January 5, 2023

What to do when you’re not getting enough leads

Not getting enough leads is terrible for your business for many reasons.

Here are three:

You get desperate for business, which can kill your confidence
You jump at any potential client that comes through the door, even when you know they’re going to be a nightmare
You conduct very few sales interviews, so you never get a chance to practice and improve your sales skills

When someone tells me that they want more clients, I always ask them the same initial question:

“Okay, well... what kind of clients do you want?”

Their answer to this is almost always something flippant or vague, like:

“Clients who value what I do!”
“People who can afford me!”
“Anybody with a pulse and a checkbook (and the pulse is optional!)”

Here’s the thing...

If you don’t know who you’re trying to attract, it’s no wonder you’re not attracting them.

It’s like asking “What bait should I be using?” without deciding what kind animal you are trying to catch. Spoiler alert! Mice and snakes and coyotes aren’t attracted to the same goodies.

So... a great first step when trying to attract more leads is to decide who you want to work with and proactively connect with them.

But how?

Here’s one way:

Make a list of 20 (or more!) clients who you think you would like to work with, and then find ways to start conversations with people who work at each.

Here are several possible tactics:

Connect with them on social media
Ask your friends and family for email introductions
Socialize with them at in-person events
Slide handwritten letters under their front door
Cold calls, skywriting, smoke signals, I don’t care... do whatcha gotta do!

The bottom line is this...

If you’re not attracting enough leads, you probably haven’t decided who you are trying to attract. Once you do that, things usually get a lot easier.

Yours,

—J