6 Lead Generation Strategies To Get New Customers

6 Unique Lead Generation Strategies to Attract New Customers 

The hunt for new customers is an ongoing part of every business; it never ends.

So you always need to be out there generating new leads, even when you have plenty of customers to keep you busy right now. 

As you know, it takes time to nurture relationships and build trust with new prospects, so you always need to have your pipeline filled with new potential customers that are somewhere in their buyer’s journey. 

But how do you keep a steady stream of new people being introduced to your business without it taking ALL your time? 

I know you’re busy already, but this is essential to avoid the income rollercoaster.

I’m Torie Mathis, long-time entrepreneur, marketing agency CEO, and previous rider of the income roller coaster, and today I have 6 unique strategies for you to find new customers. 

1. Get Referrals

For most businesses, the best customers come from referrals. One happy client tells others about you, and you have an “in” – the new person already knows the value you offer. 

Many of us usually wait for referrals to occur naturally, but it’s even more effective to ask for them proactively. 

You can “set it and forget it” by making it a regular part of your business processes. For example, whenever you receive any positive feedback from a client, ask if there’s anyone they know who could use your services too.

How to use Referrals for Lead Generation

The results from referrals are outstanding, with more than 50% of companies with a referral process rating their sales as “highly effective.”

(Source: Influitive and Heinz Marketing)

• According to referral marketing stats, referred customers are 18% more loyal than non-referred ones.
• Businesses with referral programs in place experience an average of 69% faster time to close. Furthermore, they also get a 59% higher lifetime value and 71% higher conversion rates for their clients.
• 82% of SMB owners cite referrals as the primary source of new business.
• 83% of customers are more likely to refer new customers after a positive user experience.

As you can see, referred customers are extremely precious. They are already at your door, knowing they can trust your products and services. All you have to do now is invite them in, and the best part, they are more likely to stay.

Some of my very best and most long-lasting clients have come from referrals. Sean and I have mapped out where some of our best clients have come from over the years, and it feels like that 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon game. 

But don’t leave your referral strategy to chance; make it part of your sales process and bake it right into your follow-up, your email marketing, and your ongoing customer relations.

2. Participate In Social Media Groups

You already know social media is fantastic for finding new clients, but are you active in social media groups? 

There are groups dedicated to every topic of interest on these platforms. These are places where people get together and discuss common interests. If you’re active there, you’ll raise your business visibility without having to sell a thing.

The best part of groups like Facebook groups is you can reach more people organically. 

How to use social media groups for lead generation

Adespresso.com explains why:

“a few years back, Facebook rolled out an algorithm update, and this is the reason why you most likely see Friends, Family, and Group content dominating your newsfeeds.

Zuckerberg himself even said outright that people want to hear more from their family, friends, and groups, and that was precisely what they were going to give users, which is why posts from different groups show up so frequently and at the top of your feeds. People are often highly active in the Groups they join, and it’s a key part of that community-building feeling they were going for.

Group content has significantly better organic reach than standard Pages, which have a reach of about 5.20% if they’re high-performing. You can post the exact same content in both places, and you’re practically guaranteed to see significantly higher reach and engagement on group posts. This is powerful on social media, where getting your content in front of people has now become half the battle in terms of driving meaningful results.

Sean is active in Facebook groups, and his casual activity has brought in tons of museum visitors, cars on display, and allowed us to plan and coordinate our Tesla World Record Event that helped us raise 5-figures for charity and had us hang out with over 340 Teslas for a good cause.

Are you active in groups on social media? Go search local groups, industry groups, and where you can help out and reach more people that are perfect for your services. There are people out there right now that want to work with you.

They want your products.
They need your services.
They just don’t know about you yet.

Your goal is to get out in front of as many people as you can, let them know how you can help them, and social media groups are a great strategy to do just that.

3. Speak At Events

Speaking at industry conferences and trade shows provides a great opportunity to get your personal brand and business into the spotlight while entertaining and educating event attendees.

