Lead Generation - Does it Need to Cost an Arm and a Leg?



by Miguel Pancardo


In order for your business to thrive you need a fresh supply of leads on a regular basis. The problem is that obtaining these leads can be expensive so it is a challenging task when you are first starting out and don't have much in your budget to spare. Here are some things to consider that might lower the cost of getting business leads.

When many people start their business, they simply put up a sales page and sell an item. While this might be profitable, it does nothing to encourage the growth of the business. Although an email address is probably obtained with each sale, no follow up is made to it.

This type of business model allows you to sell a single item one time to a single customer. A better model is to have a way to sell multiple items to that same customer over time through following up. Of course, getting the person to buy multiple times or even the first time requires skillfully written sales page or follow up emails. Most people do not have the skill necessary, so to get the best results, consider having someone else write your copy for you.

However, copywriters that are good at what they do are not cheap to hire. The expense should pay for itself over time however. No matter what type of business you go into, there is an initial outlay or overheard where you have to put money into the business upfront and wait a while for sales to turn into actual profit.

Besides the sales copy, you also need a website that is designed to sell, a domain name, and hosting. These costs mount up quickly and if you rely on single sales to pay the bills, you may not see the profits you want as quickly as you want.

When it comes to sites set up for lead generation though, these will pay for themselves over and over. First of all, they do not require lengthy sales copy or fancy websites. All you really have to do is create a simple webpage with a form that offers a free report in exchange for an email address. Once the person is on your list, you can market to him repeatedly which increases the chance of the first sale and multiple sales there after.

Because people agree to receive email from you in exchange for your free report, you don't have to worry about spamming. Set up your list to be double opt-in because when you do this, the person must confirm their email address by clicking on a link before they get your free report. This stops anyone from putting in someone else's email address. You know that the people on your list want what you are offering and have signed up for it willingly.

This is why lead generation is so important. You add new people to your list every day and have an ever growing list of people to market to. It only takes a few minutes to implement and compared to hiring someone to craft a sales page and design a fancy website, the cost is minimal. Treat the people on your list well in order to build trust and you will have customers for life.




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