How To Get Leads

Every small business owner at one time or another wakes in the middle of the night wondering, “how do I get more leads?” The answer is not always so simple. And yet sometimes it is. One of the best ways to get leads is to ASK. We all have friends, acquaintances, colleagues, dry cleaners, postal carriers, hair stylists and physicians. Yet how often do we overlook the obvious? The very first place to start looking for leads is your own network of people.

Assume you own a printing company. What do you do? Now I’m not suggesting you just go up to your doctor and say, “hey, know anyone who needs a good printer?” But what I do suggest is you tap into a friendly source and talk about what you do. You could discuss how your business is going, whom you’ve been working with lately and what your plans are for the future, and you can also engage your audiences to see what they know about your work. Get them interested in you and what you do. Begin a dialogue and learn more about them and their connections. Finally, close your conversation by offering your assistance.

You never know when the next person you speak with has a niece or a nephew who owns a retail company and is in need of finding someone to manage their next catalogue.

What am I marketing for?

Following graduation, I worked at several entry-level positions in fields I wasn’t interested in. A few years later, I followed my vision toward a career in marketing when I took a job at a well-known advertising agency in Boston. I went on to working for several other agencies in the area further developing my marketing skills.

After 18 years in the agency world of marketing, I wondered if my time might be better spent using my skills helping others rather than increasing the bottom line for another large corporation. When working at a direct mail agency, I began to question more deeply how important was it we sell another pair of pants to a buyer that probably doesn’t need them. It was at that time I began my quest to search for what was important to me. My deep soul searching revealed that I didn’t necessarily need to abandon my years of experience, marketing knowledge and skills to help the world and make a positive impact.

That’s when my second career working with non-profits began. Looking back I was lucky to have spent five years working for a small non-profit right after college graduation. The experience I gained at that time was invaluable. I learned transferable skills and gained a great understanding about how to work with boards, committees, development teams, and executive directors.

Today as a marketing consultant, I continue to use my marketing skills to make a difference in the world. I take my expertise to serve people who are living with AIDS, to educate the public about important issues, to help those with disabilities, to assist the underserved find insurance, and work with many other organizations who support those in need.

Marketing and sales personnel are often grouped together with snake oil salesman and people who want to trick or seduce you into turning over your hard earned money for things you don’t really need. I believe marketing is a method of communicating solutions to potential problems for the consumer. By working with non-profits, I know the solutions are making a difference for this generation and generations to come.