When you share your expertise at these events, you’ll automatically attract new customers. You can give a presentation on a topic related to your services then encourage event participants to continue to follow you online. By teaching and entertaining them, you’ve already started the relationship by giving them value they can use right away.

And these days, you only need to travel as far as your computer as online virtual events are on the rise. You can now get in front of your audience more than ever before. 

How to use events for lead generation

I can directly connect hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some of my favorites clients, from volunteering to speaking at events, and I’ve got some cool opportunities to travel across the globe to do workshops, so don’t discount this strategy, even if it means you have to get a little brave. 

And there’s another great way to get in front of your potential customers.

4. Hold Your Own Webinar

You can hold your own educational events online through a webinar. The best thing about a webinar is that you don’t have to physically coordinate a workshop in person; it can all be done from your computer screen. 

Webinars are low-cost, and people from anywhere can join, which opens up your market to more people. While you share your expertise with your webinar participants, you will start building a relationship and trust with them, making them more likely to purchase from you. 

Not only do webinars work for any industry, including yours, but people actually enjoy attending them.

ringcentral.com explains:

The B2B webinar engagement stats speak for themselves: 91% of B2B professionals rank webinars as their favorite content format, and more than 54% of them engage with webinars at least once a week.

91% of B2B pros list webinars as their favorite type of content.

54% of B2B pros engage with webinars on a weekly or daily basis.

73% of marketers consider webinars to be a great source of quality leads.

Webinars have high conversion rates: Conversion rates for webinars are often way higher than for other content types, converting between 5% and 20% of viewers into buyers.

How to use webinars for lead generation

These stats paint a clear picture: webinars are a powerful tool for businesses. They are popular with audiences, they generate quality leads, they have a high conversion rate, and they can deliver a significant return on investment.

What topic would your audience like to see in a webinar? What could you teach them that would be a great intro to your services and get them primed and ready to buy from you?

5. Guest Blog Posts

Guest posts help you reach a new audience with your expertise. 

Guest posting is where you write content, usually an article, for another company’s website. It can be an industry website, a news site, other business websites, or even blogs in your market.

The Writing Cooperative has 54 sites you can submit guest posts to. I’ll link that below. 

The real question is, does guest posting work?

According to OptinMonster.com:

1. 57% of marketers say they’ve gained customers specifically through blogging.
2. 53% of marketers say writing articles is their top content marketing priority.
3. B2B marketers who have blogs get 67% more leads than those who don’t.

How to use guest posting for lead generation

You can reach out to blogs in your market with a pitch for a post and see if they’ll publish it. They get your free piece of high-quality content, and you get exposure to their audience. You’ll want to approach guest blogging strategically because writing and posting regularly to high-traffic blogs is the way to get the most out of it.

What sites come to mind for you to guest post at? If you’re not sure, google guest post and your industry and start to see where you can submit articles and get in front of a whole new audience. 

6. Create Free Information Products

You can add even more value to potential customers by offering free information products. 

Research says that when you give your subscribers a good idea of the kind of content they’re signing up for, the opt-in rate can rise by almost 85%.

How to use info products for lead generation

This means don’t just say “sign up for my newsletter” but give them some value in exchange for their email address. It doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy; in fact, info products are easy and inexpensive to create. 

These can be published on your website and your social media for potential customers to download. You then can then continue to market to them through email, continuing the relationship and beginning to create more of the know, like, and trust factor.

If you’re not sure how to set up the tech for this, I have a prebuilt template you can use; all you have to do is swap out your information, and you can have it up and running in a couple hours. It has everything you need to get your lead magnet out to the world. It’s the Freebie/eBook funnel, and you can get it here.

Finding new clients is something every business works on, but it doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming.

In fact, with these 6 lead gen strategies, you can automate much of your lead generation and new customer acquisition, so you have more time to focus on serving your customers.

And you can finally get off that income roller coaster.

Want to know the best lead magnet ideas to use for your free informational product? Check out this next, and I’ll give you the best converting lead magnets for getting more new clients for your business.