Generating leads as a small business can be challenging... but it doesn’t have to be.
Whether you own a new start-up or have been in business for years, the world of marketing and lead generation is changing at warp speed.
This is not our parent’s marketing world and what worked 10-20 years ago just doesn’t work anymore.
Hell, what worked two years ago doesn’t work either.
Times have changed and 2020 taught us that we have to stay adaptable and ready for anything.
To complicate marketing matters further, we’ve become a society that distrusts the media, politicians, corporations, and our trust in brands has fallen. One mishap shared on social media can easily affect the reputation of a revered company.
On the other hand, social media and the advances we’ve seen in technology are great because it allows us to reach even more people and spread our messaging like wildfire. But everyone is taking advantage and messaging is coming at us from everywhere. As a small business, it’s hard to cut through all of the noise and reach the right people, at the right time.
You may not have the size or a large tech-savvy and skilled marketing team on your side, and that’s ok. By following our Trust Equation, you can use that smaller size to your advantage to create stronger, longer-lasting relationships and reach the prospects that are right for you.
Barriers and Roadblocks to Lead Generation for Small Business
According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “20% of small businesses fail in the first year. By the end of their fifth year, roughly 50% have faltered and after 10 years, only a third have survived.”1
First, we need to understand... why? What are the barriers and roadblocks preventing small businesses from growing and reaching their potential?
To help us understand these barriers, Connect 365 interviewed over 4,000 small businesses to uncover common challenges and create strategies to overcome them. Not having a systemic approach to lead generation strategy was seen as a contributing factor as to why so many small businesses lacked the cash flow needed to flourish.
Here are some of the barriers impacting lead generation for small businesses:
- Lack of time and energy. Performing the day-to-day leaves little time to focus on marketing and lead generation strategies.
- Limited budget. Marketing, lead generation, and email management software can be expensive. It also requires other resources, like employees. If you’re not staffing freelancers, then there are a host of employee benefit costs to factor into the equation.
- Learning Curve. Deciphering the lingo alone can be overwhelming. If you’re a bit of a marketing dinosaur and haven’t kept up with the changing times, then the lack of know-how can be a tough barrier to overcome.
Now onto the roadblocks and why so many small businesses struggle to reach the right prospects:
- Trust. Customers are being bombarded with messaging from the competition all promising them something great and vowing to do it better, bigger and faster. And, it’s relentless. If you don’t respond one day, you’ll receive a message the next day with a lower price, more stuff, a better offer - all proclaiming to be the very BEST deal. Today’s customers are smart. They’ve seen all the old tricks and can see through canned content with the (insert prospect’s name here) mentality. Your potential prospects deserve better.
- Simplicity. There is a myriad of ways to reach customers these days - emails, newsletters, pop-up ads, mobile-optimized ads, Facebook ads, social media automation, interstitials – even GIFs are being used to make email campaigns more engaging. Then there is the complexity of measuring all of these great tools and understanding the lingo, like open rates, click-throughs, pay-per-click, geotargeting. It’s enough to make your head spin, especially if you don’t have a marketing team to back you up. Whoever coined the phrase – keep it simple stupid – was onto something.
- Consistency. With so many tools in the toolbox, we tend to try it all. When something is not working, we move onto the next thing. Of course, immediate gratification and getting results quickly is desirable, but it clouds messaging even further and confuses potential prospects.
The Trust Equation Can Help
The Trust Equation is a revolutionary method that gets you in front of your perfect prospects and helps you become the only option in their eyes. It allows you to create a relationship based on trust, simplicity, and consistency. By focusing on three key pillars, you can create a unique advantage, more awareness, and generate quality leads that will turn into your best customers:
- Targeted prospecting. Take the time to identify who your perfect prospects are and narrow your efforts instead of casting a big net. Stop wasting time trying to reach people who won’t see your message. Instead, build relationships and foster those relationships to create trust and acceptance of future messaging.
- Social authority. Customers have limited attention spans. Establish your authority early. Prove how you can solve their problems and fulfill a need so that they link your business with a solution. Create awareness with consistent messaging and relevant posts to convey your authority in the market.
- Personal messaging. Learn about your prospect’s needs and desires and be empathetic and emphatic. Create personalized messaging that speaks directly to them. Continual and sincere communication and follow-up show them that you care. Building a foundation of trust will create a long-lasting relationship and lead to lifetime customers.
What Others are Saying About the Trust Equation
“I went from 100 clients to 212 clients in just that first year. If you’re a small business and need clients, you’ve got to have a system like this in place. My revenue doubled after working with Josh and team and it’s continued to double every year, I’ve stuck with them” – Mike Mertz, Finance
“The ease and simplicity are amazing! 79.5% open rate and 4 proposal submissions from my last campaign.” – Michael Hunt, IT
“I’m thrilled with what has happened in just 24 hours. Sent out 500 emails from a cold list yesterday with the first message. 23 people already want me to profile them and have requested calls.” – Janine Bolon, Finance Coach
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TRUST EQUATION AND CONNECT WITH US
Implementing the Trust Equation is a game-changer and can propel your small business in front of more prospects, generate more leads and grow your business. From email automation to lead management to social media automation, Connect 365 can help you turn those cold leads into warm prospects and create long-lasting, lifetime customers.
Your Turn
Sign up for my upcoming L.E.A.D Blueprint Workshop
Want a better way to get leads and clients? Sign up for my upcoming workshop that goes step by step through our lead generation process that has been so successful in our clients’ businesses -- the L.E.A.D. Blueprint.
In the workshop, I’ll be teaching:
- Exactly what an Authority Leadership Platform is and how you can leverage our Authority Amplifier process to position yourself above the competition, putting your business on an entirely different playing field.
- How to target high-end prospects using online platforms (social media + email) in a unique way that builds instant trust by doing the polar opposite of what most ‘salespeople’ try
- How to develop real relationships online using a highly-personal Multi-Touchpoint Messaging Campaign to naturally guide the conversation towards an appointment
- The right way to automate processes that build trust, improve credibility, and increase responsiveness in your campaigns.
Join an upcoming workshop session by signing up here!
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