Ultimately, the goal of a digital marketing campaign is to encourage users to convert. Before you can get people to convert, though, you first need them to become leads. But what exactly are sales leads, and how can you get them? We’ll explore the answers to both of those questions below.
- Pursue search engine optimization (SEO)
- Launch a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaign
- Engage in social media advertising
- Build out an email list
- Connect with leads on social media
- Create helpful, industry-related blog posts
- Host an online webinar
- Use live chat to connect with people
- Optimize your forms
- Get referrals from current customers
Read on to learn more about how to generate sales leads for your business. Then consider partnering with WebFX — the digital marketing agency with over 25 years of experience — for our lead generation services. Just call 888-601-5359 or contact us online to get started with us today!
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How to generate sales leads
Sales leads are paramount for the success of your business. So, how can you get more sales leads? While there are various lead generation campaigns you can do, those options are mostly dominated by four overarching marketing strategies.
Here’s a simple overview of each of those strategies and how to generate sales leads with them:
1. Pursue search engine optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a digital marketing strategy that involves optimizing your web content to rank highly in Google search results. It often involves creating informational content like blog posts and trying to rank them for particular searches based on target keywords.
SEO is a fantastic gateway through which users can become leads. Let’s say your business is an HVAC company that specializes in air conditioner repairs. You could write a blog post that targets the keyword “how does an air conditioner work.” 
Whenever someone searches for that keyword, they have the opportunity to encounter your blog post. Even though they won’t immediately buy from you, you’ve now established a connection with people who have an interest in air conditioners. If they ever need one serviced, they may come back to you. Other critical features of SEO include:
Overall, SEO is one of the best strategies you can use to acquire new leads.
2. Launch a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaign
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is another strategy useful for generating sales leads. Like SEO, it involves marketing to users through Google search results. The difference is that PPC ads are paid real estate in search results, and display above the organic results. 
You can use a platform like Google Ads to create ads and bid on keywords where you want the ads to appear. With a high enough bid and a good enough Ad Rank, you can outperform the competition, and your ads will appear for relevant searches.
This can help you get more sales leads like SEO. When people encounter your ads in their searches, they’ll get a look at the products or services you offer. Even if they don’t buy your product immediately, the ads can instill an interest in them that will potentially result in a future conversion.
3. Engage in social media advertising
One of the best ways to get more sales leads is to find more people. And on the Internet, there’s no better place to do that than social media, where the average user spends 28% of their Internet time. You can run social media advertising campaigns, which work similarly to Google PPC ads, to reach people. Social media advertising allows you to place ads right in the middle of users’ social media feeds, where they can see them as they scroll. 
Best of all, you can target users based on characteristics like age and location, allowing you to reach precisely the people who make up your ideal audience.
For example, let’s say you want to generate leads for your medical equipment company. You can run social media ads targeting medical practices or hospitals in specific geographic areas.
4. Build out an email list
Another answer for how to generate sales leads is to create an email list. An email list is a list of users’ email addresses that you can target with marketing emails. While some businesses buy email lists or send campaigns to random email addresses, that’s a less than ideal strategy.
Rather, you should create your email list by allowing users to submit their addresses voluntarily. When users arrive at your website after clicking a Google or social media link, you can present them with calls to action (CTAs), prompting them to submit their email addresses. 
These CTAs can appear in the text of your blog posts, in pop-ups, or elsewhere on your site. The key is to make sure you offer the users something in return, like special offers or newsletters. Then follow up on that promise in the emails themselves. This is one of the most effective lead generation strategies since it allows you to establish a direct and long-lasting form of contact with your leads.
5. Connect with leads on social media platforms
Social media advertising isn’t the only way to use social media to generate leads.
If you want to know how to generate sales leads, try connecting with prospects on social media platforms. With 70% of Americans using social media, it’s a great medium to use to reach people interested in what you offer.
There are dozens of platforms you can use to connect with prospects interested in what you offer. If you’re a business-to-business (B2B) company, for example, you could use LinkedIn to find sales leads.
So, how can you generate sales leads with these platforms?
One way to generate sales leads is post content on your social media pages. You can share information with your audience and get them to engage with your business. It’s a great way for you to help people get familiar with your business and also build relationships with those prospects.
6. Create helpful, industry-related blog posts
To continue on this list of ideas on how to generate sales leads, let’s look at creating content. The one thing you have that you can offer to people in your knowledge –– people want information about topics in your industry.
A great medium to use is a blog. Blog posts are a great way for you to share helpful information with your audience and capture qualified leads.
When you start a blog, you’ll want to generate industry-related topics you can write about and share with your audience. You can look at competitors’ websites and see what type of content they create to get inspired.
Once you have a list of topics, you’ll want to continually put out posts covering those topics. Using a content calendar is a great way to plan when you’ll publish and share content with your audience.
After you publish your blog posts, you can capture leads by directing people to fill out a form or to contact your business for information.
