Category: 
February 20, 2010
Even if you can’t answer the question of “which came first the chicken or the egg?” you should easily be able to answer “which came first the sale or the lead?” Without leads there are no sales, and without sales there is no business. Statistics like that make it difficult to overstate the importance of sales lead generation to the success of your business without sounding trite, but what can you do about that? It is a simple fact that the most important part of building your business is starting with qualified leads, and qualified leads come from a sales lead generation plan that is working. If your sales lead generation is falling flat there are five fundamental rules that can help you make the needed improvements:
1. The first fundamental rule of sales Lead Generation is simple: you need to know who you are looking for. Casting your net too wide brings in too many unqualified leads and is a complete waste of time.
2. Rule number two states that: Once you know who you are looking for you need to know where to find them. Uncover your target market and find out where they live (figuratively first and then literally!). If your target market is women over 40 you might do well to avoid marketing on websites that specialize in performance car parts.
3. The third rule of sales lead generation is: Know what you need to know about your leads. You need to ask the right questions to qualify your lead and to aid in the sales process. Of course you need all the usual information like name, address, phone number and email address, but take it a step further by asking the questions that qualify your lead such as their age, gender, what movies they like, what their hobbies are – whatever helps you understand who they are and how your product may be a fit for them.
4. Rule number four is: Offer something of value to the prospect in exchange for their personal information and their time. Common offerings on the Internet these days include a free eBook or white paper, but feel free to get creative. Your “free” bonus is usually designed as further advertising that will lead the prospect back to you as well as entice them to give you their stats. It also helps you build a relationship with the prospect, which makes them more likely to listen to your advice later on.
5. And finally, rule number five to improve your sales lead generation is: constantly analyze your results, make adjustments, try again, and then repeat. No matter how good you get at it, there is always room for improvement. It is usually when you think you have learned it all that it is time to go back to the beginning and start learning it all over again.
Following the five fundamental rules to improve your sales lead generation will get you on the path top increasing sales and boosting your profits in the coming year.
Mac H McIntosh
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/fundamental-rules-of-sales-lead-generation-728932.html
Horaayy..there are 7 comment(s) for me so far ;)
What is happening to our country? Change? ?
You bet, Obama will change this country all right!
I just do not understand why Obama has such a lead. The thought of a democratic President and congress in times like this should be the last thing that Americans should want.
I am the first to say that the Bush administration has been a failure and the economic troubles are definately a catastrophe in which BOTH parties have a roll. But to elect a President that with the blessing of a democratic Congress will begin the sad (to me) process of changing the fundamental principles that our founding fathers intended is incredible.
We are moving to a country where the government is such a big part of the citizens lives and entitlements are handed out like candy. No way will he lower the deficit.
If you want to see how the democratic principles have helped the downtrodden, just look at inner cities and see all of the empowered people. Generation after generation of big city democratic rule have enabled many people to perpetuate lives of "taking" instead of giving and self sufficiency. I am from Chicago, the land of over 10.25% sales tax (highest in country) , and one of the worst school systems in the country…I know how ineffective Obama and his buddies can be. What makes you think he is going to do any better for you??
W M: perhaps it is you that should take an IQ test. The deficit has gone up steadily before Bush…Clinton did manage to balance the budget however, by cutting our military in half. Gee, when a president decimates the miltary it isn’t so hard to balance a budget.
If you haven’t noticed…both candidates realize that we need to undo what Clinton did and enlarge the military.
We need changed.
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And being a Supremacist, friend of Terrorist…will be cool and hip!
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Yes, we wouldnt want a Democratic administration and Congress like America had in the 1930s after the Republicans put us in the first Depression. Obama and the Democrats will be like FDR and his Congress and actually get us out of the Depression and….wait a minute…that is a GOOD thing!
Thanks for making me think! I am voting Obama now!
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Good points…and you’re a Chicagoite, too, WOW!
Thanks.
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The Republicans have increased the deficit. Helloooooooooooooo,
It has increased since Bush has been in office.
10 million a day on a war. I think you should have to take an i.q test before you can vote.
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I am the voice of reason:
1) you’re right about that. The "trifecta"- the house, congress, and liberal president- would screw a govt. over with ANY party having a majority!
2) This factor is compounded with the fact that Obama is inexperienced, and the far-left as a whole is anti-american, socialist, and wants high taxes which would kill us now.
3) They also don’t want to do as much drillign as we should. (REMEMBER- McCain is for drillign AS WELL AS ALTERNATE ENERGY TOO!)
4) No, the Bush administration actually WASN’T a failure. Let me explain. Bush came at a bad time- he INHERITED a recession, and right as he went into office he experienced 9/11.
The WORLD economy is doing horribly, worse than before- it’s NOT just America, it’s NOT Bush’s fault that the whole world is in a recession!
Lastly, Bush dealt quite honorably and successfully with the war on terrorism, protecting our women and children from muslim extremists who openly want us dead. He also managed to do all of this and what he did, while at the same time:
-people were acting like he was Stalin or Hitler
-people were drawing ugly pictures ridiculing him and making fun of him (in total denial of the fact he scored better AT HARVARD AND YALE than Kerry did!)
-He had to deal with Katrina, Hugo, and all these other damn hurricanes that have hit us non-stop lately.
-Like I said, he had the war on terror and 9/11 and WMD’s.
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5) Government should be limited and be accountable to the people, much more than the people are to the government. There should less taxes, and they should only tax people with more money slightly more. This would encourage hard work. It would also enable the rich to give money through church donations- which would promote spiritual growth and law-abiding behavior, which would FURTHER help us become a better and richer nation!
6) You’re 100% right about high taxes not working. The less % of the money people get to keep, the less they WANT TO WORK for that money! That’s why, as history shows, the closer you get to communism, and the higher you tax….
the POORER the average person is!
7) In the USSR (communist heaven) the rich were equivalent to our middle class, and the middle class there was poorer than our poor. And, obviously, our rich blew their rich away.
Govt. should simply DEDUCT the amount it costs for a private school from the taxpayer’s taxes he has to pay. Then, the poor people who feed off the govt. ANYWAY can be the ones who DO get a tax credit.
This way, the schools will be better and more competitive. There won’t be "teachers unions" or any unions for that matter… so crappy teachers- like my precalc teacher who sucks at teaching- can be FIRED! This will enable BUSINESS LIKE COMPETITION, EFFICIENCY, AND BETTER TEACHERS- because the schools are COMPETING for kids!
If kids are forced to go to a certain school, then the school doesn’t have to perform! If the school is privately owned and nobody has to go there, then it will perform better! It’s kids will perform better!
Sure, I believe there should still be a standard curriculum for what students have to learn- for the core studies. BUT, I think that religion should be allowed if wanted- no kids are forced to go there! Also, the schools can have certain things that some kids would be interested in that choose to go there- like business management, philosophy, and basically stuff that helps ACTUAL JOBS beyond the core components. This will enable a skilled workforce as well as more proficient academic scholars.
9) They should seal up the borders. IMMEDIATELY! The #1 reason America itself is suffering is illegal immigrants
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