Once you’ve identified your niche, how do you get the word out?
There are lots of ways to generate leads for your business. Because every business is different, you must find the “mix” that works best for you. Notice I saiing that you should use more than one method to generate new leads. Here are a few ideas to consider:
1. Newspaper ads
2. Magazine Ads
3. Classified Ads
4. Internet Marketing:a) Search Engine performance
b) Banners
c) Classified internet Ads
d) Develop a great list
e) Affiliate programs
f) Develop an eZine5. Flyers
6. Free Samples
7. Public Appreciation Days
8. Self Publish
9. TV
10. Cable TV ads, infomercials, “still” ads
11. Signs
12. Billboards
13. Broadcast e-mails
14. Direct Mail
15. Post Cards
16. Electronic Post cards
17. Voice Auto dialers
18. Newspaper feature
19. Press release
20. Grand Opening
21. Discount Coupons
22. (Tape, article, newsletter) of the month Club
23. Knock on doors
24. Free evaluation
25. Public speaking
26. Introduce yourself and shake hands
Some of these strategies require expertise to be effective. For example, copyrighting (the process of writing an effective sales letter or ad campaign) is a special area of expertise. There are people you can hire just to right your copy and there are books and courses you can study. Why?
Because the difference in results between a well worded sales letter or ad and a poorly worded one can be 500% or more. You have the same product and same level of service, but your letter sells $1000 and the expert’s pulls $500,000. That’s why.
One of my coaches gets paid $5,000 per day (about 6 hours of work) to review my presentations. The first time I did that presentation, I sold $2,000 worth of product. After making the investment for his services, I did the same presentation one week later and made $20,000 in sales. Same service, same level of my expertise – a 1000% gain in revenue. That $5,000 investment will make me millions in just a few years.
So, you have to know your strong points and outsource your weak points.
Some of these strategies require no expertise. For example, a few years after starting my law firm, I moved it to eastern Long Island. It was a new area for me. There were several “old timers” with established practices and I had to get my name out there. Two things made all the difference in the world – one by “luck” one by design.
I rented a house while deciding whether to build a place and the realtor that showed me the area asked me what kind of law I practiced. When I told her “real estate” and “business” she said, “I want to introduce you to the other sales people in my office.”
Fifteen minutes later, she had arranged an impromptu meeting of all 8 sales agents. I introduced myself, shook hands and promised to give any clients they sent my way the royal treatment. Then, without any request from me, she called the other three real estate offices in town and arranged meetings for me with them!
To this day, I don’t know why Victoria extended herself that way for me, but the client referrals from those offices formed the backbone of my law firm until I retired from the practice nine years later.
The second “technique” was equally simple. I vowed that every morning and every afternoon, I would visit one deli and one restaurant and have a cup of coffee or a bite to eat. During each visit, I introduced myself to the owner, manager or several of the customers. No hard sell, just a handshake and my business card. Within 2 or 3 months I had to stop my visits because I was too busy handling all my new clients.
It doesn’t have to be hard or fancy. Just pick a strategy and stick with it for a while – one key thing to remember when choosing a marketing strategy is to be consistent.