By creating blog posts, you can attract leads looking for information related to your industry and capture them.
7. Host an online webinar
Another way to generate sales leads is to host an online webinar. Online webinars involve hosting an online event where you share information on a topic of interest to your audience.
To start, you’ll want to choose where you want to host your online webinar. There are dozens of platforms available for you to host your event.
Once you know the platform, you can pick the topic. Generally, you want to choose a topic in your industry that will generate interest and engagement. After establishing the topic, you can outline what you want to cover about it.
You can then set a date and time for your webinar and send out invitations. You’ll want to get your invitations out far enough in advance so more people can make it to your event.
When you host the webinar, make sure you engage with people who attend. If they ask questions, take time to answer them. Engaging with your audience and building relationships is how you’ll earn sales-qualified leads for your business.
8. Use live chat to connect with people
If you want to know how to generate sales leads, try implementing a live chat into your website. A live chat feature enables people to reach out to your business with any questions they have about what you offer.
Having a live chat is crucial for ensuring that people get the answers they need about your business and what you offer. You can engage in conversation with your audience and build a positive relationship with people as they learn more about your business.
To integrate live chat into your website, you’ll want to find the right live chat software to help you answer people’s question. You can also integrate a chatbot to answer common questions.
9. Optimize your forms
Another way to generate more sales leads is to optimize your forms. When trying to capture leads, forms are a great way for you to obtain crucial information about leads interested in your business. If your forms are too time-consuming, you may miss out on qualified sales leads.
The best thing you can do is optimize your forms to get more people to complete them. Here’s how you can create forms that convert:
- Ask for minimal information: Long forms that ask for a lot of information often deter people from completing them. When you create your forms, only ask for basic information like a name and contact information.
- Add optional fields: If you want more than the basic information, add optional fields. That way, if someone wants to complete these forms they can, but it won’t deter people from completing it.
- Make your CTA specific: When you add a CTA button to your form, make sure it’s specific. Whether someone’s getting a free guide or joining your email list, make sure the CTA tells them what happens when they submit.
Optimizing your forms will help you earn more leads for your business.
10. Get referrals from your current customers
To wrap up this list of ways to get more sales leads, let’s talk about getting referrals. Referrals are an excellent source for earning new customers for your business –– they’ll know who could use your products or services.
Creating a referral program is an excellent way to get sales qualified leads while strengthening relationships with your current clients. When you create a referral program, you’ll want to offer rewards for making referrals. It could be a free product or a discount on services –– something that will entice people to want to refer someone.
Keep in mind, though, that the reward should only come if you successfully earn a new client from that referral. It ensures that, when people refer someone, it’s a quality lead and not someone they’re randomly choosing to get the reward.
So, for example, you might offer $50 off next month’s services when a qualified and referred lead signs up for your services.
A referral program is an easy way for you to obtain sales qualified leads for your business.
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FAQ about sales lead generation
Learn more about sales lead generation with our FAQ:
What is sales lead generation?
Sales lead generation — the process of generating sales leads for your business — is a critical element of any digital marketing plan. But what are sales leads, and what makes them so important? Let’s look at the answer to each of those questions below.
What is a sales lead?
First up, what is a sales lead? The short answer is that a lead is a person who’s expressed interest in converting, but hasn’t yet done so.
To dive in a bit deeper into what sales leads are, we need to talk about the marketing funnel. The marketing funnel is a model representing the process of turning an anonymous user into a loyal customer. Picture a funnel, wider at the top and narrow at the bottom.
All of your anonymous users start at the top of the funnel — these people have no knowledge of your business. Users who know about your brand but are not yet willing to convert hang out in the middle of the funnel, and at the bottom, you’ll find the users who are ready to buy.
While you’ll draw the newest members of your audience from the top of the funnel, and your conversions will happen at the bottom, leads typically take place in the middle. To make someone a lead, you must familiarize them with your company and interest them in buying.
Why do you need sales leads?
Now that we’ve covered the definition of a sales lead, let’s talk about what makes them so critical for your business. Leads are an essential step on the path to conversion. You will never convert a customer who isn’t first a lead.
If you think back to the marketing funnel, leads reside somewhere in the middle. That said, customers can’t make the leap from interest to conversion without first becoming a lead. That’s because people likely won’t buy from you without first becoming familiar with your business.
It’s rare that a user will encounter your business for the very first time and then decide to convert five minutes later. Before people are willing to convert, they first want to learn about your business and develop an interest in what you have to offer. To drive conversions, then, you must first drive leads.
Get help with your sales lead generation from WebFX
Need help generating sales leads for your business? No problem. With over 1020 client testimonials to our name, WebFX is the digital marketing agency that businesses trust to drive results for their marketing.
With our lead generation services, you can get help crafting campaigns for each of the strategies listed above and more. You’ll also receive a dedicated account representative that will work closely with you throughout the whole process. To get started with us, call 888-601-5359 or contact us online today!