Generating Leads or Generating Attention: A World of Difference
The heart and soul of marketing and sales organizations is generating prospects (or teaching sales folks how to prospect) interested in hopefully buying their products. Some companies do this very well and some companies never really master the art. But even the best of companies often generate ten times as many leads as they need since they often will only convert 10% of the leads generated. The cost and inefficiency of a 90% wasted effort is incalculable.
The good news is that there are key steps that can be taken to improve the metrics, ROI and results of direct mail and email marketing efforts. The solution rests with focusing on generating attention and not just generating leads. Here are a few attention gathering tips.
- The List, Baby, The List. If real estate is all about location, location, location, then high attention prospecting is all about the list. The rule of thumb is that 70% of your results (and therefore the biggest opportunity for improvement) is the list. Marketing to associations and affinity groups present an incredible list segmentation opportunity.
- Nail WIIFM. Your offer should be tight, relevant, and address for the potential client “what’s in it for me?” The fulfillment package (delivered by mail or e-delivery) should provide valuable information in an interesting way while also positioning your company as a leading authority on the product, service or category. An unclear offer may get you a response – but perhaps only because the prospect wasn’t sure what you were offering!
- If Someone’s Looking For You, You’d Better Be There. With web search driving almost every product or service, you’d be well served to learn the math, methods of magic of web marketing and search engine optimization. People are looking for you – but are you there? An individual searching for “retirement income” knows what they’re looking for and it’s up to your website to let them know you can meet their needs. This is an example of the lead coming to you – if you’re a savvy web player.
The drain on finances, operations and sales time caused by generating too many low attention prospects is enormous. Start thinking about generating attention instead of generating leads and your sales and profits will grow accordingly.
back to the top |
