I have had my eyes opened these last few weeks.  It all started with a couple of books and it ended with a class in Dallas, Texas known as the GKIC workshop put on by Glazer and Kennedy. It was amazing and proved to be well worth my time.  Hence the reason for this blog post.

Its all about the Sales Funnel

One of the most important parts of any business is sales and marketing, yet most businesses do not spend the necessary capital. If they do, they spend it on the wrong things.  Small businesses can not market like large corporation nor should we want to. For us it comes down to leads, leads, leads.

If you do not create leads, you will not survive.  If you do not have faithful customers, you will hardly grow.  Simple, right?  Well, it is easier said then done. Our whiteboard videos are designed and created to capture leads.  We want people to call us on the phone or fill out a form on our site to capture info.  That way they enter our sales funnel which has a nurturing campaign.  Once a lead enters the door we have a series of videos or emails to follow up with the clients.

I learned this technique of survival back when I served a two year mission in El Salvador at the ripe old age of 19.  We would spend hours each day knocking doors, talking to people, or asking for member referrals.  It was tough to find people who would listen to our message about the Savior. Once we got into the door we would teach the first discussion and move them into the nurturing pool where we would follow up with 5 more discussions making sure to resolve doubts along the way.  It was not easy and it took alot of work to get the leads into the pipeline and nurture them.  Luckily for us, we do not have to knock on doors 9 hours a day.  We have software that systemizes the whole nurturing process until someone is ready to act. Here’s a great quote.

“Most business owners and marketers lead lives of DESPERATION, because they do not know how to create a STEADY and SUFFICIENT SUPPLY of GOOD LEADS.”-Dan Kennedy

How to Capture Great Leads

  1. Use Video- the first step is to create a video that is fun, educational and has some type of value proposition.  We love whiteboard videos, but animation videos created by Ydraw, Epipheo, Demoduck, or Common Craft are also great.  Once you have a great video the job is to put it in front of your target audience.   If you have no idea who your target audience is, you will waste a lot money on advertising to people who do not need your product or service.
  2. Create Landing Pages-Landing pages are a great way to capture a lead.  You can use CPC ads or banner ads to drive people to a landing pages. That page needs a form on it to capture info.
  3. Direct Mail- This is something I do not know a lot about, but I am implementing it and will let you know the results.  From what I have read direct mail is still the most powerful way to generate leads.
  4. Monthly Videos or Newsletters- Currently at Ydraw we are implementing this plan.  Each month we create a general video that people enjoy watching hoping it will get passed around. The video is more for entertainment and fun than a business pitch.

Those are just a few ideas on capturing leads. Start with one and work your way up to where you have multiple avenues.  The more leads you capture the better.

Nurturing your Leads

Once you capture a lead you have to nurture it.  We spend so much time, energy, and money in capturing leads, it would be a shame not to get the most out of them.  Nurturing leads is an easy step to automate, it just requires a bit of planning and design.  Use Aweber, Mailchip, or Infusionsoft to start email follow ups. Be careful with bombarding your lead pool with too much advertising. You do not want to end up in spam folders or trash. One email per week works great. Make your emails educational, and entertaining; using stories, videos, receipts, and  a direct mail piece.

Of course, most businesses will read this article and go on their merry way not implementing this strategy.  It takes too much effort, organization, and discipline.  Don’t be them!  Jump in with both feet and become the 5% who actually experience sustainable success.

+Jace Vernon