Top 7 Lead Generation Strategies for 2022

“If we can generate more leads, we will be able to increase our sales.” Have you ever said that to yourself or your team? In my early days of running my web design business, I know I did and I often hear the same from many of my business colleagues.

Is generating leads a challenge for you? If so, in my previous post, I shared some reasons why you may not be generating leads.

Today, I will share my top lead generation strategies for 2022 to boost your sales.
But first, let’s discuss the exact meaning of “lead generation”.

What is Lead Generation?

According to Optimizely, in simple terms, lead generation is the process of generating interest for a product or service with the intention of turning that interest into a sale.
So, in order to acquire a sale, you first need to get the right people (your ideal target audience) interested in what you have to offer.

Here are my top seven lead generation strategies that you can use to generate interest.

Google Ads

In a world dominated by Facebook Ads, many business owners often overlook Google Ads. However, Google Ads has a crucial advantage over Facebook Ads in that it allows you to reach the people searching for your products and services at a time when they need them.
Also, with Google Ads increasingly moving towards automation, it’s becoming easier and easier for businesses to increase their results, focus on specific campaign goals, and lower advertising costs.
Furthermore, Google Ads allows you to choose what you would like to focus on, such as maximizing clicks to your website, increasing conversions, or maximizing your return on ad spending and then optimizing for that.
With the recent launch of Performance Max campaigns, you can focus on specific conversion goals (e.g., generating quote requests over an email subscription). Google will focus on delivering quote requests for you by optimizing performance. This provides you with a major opportunity to get more of the type of leads you prefer.

Search Engine Optimization

By now, you’ve likely heard about Search Engine Optimization and, yes, it does take time to see results (at least six months). However, Google Ads limits the number of leads you can generate due to a limited budget. As a result, it makes sense to have an SEO strategy that will help you capitalize on missed opportunities from your Google Ads campaign and generate far more leads. After all, you don’t have to worry about paying per click. Once you’re ranking on the first page of Google in the organic search, you can show up 24/7, which will increase traffic to your website.
For example, if you’re a French Restaurant in NYC, that term is searched for 9,900 times on average each month. Generating clicks to your website for that keyword would cost an average of $3.93 per click. That means, if you would like to capture 100% of the searches for “French Restaurant NYC” in a Google Ads campaign, you would need a budget of at least $38,907 per month just for that one keyword.
Let’s say the maximum you can spend on ads is $3,890. In this case, you will only be capturing 10% of that traffic.

With SEO, you can optimize for that keyword, show up 24/7, and capture a more significant percentage share. Generally, you may pay an SEO company as little as $500 per month.
Essentially, SEO is more cost-effective and helps you get more results in the long term.

Social Media Marketing

There are so many social media platforms to choose from and your success will depend on choosing the correct platform. You first must identify who your ideal target audience is and what platform they are on.

For example, if you’re a restaurant, Instagram and Facebook can be great platforms. If you’re super creative, TikTok can also be great for helping you go viral.
However, if you are a business targeting other businesses, you will generally do better on platforms such as LinkedIn, YouTube, or Twitter.

My recommendations are to survey your existing customers, especially your top customers (the kind you would like to get more of), find out which platform they spend the most time on, and start there. You might be surprised to learn that it is not the platform you’re currently focusing on, especially if you had not done this sort of research before.

The other thing to keep in mind when utilizing social media as a channel is that all social media platforms offer a free account that allows you to obtain organic reach (meaning you don’t have to pay in order to generate a lot of results). However, if you want to have greater control over your reach and achieve faster results, you may want to consider running paid ads.

Public Speaking

Speaking to attract leads can be a powerful tool for lead generation.
Suppose you’re an accountant. Holding a seminar, appearing on a podcast, or speaking at conferences can help you expand your visibility and generate leads. I remember being on a panel not too long ago with an accountant. I was so impressed with his knowledge and approach that I recommended him and always keep him in mind should I ever decide to switch accountants.

Whatever the case may be, public speaking and visibility equal credibility. It is like soft selling, where you’re not directly selling something to your audience, but convincing them about your expertise and providing real value.

The key to being successful at public speaking is to ensure that you’re getting in front of the right audience and distilling valuable information, which requires a strategy to convert attendees into leads. This could be as simply as offering a free consulting session or directing attendees to download a free guide or, in the case of an accountant, a free review of previous taxes.

Referral Marketing

I love referrals and I’m sure you do to.
Did you know that 74% of consumers say recommendations from people they know are key drivers of their purchasing decisions?

And why not? People feel safe purchasing a product from a brand their friends and family love or trust.
How can you make it easy for existing customers to refer you? One way is to send out a survey to new customers or including one at the end of a client engagement. In the survey, ask your customers how likely they are to refer you and then add a field to include the name and email of anyone that they think can benefit from your products or service.
Create a community for your existing customers so that you can continue to stay in touch with them and strengthen your relationship. One way to do so is by creating a Facebook Group. The more accessible you are to your customers, the stronger your relationship will be and the better the likelihood that they will refer you.

Strategic Partnerships

Strategic partnerships can be an easy, low-cost way for you to increase your leads without making any upfront monetary investment.

What other businesses target the same customers as you, but are not your direct competitors?

These businesses make ideal strategic partners and are a win-win situation.

For example, real estate agents can refer business to real estate attorneys and, in turn, real estate attorneys can refer business to real estate agents.

Purchasing Leads

According to Nutshell, 68% of businesses struggle with generating leads.
Purchasing leads from lead generation companies can be a quick route to attract qualified prospects.
There are a variety of companies you can choose from, including Lusha, Salesfully, and D&B Hoovers, that provide top-notch leads and help businesses garner more sales.
However, before you invest in a lead generation service, do your research, speak to existing customers who use the service to learn about their experience and the quality of leads, and always be clear on the type of leads you want as well as the target audience you are trying to reach.
Some companies sell leads that are exclusive to you, while others may sell the same lead to five or more companies. It’s important that you are clear on these specifics from the start.

Conclusion

Your business doesn’t have to struggle to generate leads or make sales. The key to improving your numbers is being clear on what you want and taking decisive action. If you’re not sure where to start, seek out help.