Generic advice is dangerous and it’s everywhere.

Take this scenario, for instance.

You’re chatting with another business owner about how you wish you could get more clients.                                                

Her eyes light up, and she says, “Are you on Facebook.  You have to have a Facebook page. I get so much business from mine!”

Optimism floods your being, and you rush into creating a page and investing lots of time into learning Facebook’s constantly changing best practices.  After three months plugging away at it, you haven’t gotten any results.  Then the negative thoughts creep in:  What’s wrong with me? I am not good enough. Can I actually make my business work?

Facebook is great, but like any of the other 33 Lead Generation Ideas, it’s not going to work for you unless you’ve got clear answers to these questions:

1. Who are my target clients?
2. What are they looking for?
3. Where can I find them?
4. When do they look for me?
5. Why should they choose me?
6. How do I want them to enter my sales cycle?

Your answers shape your sales cycle and make your efforts to find new clients incredibly targeted.

So if your potential clients aren’t on Facebook, there’s no reason to devote time and resources to starting a page.  Or, if they’re on it just to socialize, you need to come up with a Facebook strategy that addresses their preferences.

Therefore, if you want to get more clients:

1. GET CLEAR & REACH OUT

Only take action on the 33 Ideas once you’ve answered the 6 questions above.

I know my clients use social media sporadically and tend to learn about me through word-of-mouth referrals.  I also know that when someone is referred to me for the first time, they come to my website to get feel for my style and specializations.

As such, I roll out the royal red carpet for everyone who refers new business to me and offer free digital products that demonstrate my knowledge and build trust with potential clients.

(Shhhh! I have something in the works as we speak.  You will love it!)

2. QUALIFY

Qualify your leads.  This is a fancy term for determining which potential clients you need to concentrate on and target.

For example, one of my clients, a real estate broker, closely watches her notifications of when and how soon her emails with new listings are opened.

It allows her to conclude which clients are seriously looking for a new piece of property and who is just fishing around.  This way she can direct her efforts to find a solution for a client who will definitely buy.

3. ANALYZE

Analyze what’s working and what’s not.

Google Analytics can give you tons of insight about your site—the demographics of your audience, the websites that bring you the most traffic, and the length of time visitors stay on your site and what catches their attention most.

Check out my friend Liz Lockard’s site to find lots of useful, easy-to-implement advice on this free tool.

You can also start by just creating a simple table that looks something like this:

OBSERVATIONS & QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

a)   1 out of 3 Facebook leads became a client.  That’s very good!  But you’ve spent 60 hours getting that 1 client. Was it worth it?

b)   Your videos are striking a chord with your audience, but not that many of the leads are turning into clients.  Are you presenting your services clearly enough and should you continue?

c)   Guest blogging brings you great leads, who easily convert into clients.  You’ve got to keep guest blogging.  It’s time to research other blogs that cater to your audience.

4. REPEAT

Now that you’ve determined what works, make sure it gets on your calendar, so you have time for this activity on a regular basis.  Being consistent is challenging, especially because we are constantly bombarded with ‘the next best marketing strategy.’

Jumping from one strategy to another is unhealthy for both you and your business.  Learning everything about everything is a path to information overload, which leads to analysis paralysis and not being able to grow your business.

I found myself caught in that vicious cycle when I first started.  Not knowing much about online business, I would absorb every piece of information that came my way.

My library of info products is vast, and while some of these programs were amazing, there were many that I never even touched.  I’m not proud of that.

Looking back, I realize that it was not only an unwise use of money but also an excuse not to take some very necessary actions.

Making a commitment to becoming aware of what works and doing more of it will form a path that takes you from where you are right now to where you want to be.

BACK TO YOU

I challenge you to look at 3 different marketing tactics you used over the past 3 months and put your results into this table.  I’d  love to hear your observations in the comments below.