How Can My Marketing Generate More Leads?

The answer to how to generate leads is actually fairly simple.  It's based on a model called the "marketing funnel".  

Picture a simple funnel, like one you might use in cooking.  With marketing, making people aware you exist is at the top of the funnel, and converting them into paying clients is at the bottom of the funnel. 

Not everyone who discovers you will rush to become your client.  Most of them will need some warming up first,  They'll need to be confident that you know what you're doing and will provide good value.  They may check out your competitors and compare what they offer.  They'll likely look at your website, check out what you post on your social media, watch a video you created, or maybe read an email like this one to get a feel for what it would be like to work with you and your team.   All of that warming up (or nurturing) and getting to know you happens at the middle of the funnel.  It may happen quickly, in the case of a referral from a trusted source, or it may take months, or even years of touch points.  True story - Vitamix nurtured me with content for two years before I finally broke down and spent what seemed like a crazy amount of $500 for a fancy blender.  (no regrets by the way!)

Here are some activities that typically happen at each funnel stage:

Top of funnel:  networking, speaking events, paid ads, heavy social media engagement, heavy SEO (particularly Local SEO for local businesses), happy client referrals

Middle of funnel:  social media posts, a couple of blogs, monthly newsletter or email sequence, a compelling website

Bottom of funnel: 24/7 live chat on your website, exploratory calls/meetings, Google chat

If you're investing all of your marketing budget into "middle of funnel" activities, then your marketing is focused on branding, not lead generation.  That means you'll need to drive the leads from networking and happy clients.  Middle of funnel marketing activity is still key to those leads being confident in doing business with you though, since if you're only doing top of funnel activities, you'll look a little sketchy when people check you out.  Your funnel may also be leaking at the bottom if leads are flowing through and not being captured.  I see this often when CEOs rely on a receptionist, answering service or junior staff member to answer the phone and haven't trained them on how to handle a lead.