5 Steps to Generating Authentic & Powerful Leads…FAST!

Many of the solo professionals whom I coach are people who offer services. They're coaches, consultants, creatives. They’re amazing people with huge hearts and their own unique gifts and genius to share with the world. But here's the problem: I see many of them focusing on the wrong things. They create a snazzy web page, decide on their services and pricing (90% of the time too low by the way…a topic for another day!) and wait for people to find them. Sadly, it just doesn’t work that way. You have to shine your unique light out into the world like a lighthouse so that just the right people are drawn to your safe harbor. Here are 5 proven and powerful ways to fill your database with high quality leads who can’t wait to buy your products and services. #1. Create a blog or website –it doesn’t have to be complicated…you can write your words (copy) from your heart (AND use powerful words –I keep the book “Words That Sell” right at my fingertips.) Give your copy to some techie person, could be one of your kids for heaven’s sake and have them get the blog or website up! #2. Purchase a contact management system with autoresponders. Aweber.com is my favorite. Constantcontact.com is another that many people use. This will allow you to collect all your emails in one place and to create autoresponders and broadcast messages. What the heck are those, you ask? An autoresponder is one of the greatest tools a solo entrepreneur can have. Here’s how it works. You buy aweber.com. They tell you how to put up a “sign up box” on your website (have your techie person do this for you). You filled one out on my website –that’s how you got on my list! Now people are not going to just sign up. They want to receive something in return. So you need to create a free give away that let’s them get a feel for who you REALLY are and what you can do for them. This can be a special report. A directory of resources. An e-course or an audio recording. #3. Now you have your lead’s email address. The next step is to keep in touch REGULARLY. This builds relationship. I know many of you have been on my list for more tha 8 years and even if we’ve never met in person, you feel you know me. You’ve watched me grow and change, divorce and remarry, become a minister and move to my dream location. When you build relationship, people trust that you truly want to solve their problems and now they are willing to buy your products and services. The easiest way to keep in touch is with an ezine. You can write a very simple article (400-600 words) on a topic related to your service, add a little personal touch and then use aweber.com to “broadcast” it. That means you go into your aweber software, post your article, hit send to entire list and poof! Everyone on your list receives the ezine at once. You can even write several and set the broadcast to send out each one on a different day. #4. Post your articles. Ok, now I’m going to urge you to LEVERAGE everything you do. Remember that article that you sent to your email list? Well now it’s time to send that article to people who don’t know you yet! There are many internet sites looking for free content. To get started, you can post your articles on ezinearticles.com and ideamarketers.com. There are loads of places, but I usually only use 4-6 of them. The most important thing about posting articles is that you get to create a “resource box.” That’s a fancy term for your short bio. Not just your bio though! Write just a sentence or two about your business and then put in a “call to action.” Right now at the end of all my articles, I’m giving the link to join our Success Circle for free. I know that once these people enter my community, they are going to receive so much information, and support and love from me and our community, that they’ll want to hang around for a long time! I also publish those same articles in local magazines. #5 Public Speaking. Have you fainted yet? I know that this is a huge fear for many people. HOWEVER, it was one of the best ways that I got quality leads FAST. People got to get a taste of me and my presence. Every time I speak I offer to send participants a web link to a free downloadable booklet called “70 Practical Marketing Tips for Solo-Entrepreneurs” IF they will give me their email address. Typically 95% of the audience will give me their business card or write their email address on a piece of paper being passed around that says “Yes! Please send me the booklet." You can get 25 or more leads in one swoop with this method. And they are people who have MET you and asked for more! If you have fear about this, I strongly encourage you to join our Success Circle where I can teach you all the strategies I used to overcome this fear and become a sought out speaker (and I’m a true introvert!).