A lot of business owners are will be searching for large quantities of sales leads, opting for quantity over quality.

Aren't we taught, however, that quality is more important that quantity.

You have to consider both sides of the coin when reviewing your process. We're all trying to use our time as effectively as possible and it's always better to convert 1 in 3 leads than it is 1 in 10.

Differing methods

With the technology available to us in this day and age there are so many different methods for generating leads.

• SEO - Search Engine Optimisation, Google's use is so widespread it should never be far from your thoughts.

 

• Pay per click - PPC for short, is an effective method of advertising because you only pay when someone clicks on your advert.

 

• Video Marketing - Depending on your industry YouTube is always an option to explore. They are owned by Google after all.

 

• Email Marketing - A quick and easy way to reach huge numbers of individuals in a short space of time.

 

• Remarketing - Through the use of cookies and other methods you can try and bring customers back to your website

Those are the major players available to anyone, anywhere.

There is another method that we all tend to forget in the digital age - simple direct mailing.

It's a bit of a niche practice and as a result there aren't a lot of people using it, leaving countless opportunities for you to exploit with some marketing of your own.

Unlike emails there isn't a spam box that unwanted direct mail immediately falls into, someone has to look at it and decide whether or not to open it.

It only takes a brief introductory letter to hook your prospects and generate interest in your business.

To help you out, read on and you'll see a helpful list of do's and don'ts.

• Give it a personal look by using stamps and hand writing the envelope, it show's you've put some effort into contacting your prospects

 

• Throw in something as a gift, people are always interested if a piece of mail feels lumpy.

 

• Ensure you've got an excellent offer in your writing and get a swifter response by placing a time limit on that offer.

 

• Make sure the letter is addressed to an individual, if it's a general greeting then it's not going to get through.

 

• The headline of your piece has to be compelling and grab the reader's attention.

 

• Avoid being too formal. You want the reader to be relaxed when they're looking at it so keep it conversational and personal.

 

• Check your language! If you're writing to a particular industry then include some relevant jargon to demonstrate your knowledge.

 

• Offer value by including a voucher or something similar.

 

• Don't forget to mention your website so that they can gather some information when they want to get in touch.

 

• Don't use long, winding sentences. Keep the writing short and break up the piece with bulleted lists and sub-headings.

 

• Don't waffle about your product features, the focus should be squarely on the benefits they will gain by using you.

  Try to keep your ROI in mind with whatever marketing you do. Whilst direct mail may not generate the greatest volume of customers, the quality will be substantially higher and more likely to convert into sales.