In talking with various business owners of late they all agree it’s getting costlier (some might even say prohibitive) to get new prospects or leads these days.

Straight up, would you agree that it’s getting more expensive and harder to find prospective new customers?

Go on, get involved by ticking one of the boxes.

Yes:  ?   No:  ?   Don’t Know:  ?

If you’ve ticked Yes or Don’t Know keep reading because I’ve got some good ‘ole bootstrap basics to share with you here.

But, first, some practical background info:

First, I agree absolutely that it is getting costlier to get raw leads … but the obtaining of a raw lead is not the costliest part of the process!

You see, how much your leads cost depends on a lot of things, including your definition of a lead.

For mine, a truly qualified lead is one that has shown a desire or need for your product or service, the fit is good, they have the budget and they have given you the time frame for their purchase.

Fact # 1: All leads are not equal and quality is the defining difference.

Fact # 2: A raw lead not contacted in the first place, or not followed up after an initial contact can be the costliest of them all - and don’t tell me that every single lead or prospect at your business is promptly followed up in every case.  There will be some leakage, and for many that leakage is HUGE, not to mention expensive.

Fact # 3: Most businesses spend the great majority of their money attempting to convert raw leads into what they really want – a prospect ready to buy.

Put another way, by far the largest cost of a lead is not its raw acquisition (though they’ve certainly escalated in recent times), but its transformation into a true sales opportunity.

KEY POINT:

Your first concern with raw leads should be quality, not cost.  Complete data means the data set includes all the information you need to communicate easily with decision-makers and decision-influencers.

Given the current economic situation, respectfully I’m going to suggest that you look at the application of this topic in great detail.  Afterall, when times were good you probably were a little happy-go-lucky with your leakage, yet now I dare say you are taking a closer look and so you should.

How to easily blow big bucks

Marketing researcher Rex Briggs has released a book entitled What Sticks: Why Most Advertising Fails & How to Guarantee Yours Succeeds.

His book claims about 37 per cent of all advertising is wasted (I would have thought it higher!).

That amounts to AU$9.25 billion out of the total marketing spend of AU$25 billion across all channels in this country.

For NZ the loss factor is about $2.1 billion.

Brigg’s book claims about 17 per cent of advertising wastage can be attributed to marketers not knowing why consumers buy their products.  Up to 12 per cent of advertising budgets are wasted because the message fails to “resonate” with the target audience.

Briggs claims 70 per cent of an advertising budget should be spent on conventional, proven approaches, with an additional 20 per cent allocated to different takes on approaches that have worked in the past.

So the message is: Know why they buy and serve it up to them as compelling, benefit laden reasons with an irresistible, time-dated offer.

If you don’t know your key numbers such as the Lifetime Value of a Customer or aren’t sure of how best to test and measure your advertising effectiveness, then you need help to avoid throwing good money after bad.

Call us for a confidential chat on 1300 66 44 89 or email me

Hot off the press:

We will be opening an office in the USA shortly…. and one of our team and another business partner will be in New York City mid-March to early April ‘09 talking with business owners about a new North American service that helps local businesses more easily target their clients/customers.

Opportunity and call for assistance:

Who do you know in New York City (or surrounds) that owns a business and would be interested in more effectively reaching their target customers?  Call or email me their contact details and it will be our pleasure to have one of our team contact them and give them the heads-up on a hot new service that will give them the jump on their competitors.

Call for “gun” Sales Reps – New York City

Who do you know in the USA (wherever they are located) who would be interested in being a well rewarded sales rep for a hot new B2B product and service?  We are seeking leaders and the rewards will be substantial for those that take action now. Call or email me their contact details and it will be our pleasure to contact them and invite them to find out more by attending a face-to-face meeting in NYC with one of our team.