It's easy to content yourself with a landing page, a simple form, and a nice CRM. We love online lead generation, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone that doesn't. But there's a world offline that's full of people looking for products and services that you can provide. It's very easy for people to fake their contact info online - but generating leads outside of the internet is sure to generate leads that are consistently higher in quality. Here's a couple of ways that you can branch out from online lead generation:
Trade Shows
The fact that the lead generation industry is so diverse lends itself well to trade shows. Contractors, insurance agents, and even other lead generation companies attend all sorts of different trade shows every year. Networking at these events can get you new customers and valuable network connections. We attend LeadsCon every year, and we can't tell you how helpful it has been for us.
Sponsored Events
Any company can chip in to sponsor local events in their community, and yours shouldn't be an exception. Finding an event even marginally related to your business opens up plenty of opportunities, well beyond name recognition. Send employees to popular events and network. A warm smile and an honest passion for their work is sure to not only generate interest, but honest, high quality leads as well.
Career Fairs
I may just be speaking as someone from a college town, but career fairs are fairly common and incredibly useful for businesses. But the people looking for a job aren't the only target you should keep in mind. Use this as an opportunity to network with other, similar businesses. These corporate relationships can open the door to new and exciting opportunities for lead generation, as well as lead buyers and sellers.
Seminars
Tech seminars are getting more and more common, as the working population becomes more and more tech savvy. One example of this is the increasingly popular Social Media Breakfast platform. Professionals working in the social media arena gather once a month to discuss the newest changes to all of their favorite platforms, and listen to professionals give speeches about various aspects of online work. These events are a great opportunity to network offstage, or jump onstage and show off your, and therefore your business's, knowledge.
A Note About Cold Calling
We wouldn't be able to talk about offline lead generation without talking about cold calling. As common as it is, cold calling nowadays is just not that effective. On average, it takes 8 cold calls before finding someone interested in your service, and only 2% of cold calls actually result in setting an appointment. It's often not an efficient use of your time, so committing to a cold call schedule is risky. However, it can be useful to fill space between other, proven lead generation efforts.
So the bottom line seems to be to network, network, network, and even without online lead generation you'll see your results skyrocket! But what to do with those leads once you have them? Well, put them in a great CRM, of course! boberdoo has been building lead distribution software since 2001, and manual lead entry is a simple process with our system. To check out our other features to step your lead generation game up, click the banner above, or give us a call at 800-776-5646.