Improving Lead Generating and Conversation Rates: Think Like
a Farmer
by Charlie Cook
Published on this site: June 13th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
John's a freelance photographer in Ohio who called to tell me of
his frustration with the advertising and promotional campaigns he
has tried in the last couple of years. Each time he does a promotional
mailing to his list of 10,000, he is lucky if he gets one or two
inquiries. I had a similar call from a corporation that was spending
its time and m0ney driving t.raffic to its web site. With six thousand
visitors a day, they were only getting a couple of inquiries per
week.
Both businesses were spending a lot of m0ney to get attention but
weren't converting this attention to leads.
Are you having the same problem?
Marketing is a lot like farming. You can't just head out to your
fields and bring in a bountiful harvest. First, you buy seed from
the m0ney you've budgeted. You buy enough to be sure that a good
crop will germinate and thrive until harvest, and you're likely
to plant several different crops to hedge the weather and the market.
You may not be interested in becoming a farmer, but if you want
to see your business grow there are three ways thinking like a farmer
can help you.
- Learn How to Collect More Leads
A farmer needs seed and lots of it to bring in a bountiful harvest.
You need a lot of quality leads to increase your clientele.
If your ads or mailings aren't resulting in a steady stream of
inquiries, find out what's not working and change it. By changing
a couple of sentences of your marketing copy or your offer, for
example, you can increase response rates by a factor of ten or
more.
Could you collect more leads with the right marketing strategy
and marketing copy?
- Learn How to Increase Your Lead Conversion Rate
A farmer who had spent his savings on seed wouldn't plant his
field, then go on vacation and come back months later expecting
to find a healthy crop. While you may be the exception, this is
the way most people market their businesses. According to The
Yankee Group, between 40% to 80% of new business leads aren't
converted simply due to lack of follow-up.
Many businesses spend m0ney on getting attention and then don't
follow up on a prospect's interest by giving them the information
or contact opp0rtunity they want. What you tell a prospect and
how promptly you respond when they show an interest determines
whether they continue to stay in touch.
Of the people who see your ads, what percentage respond?
Of the people who visit your web site, what percentage contact
you?
Of the people who contact you, what percentage become clients
and customers?
Could you increase your lead conversion rates by improving
your Internet, phone and mail follow-up?
- Learn to Use Systems that Generate Leads, Nurture Them and
Increase Conversion Rates
Today's farmers are as technologically and information savvy as
any of us. Farmers use GPS in their tractors to plant their crops,
the web to connect to weather forecasting and crop price information
web sites to track their markets.
Using high tech information and machines to get the work done,
today's farmer has a system for buying seed and supplies, planting,
maintaining and harvesting his or her crops. They make good use
of systems and machines to increase their chances of bringing
in a bountiful harvest.
In the case of the corporation mentioned above, a simple change
to their web site increased their lead conversion from 1 or 2
aweek to 80 a week.
Could your lead conversion rates increase with a better system
for capturing and following up on leads?
If you're like me, you get hungry often. Whether you're taking
photographs or growing lettuce, you want to generate more leads
and grow your business. To fill your larder and bring in a steadily
increasing number of clients, think like a farmer. Use your marketing
strategy and lead generation system to bring in many more prospects
and increase your conversion rates. When you do you'll find yourself
with a bountiful crop of new clients.
Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business
owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more
successful. Sign up to receive the F.ree Marketing Strategy eBook,
'7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com
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