Appointment setting: What No One Is Talking About

This is the third in a three part series on successful business lead generation. In the first part, we examined why your lead generation system was broken, and gave you some insights on how to fix it. In the second part, we looked at 7 new lead generations strategies. Now here are 8 more new ways to make your lead generation strategy more effective. ™

Sales Lead Generation Tip 1. For geographic marketing in your neighborhood, don't forget to help out with schools.

If you market locally, schools are a great resource to building a strong local marketing base. Fundraising is a big part of every school: you can help by taking out ads in the yearbook, play programs, school events. People trust firms who work with kids and the schools are where they hang out. Ads in school programs are always inexpensive and are tightly focused and targeted to your own local market. You know who likes to shop in their own backyard? Everybody.

Marketing Tip 2. Generate leads by getting active in the local scene.

If your market is indeed local, go to area meetings and join associations. Join the board, the neigoborhood club or get on some committees. Go to local business events. People trust those folks they can look in the eye and get answers. And the business goes to... people with a higher degree of accessibility. This lead generation strategy is one of the strongest, although it needs and investment of your personal time to develop.

Lead Generation Solution Tip 3. Make sure you remember: You are in a relationship business.

Stop pushing products, start prompting people to call you personally for answers. Once they're on the phone with you, it's all you baby, it's all you. Unleash that magnetic personality. You do have a magnetic personality, don't you? Sigh... me neither. Oh well... put them on your mailing list and mail to them all the time. You do have a mailing list, don't you?

All any lead generation program can do is generate warm phone calls - then it's all up to you to create a relationship (aka client) when the phone rings. So...

Direct Marketing Lead Generation Strategy Tip 4. Make your phone ring more often - Offer a FREE Booklet!

Booklets are low in cost, and are one of the most effective ways to make people pick up the phone and call you.

Write a marketing piece with a singular objective: To make your phone ring. You don't have to sell anything in the piece, you just need to generate a phone call. Then you can do the selling.

Create an ad, a press release or send a direct mail piece, post card or letter. The best way to kick up your response and generate phone calls with these lead generation marketing pieces is to Offer Free Booklets of helpful information.

Here's an important guideline: The titles drive the response. The better the title, the greater the response. Simple as that. Use the Jeff Dobkin 100-to-1 Rule for writing titles and headlines: Write 100 titles, go back and pick out your best one. As found in the book, Uncommon Marketing Techniques.

Better yet, in the center of your letter or post card, show a punchy bulleted list of compelling booklet titles readers can get FREE, if they just call now! Keep in mind, if just one title is a "Must Have!" you'll get a call. The better the titles, the more calls you'll get.

Sales Lead Generation Strategy Tip 5: Build trust.

Any good, long term lead generation strategy revolves around trust. Build trust by calling people back when you say you will. Early in the conversation rephrase a customer's statement into a question, then tell him you'll call him back with the answer (even if you know it). Call back with the answer as promised. Do this several times - instant trust.

Sales Lead Generation Tip 6. Offer a range of FREE informational services along with your FREE booklets.

"FREE" makes people call. It also puts you on their radar of "helpful people to call" when they need something.

For example, FREE quotes, FREE policy review, FREE portfolio reviews, FREE drop off and pick up; FREE Seminars, FREE books, FREE inspection, FREE Analysis, "FREE FREE FREE... just pick up the phone and call now!" If you can't bury the cost of giving away something FREE to activate an account, you're doing something wrong.

Don't forget to use all capitol letters when you write the word "FREE." Would you rather call appointment setting for a free quote, or a FREE Quote! Yes, so would everyone else.

Sales Lead Generation Tip 7. Keep clients for life.

You can do this by simply delivering the service you said you would, at the time you said you would deliver it. Keeping prices reasonable, and service over the top. Then thanking clients for their business, including sending a personal letter of thanks several times a year. They never get tired of this, and they don't get it from companies who don't care. It sets your firm apart from the indifferent who seem like they couldn't care less. Yes. Simple as that. So...

Build referrals into your sales lead campaign. Tip 8:

Don't forget to send a letter thanking clients for their referrals a couple of times a year. Clients who are pleased with you, your products, your services - and trust you - are usually more than happy to give you a referral. Don't be afraid to ask for it.

Bonus Sales Lead Generation Strategy Tip: Hey, did I mention books make great business gifts. They show how your clients can get more business in these tough economic times. Hey, did I mention "Direct Marketing Strategies" can show you how to get more business for yourself in these tough times? Excellent book. Recommended.

When it comes to pizza text message marketing, whoever said that the "good things in life are free" was almost right. Or at least very, very inexpensive!

When you see pizza restaurants that generate massive sales you might believe that they are spending thousands of dollars, if not millions (depending on the size) on advertising. In most cases, that is simply not the reality of the situation. Most pizza restaurant owners use texting to generate massive sales simply by coming up with fun, compelling offers for their new and existing customers.

Did you know that according to a recent national survey, 90% of text Messages Get Opened? This number is staggering - and through the roof!

Nowadays, everyone owns a mobile phone and everyone chats. Texting is a part of daily life. Pizza restaurants can be a part of that philosophy by simply making use of cheap text messages to keep a customer hooked.

In most cases, even if the customer likes a pizza restaurant, he might miss on the great offer that is going on simply because he didn't read the paper or catch the latest ad on TV. But, he is never going to neglect reading a text message. This way, you can get the information to the customer without spending big bucks - no matter where they are, or what they are doing!

Once the customer welcomes the advantage of having the latest offer or promotion sent to his or her mobile phone, pizza restaurants will generate massive sales simply by using cheap text messages. Now all you have to do is build up your list before you can sit back and enjoy the massive sales generated from this universally accepted form of modern marketing.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Be sure to tread carefully when texting pizza coupons and make sure that the customer doesn't feel their personal space is getting intruded by your pizza restaurant. Make sure that the customer willingly parts with their information and is not tricked into it. This permission-based marketing strategy is called "opt in" marketing and it applies to most modern communications such as emails and pizza text messages.