Published by Jacob I. Oberlander, CPA
Last Updated March 9, 2022
Let's discuss a strategy of actually generating leads. As we explained in our previous post, to close more deals, you will need a healthy amount of incoming leads or qualified leads; keeping in mind that only a percentage of those leads will end up materializing into actual customers.
| Note, although this article was written with subcontractors in mind, as part of our series on construction, the topics discussed are useful to any service business looking to increase its sales. |
It's a numbers game!
Think of reaching your goals in terms of a numbers game. Let's assume that 50% of your qualified leads will end up moving forward, and you need 57 signed contracts to reach your sales goal for the year. This bring it to 114 required qualified leads.
Now that we know our numbers, our next step is to create a strategy to ensure that we reach these goals! This is a five-step process.
Step One - Brainstorm strategies
Create an exhaustive list of all possible marketing and sales methods that you can think of. Following are some examples to get your juices flowing. Exhibit and trade show, referrals from general contractors, referrals from customers, repeat customers, joining a networking group such as BNI or your own local meetup, advertise in your local newspaper or community flyers, direct mail, social media, prospecting/cold calling. These are just some ideas. Take some time to create a comprehensive list that works for you.
Step Two - Review and eliminate
Review them and group them in buckets.
- Strategies currently in place
- Strategies to explore and implement
- Strategies that are not a priority - being placed on the back burner
As you review the list of strategies, keep in mind the following two rules;
- Marketing must generate leads! If you don't anticipate that it will generate leads, do not waste your time on them.
- Rather choose 5 or 6 strategies and really focus on those, rather than doing a little of everything.
Step Three - How many leads per strategy?
Now that we have narrowed the list, let's review the remaining strategies left and assign the expected number of leads it needs to generate. The total amount of leads to be generated using all strategies combines should equal 114 based on our example above.
🧠 In order to ensure that you reach your goal number of leads, you will need to implement lead measures. Read this article to learn more about lead measures.
Step Four - Marketing calendar
To ensure that we will actually implement the strategies listed, create a marketing calendar where you will keep track of what you will be doing when - and commit to it! You should designate a time and day of the week to reach out to customers, general contractors, etc. to see if they have any referrals.
For every new lead that comes in, make it your business to question how they got your number so you can properly track the source.
Step Five - Pipeline meetings
Schedule your pipeline meeting on a weekly basis to review your leads; this will help you stay on course. You will also utilize those meetings as a framework to analyze and modify what does not work, and improve and invest further in what is working. You can read more about pipelines meetings here.
👷Learn more about Profit Margin and After Action Review for Contractors here.
Understandably, this could get complex, depending on your goals. If you need help creating a budget or setting your goals reach out to us to learn more about how we can help you.
