So you’ve quickly started an online business, pivoted with the times, and now you’re looking to actually make money.
You don’t have enough website visits to tell FB who to show your ads to. (Uh, why are you paying for ads at this stage?)
Your email list is microscopically tiny.
And you don’t know where to start changing either of those situations.
Whether you’re a service provider, product seller, online business or in a brick or mortar store, leads (people who give you their contact information) are crucial to business. Leads become customers and clients, who bring money, money you need to show before you can say you’re actually running a business (as opposed to an expensive hobby).
So how do you get more leads for cheap or free (which is what you need right now)?
Tell your prospects what they want to hear. That’s right.
People gobble up the information they want to hear. You can tell them all day and night about the actual problem, the one that will need to be solved at the end of the day. But frankly…just save your breath. Why?
Because until the person knows that it is the problem that needs solving, your solution will go over their head. Their brain’s aren’t looking for that answer, the one you want to give them, hence they will never hear it or digest it, no matter how attentive they appear to be.
Therefore, you must start with what your prospects think is their problem, give them a solution to that, which after solving, will lead them to their next problem (and to you, who holds the solution, for a sum of course).
This means all us deep-thinking, philosophers who want to spread wisdom in the world will have to undergo a bit of training in self-restraint, because often your solution lies at the bottom of a tall pile of surface problems. And your clients will want their surface problems solved before they even consider paying for your deeper solution (alternatively you can make a business of selling the surface solutions, though some die-hard life-changers may find that unfulfilling).
So how do you pull yourself down out of the ivory tower of knowledge and speak to prospects at the beginning stages of where they are? Follow the simple steps below and you’ll come up with an article, e-book, short talk, or other product that will draw in leads, well, like a magnet.
Envision your ideal client, otherwise known as ICA. Pretend you’ve run into them at a coffee shop or bar and they discover your line of work. (If you don’t know how to recognize or describe your ICA, or don’t know what an ICA is you need to read up)
Upon hearing what you do your ICA immediately knows you have the answer to their problem and they dive into their problem, in detail, with you (if your ICA can’t immediately tell you have the answer to their problem you need to work on your elevator speech).
After your ICA finishes his/her monologue your knowledgeable self kicks in with what will be a lengthy answer. You begin with simply “First I’d…”
Within that sentence lies your golden lead magnet material. Whatever the first step is, no matter how miniscule, this is what your prospects are googling and asking friends about. So create a lead magnet on that topic. Go as in depth as you like. Give lots of perks and goodies and valuable information because 1. it’s not what you’re selling 2. it will build good-will for the sale down the road 3. if they don’t buy their friends will after they send this awesome lead magnet to their friends with similar problems.
You don’t have to worry about giving away your knowledge for free. You’re likely an expert in your field. Most of your future customers are not. You could probably take one piece of your knowledge, expound upon it, and blow your prospects’ pants off. So be liberal with sharing your knowledge on that one miniscule thing, the first step to the whole solution, the thing you’d say after beginning with “First I’d”.
Once you have your lead magnet ready to go, you’ll need a funnel (free or paid) that will turn free information seekers into paying clients. Modules inside 95-Day MBA (my course for growing entrepreneurs) details different forms your lead magnet could take, points you to online resources and service providers who can help create that lead magnet for you, and finally lays out the various funnels you can invent (free or paid) to guide prospects to your paid product/offering after they’ve consumed your lead magnet. There’s so much information to be had and applied, with the help of a supportive community and seasoned mentor. Learn more about 95-Day MBA here.