbound marketing, you can use LinkedIn, and multiple other avenues.
Don’t be afraid to be creative either. Tyson Downs made a guest post just a couple days ago on starting a Podcast. He’s effectively used his podcast for positioning purposes, content marketing, lead generation and it has directly impacted his revenue.
This doesn’t mean you should start and focus all your time on a podcast, it’s just an example that you don’t need to stick with just one method of generating leads!
As I discussed before, there are three basic things you look to accomplish in a business. Growth, profit, and sustainability (also diversification) are the 3 building blocks for success. Doing something you hate, and aren’t effective with, is a recipe for failure.
Summary
If Peter and John, instead of doing something they hate, focused more on their strengths and diversifying their lead generation efforts, they would be much happier and have a more steady flow of leads coming in.
Always focus on your strengths, work on your weaknesses but don’t try to turn a weakness into a strength if that means ignoring whatever other strengths you currently have. That’s bad business, and a bad way to live your life.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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