Lead Generation - Can Your Business Afford Not To Do It?
In order for your business to thrive you need a fresh supply of leads on a regular basis. The problem is that obtaining these leads can be expensive so it is a challenging task when you are first starting out and don’t have much in your budget to spare. Here are some things to consider that might lower the cost of getting business leads.
Many sites use a simple sales letter type page that has one objective - to sell an item. While this may have some success, it generally does nothing for you in terms of future sales contacts. Sure, you have the person’s name and all, but once they have bought that item, there is no follow up to it.
To get more for your money, you need to turn those customers into leads so you can make multiple sales from them over time rather than selling a single item to one person one time and that’s it. If you go for the single sale, you have less profit to cover your expenses. Getting people to hit the “Buy” button is a skill in itself that most people lack and to get results, you need to hire someone to write your copy for you.
Copywriters do not come cheap, especially if they are good and have a proven track record. That is the major cost of sales letter pages. In essence, you are relying on a set number of sales to offset that cost and lead into profit. This is known as overhead or initial outlay and we all have been there at one time or another.
Besides the sales copy, you also need a website that is designed to sell, a domain name, and hosting. These costs mount up quickly and if you rely on single sales to pay the bills, you may not see the profits you want as quickly as you want.
When it comes to sites set up for lead generation though, these will pay for themselves over and over. First of all, they do not require lengthy sales copy or fancy websites. All you really have to do is create a simple webpage with a form that offers a free report in exchange for an email address. Once the person is on your list, you can market to him repeatedly which increases the chance of the first sale and multiple sales there after.
Since the people agree to receive email from you when they request your free report, there is no risk of spamming, especially if you use double opt-in. This means that when someone enters their email address for the report, they must first click on a link and confirm their email before the report is sent. This prevents people from entering false email addresses or addresses that belong to someone else. Double opt-in confirms that your prospect is aware of what you are offering and has willingly asked to receive it.
Your lead generation website will collect new prospects for you day after day. Treat these subscribers well and they will remain on your list for years giving you an every growing base of people to market to. You receive all these great benefits at far less cost and effort than setting up a single sales website, plus you will see more profits too.