Type the phrase "sales leads" into any online search tool and you'll get millions - literally millions - of results, endless Web sites for companies promising leads.
But what they're really selling is lists.
Even the most carefully screened and sorted list is still a list of cold names. What is the difference between the names on these lists and a real, WARM sales opportunity?
A true sales lead is a prospective customer, someone who has shown an interest in your products or services. A sales lead is characteristically:
Active: A sales lead is actively interested in your business, and has contacted you based on your marketing efforts.
Connected: A sales lead has an established reason to listen to you, and an openness to understanding the quality of your products or services and your leadership in your field.
Interested: Most importantly, a sales lead is at a place in the purchasing cycle when he or she wants or needs your product or service - and is interested in talking to you about it.
So, what is the most effective way to establish quality sales leads - and then turn those warm leads into hot sales? An email newsletter! Unlike any other element in your marketing arsenal, an effective, well-produced and regularly distributed email newsletter has the power to:
Maintain an ongoing connection with your prospective clients as well as your current clients. Consider The Rule of 7, a marketing concept that states prospects need "to see, hear or otherwise be exposed to a message at least seven times before they respond in some way." In short, if your prospecting strategy includes only an initial contact and one follow-up call, you're limiting your odds of a sales success.
Establish your leadership position in your field. Regular communication with your prospects and customers that highlights your knowledge, experience and expertise helps establish you and your company as an industry leader - and the go-to provider for all related products or services.
Promote the quality and value of your products and services. Instead of pushing an over-the-top sales pitch, an email newsletter gives you the chance to "tell" instead of "sell." Through product highlights, case studies and other features, you can repeatedly demonstrate the true value of your business offerings.
Create an established relationship with your prospects and customers so that readers have a positive response to your outreach. Relationships are one of the key aspects in any sales effort; the more your prospects know you and trust you, the more receptive they are to your outreach.
Stay top of mind with your prospects and customers, so that when the time comes for them to make a purchasing decision - whether it is to invest in a new product or service, renew an existing contract or upgrade their service - they have YOU in mind.
Don't fall prey to ineffective cold lists that will only result in lukewarm leads at best. Develop an ongoing email newsletter marketing effort that will help you truly connect with your prospective customers, educate them on your leadership position and the value of your products or services, and ultimately turn those warm leads into hot sales opportunities.
