To be successful, your business needs to generate revenue and having a steady stream of leads coming through your sales funnel is a key factor in keeping money coming in. As a business owner, you have the option of purchasing leads to keep the funnel filled, but this is probably not the best way to approach this situation. You will find that you get better qualified leads which convert at a higher rate if you do the work to generate them yourself.
Purchasing Leads for Your Business
At first glance, the idea of buying leads for your business is an attractive one. There are many companies which have prospect lists for sale, and you can get names and contact information of people who have filled out a form or signed up for a mailing list.
The problem with purchased leads is that the list you are buying has likely already been bought by one or more other marketers. The prospect may have been interested in receiving information at one point, but this interest will wane and then has the potential to turn into hostility if you are one of many people contacting that person.
You can make purchased leads work for your business, but only if you have a plan to demonstrate to the prospect that what you are offering is different from your competition. Unless you can respond quickly to the prospect’s objection that he or she has already been approached by someone in a way that will capture his or her interest, the money paid for the lead will not benefit you or your business.
Self Generated Leads for Your Business
Timing is very important in lead generation. If you focus on generating your own leads, you will be connecting with your prospects at a point where they are interested and willing to hear what you have to say. If you rely on purchased leads, this window of opportunity may have long passed by the time you make contact with the prospect.
How to Generate Your Own Leads
How can you generate your own leads? One effective way is start a blog and populate it with great content. Use this strategy as an opportunity to reach out to a large audience of Internet users with items that will interest your site visitors.
Encourage your site visitors to sign up for your mailing list and reach out to your list with autoresponder messages to keep in touch with them. By the time the prospect reaches out to you, a rapport will already have been established with him or her and you will find it easier to convert your prospect into a buyer.
Self generated leads have an advantage over purchased ones. By focusing your attention on qualified leads who are interested and ready to listen to your offers, you will get higher conversion rates without having to take the time to contact individuals named on a lead generation list.