You’re an entrepreneur. You’re building something incredible. But let’s be real: cash flow is king, and right now, it might feel like you’re hemorrhaging.
“I need leads yesterday!” – I hear you loud and clear.
The good news? You don’t need to resort to desperate measures, exhaust every single resource, extend your efforts beyond a work-life balance, or find yourself so deep into the hole that you can no longer see the light.
There are plenty of ways to fuel your growth. Plenty!
This is so important to remember! If you remember anything, remember this.
You don’t have to do everything and you don’t have to be everywhere. When you’re doing everything, you’re doing nothing. When you’re everywhere, you’re nowhere.
What you need is a strategy.
If you’re unsure where to start, you can always contract out that critical first step to a Growth Marketer or a Fractional CMO.
You don’t need to serve everyone either. Let’s be honest, with over 8 billion people in the world, you could never keep up with everyone. No one could.
You need quality leads from your ideal clients who, in turn, benefit from the product or service you provide. That’s it.
Forget the “spray and pray” tactics of the past. This is about laser-focused targeting and maximizing every dollar. We’re talking about building a predictable, scalable engine for attracting your ideal clients.
It demands creativity, forward thinking, and intention. Followed by execution!
While there are many traditional ways that we’re all familiar with, such as content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and paid advertising, I’m hoping to help you find new ways to get noticed. Ways that don’t break the bank.
Now that we got that out of the way, here are 5 low-cost ways to get leads and, hopefully, keep you from bleeding money.
Voice Search Optimization (VSO)
Optimize your website and content for voice search queries to capture leads from voice assistant users. Not only does this help you design for accessibility, but your business can be found by any device that uses voice search.
According to Keywords Everywhere, 145 million people in the US use voice assistants, and 50% of the US population uses voice search daily. While smartphones are the most popular devices, smart speakers, connected cars, and smart TVs will also see a boost, gaining over 17 million new users by 2027.
It’s only a matter of time before we have self-driving cars. I’m sure by then, we’ll be asking them to drive us to our destination, not typing it in. Hopefully, by that time, you’ll be on the map.
I can’t emphasize the importance of VSO enough. Voice search is the way of the future and if you’re not keeping up, you’re falling behind.
Referral Programs
Incentivize past clients to refer new business. If it already costs you 10% of your gross revenue to market your business as is, build a 10% referral incentive into your service or product and offer it to your clients instead.
Let them know by emailing them, sending a text message, making a phone call, adding it to your email signature, placing it on your invoices, and so on. According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers say they trust recommendations from friends and family, meaning a large majority of people are likely to buy from personal referrals when presented with the option.
Not only will you receive quality leads directly from your previous clients, but you will be rewarding them for having chosen you, trusting you, and advocating for you.
You might even generate repeat business by staying front of mind.
Contests & Giveaways
Contests and giveaways are some of the easiest ways to collect contact information from your prospective buyers, all of whom you can connect with immediately and market to at a later date.
It doesn’t even have to be a massive giveaway. Trust me!
With Valentine’s Day coming up, you could easily put together a gift basket for a Date Night Out. Whether you initiate an online contest where you ask people to “Submit Your Entry” or have it displayed in a storefront with a draw box, you’re still collecting the information of your ideal clients.
In the past, I did this monthly and gained thousands of submissions in a year. Some giveaways were more successful than others. Nonetheless, every contact was added to my newsletter, I stayed front of mind by showing up in their inbox regularly, and increased sales continuously. The only direction I was headed was up, I’ll take it!
It’s an extremely low-cost, yet highly effective marketing tactic.
Everyone loves winning!
Quick tip: If you decide to do a draw box, be sure to draw the name while streaming live. Provide announcements on when it’s going to happen, maybe even with a countdown. You’ll have the opportunity to stir up hype on your social media channels, create engagement, and, lastly, remain accountable.
Partnerships & Alliances
Leverage your reach and credibility by partnering with other people or organizations.
You don’t need to know everything, but you should know someone who does. By pairing up with complementary businesses, you will have opened up a very large gateway to new leads.
For example, let’s say you run a residential painting business and decide to focus on empty nesters who are planning to do a full home renovation. To make it happen, those empty nesters will likely need other trade services such as general contractors, flooring installers, interior designers, kitchen remodelers, etc.
That’s when you go out and find your tribe! Meet them, refer them, work with them, and become associated.
Another example could be an accountant who specializes in corporate taxes, yet gets countless inquiries on services for personal taxes. All of a sudden your competition became your new referral partner.
For every inquiry that is not a perfect fit for you, pass it on to the person to whom it is a perfect fit. It will come back to you tenfold.
It just makes sense to me to create partnerships that benefit the client and enhance the customer journey while also developing a trusted community and generating a constant flow of unpaid leads.
It’s a no-brainer!
Guest Blogging & Appearances
Showcase your expertise and establish your authority by appearing as a guest. You’ll create the opportunity to increase your visibility, build valuable relationships, widen your audience, and drive attention back to you and your business.
Now let’s say guest blogging isn’t your thing. Not to worry, you have more than one option. They’re quite endless actually.
To get your creative juices going and help you envision what’s suitable for you, here are a few examples.
Keep in mind that these are all opportunities for you to appear as a guest. You are partaking in or contributing to another person’s ventures, a business’ presence, an event, or a platform.
Content-related opportunities could be a contribution to an ebook, white paper, magazine article, newsletter, or press release.
Audio-related opportunities could be podcast interviews, webinars, online summits, co-hosting live streams, or video interviews.
In-person opportunities could be making a guest appearance or speaking at conferences, trade shows, workshops, seminars, or other local business events.
Community engagements could be participating in online forums, sharing expertise, answering questions, and establishing relationships with other group members. It could also be you joining certain groups or associations as a guest. BNI Global is a perfect example of a face-to-face guest opportunity as they offer no-admission guest days once a month.
If you would rather stay at home, head to Eventbrite as they have an abundance of virtual meet-and-greet events. Most are industry-focused and if not industry-focused, then geographically focused. You can start in your own backyard.
Your community is everywhere!
Showing up as a guest first offers you a no-risk opportunity to create those connections and generate leads from like-minded entrepreneurs.
Key Takeaways
Running a business can feel like an uphill battle some days. There’s no doubt. Cash flow worries can be painfully real, and the pressure to “get leads now” can be overwhelming.
But remember, you don’t have to do it alone, and you certainly don’t have to do everything. Focus on your ideal client, build a strong foundation, and explore creative strategies.
From embracing voice search to leveraging the power of referrals, contests, partnerships, and guest appearances. These non-traditional strategies can help you attract the right clients, build a loyal following, and achieve sustainable growth.
Remember, it’s about quality over quantity. Focus on building meaningful connections and providing exceptional value, and the leads will follow.
Still unsure where to start? Find top talent marketing specialists or sales assistants to help you get in front of the right people and scale your business here.
