Sales are a critical part of business in virtually every industry. Whether your company is large or small, having a robust sales funnel is one of the best indicators of the overall health of your company. Of course, cold calling (and other traditional sales strategies) can become a challenging grind, so it’s important to look at some of the innovative ways that successful companies are generating business leads.
Here are a few of the most popular sales strategies that are worthy of consideration within your business:
Special offers via direct mail
While the majority of this article will focus on digital strategies, one often overlooked sales strategy is the effective utilization of direct mail. Direct mail pieces, when targeted to the right audience, can provide a significant funnel of inbound sales leads. By offering a unique and time-bound special offer, you can encourage quick conversions and give your sales team an influx of opportunities.
Referral incentives
For many well-established businesses, referrals from happy customers can be a significant source of warm leads. For less established companies, it can be difficult to garner the same level of organic effort by customers. However, by adding an incentive (monetary or otherwise), you can increase the likelihood that your customers will send referral leads your way. This method is often worth investing in, because referral leads have a far higher likelihood of resulting in a sale.
Search engine advertisements and landing pages
One of the most exciting lead generation techniques is also one of the most cost-effective — when conducted properly. Search engine advertisements are a great way to find potential customers right when they are in the market for your product or service. In conjunction with unique and purpose-built landing pages — including a clear call to action– your sales team can have a list of brand new leads in their inbox every single week.
Get involved on social media
Social media advertisements are certainly worthy of consideration. However, a more cost-effective way to build a relationship with your customers is to interact with them directly on social media. Post questions, advice, or anything else on your Facebook page and encourage users to respond. You can also interact with Facebook users directly as a customer service and sales channel.
Give potential customers a reason to interact with you on Facebook (with interesting, engaging content) and you’ll have an entirely new channel of warm leads! Also consider Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Snapchat, depending on where your target audience spends their time.
Website live chat
One increasingly popular lead generation technique is the use of live chat on a website. Often, potential customers will visit your website to learn more about your company. All too often, they will leave without their questions being answered, or will simply navigate away from your site and forget about your company. By engaging them with a live chat tool, you can build a positive, helpful relationship right off the bat. Best of all, you can encourage them to provide an email address and phone number, so your sales team can follow up with them based on the conversation they had.
Organic content marketing
Building high-quality content on your website — including a blog, infographics, and other useful tools — is an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. It can also take months (if not years) before the full effects are realized. However, content marketing is perhaps the most cost-effective lead generation strategy on the market. When done correctly and with a long-term focus, the organic search engine traffic you generate from high-quality content can both establish your company as an industry thought-leader and serve as a perpetual lead generation vehicle.
These are just a few of the many ways your sales team can innovate its lead generation techniques. Give one or all of them a shot to grow your business. If you want to make sure you never miss a sales lead or waste time on unqualified leads, check out our sales lead capture and qualification call center services.
Here are some related articles you might be interested in:
Sales Funnel Management – Developing Your Sales Funnel
6 Marketing Tactics that Never Go Out of Style
The Anatomy of a Sales Pitch – Create the Perfect Presentation
