Generating a steady flow of sales leads should be the goal of any company, not just a marketing company. However it is one area that some overlook or have difficulty with, most often because they don’t have the marketing system in place to generate those leads. Most companies rely on only one or two sources of leads, this is dangerous because if one of those sources dries up, so does your revenue. Marketing companies often strive to find new ways of creating sales leads, so to keep your edge and avoid missing out, here are 20 ways you can drive more sales leads into your company.

1. Leverage your friends and family. Make sure your friends and family know exactly what you do and can explain it to others. They can be a great source of referrals.

2. Improve your external signage. Signage plays an important role in business branding.  Make sure customers know who you are and what you do when they walk past your business.

3. Join a networking group.  With networking you need to be a farmer, not a hunter. Cultivate your                 relationships and the leads will often flow. LinkedIn is a great place to start.

4. Improve your calls-to-action. Calls-to-action tell the prospect what you want them to do. Use words such as “Buy Now”, “Pay Here”, “Sign Up Now” and you will get more prospects to take action.

5. Use Email Marketing.  Email consistently returns around $40 for every $1 spent on it. Send your prospects and current customers regular emails to invite them back to your business.

6. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Good SEO makes sure your business can be found when prospects look for the service you offer on Google.  Learn it, or pay someone to do it for you to generate more leads through your website.

7. Use Mail Drops. Mail drops are still a good source of leads. Just make sure you have a good headline, offer and call to action.

8. Advertising.   If you have the budget, TV and radio are still great at providing leads.  Also, radio is not as expensive as you might think. A marketing company can help you organize this.

9. Facebook Offers. It’s not open to all business pages yet, but check out Facebook offers when it is.  It allows you to place offers on your business pages for free.

10. Form alliances.  Align your business with other businesses with the same target market that are non-competitive. They can become great sources of referrals.

11. Provide a sample.  Sampling is the best way to seed your market.  Give the customer an opportunity to use your product free or give them access to the full product for a limited time. If they find it invaluable, chances are they will buy.

12. Forum marketing.  Many industries have online forums that are full of potential prospects.  By offering help and guidance as an authority in these forums, you can generate good sales leads.

13. Call lapsed customers. Sometimes you just need to pick up the phone.  Call customers who haven’t bought for a while.  Say hello and find out what they are up to. You’ll be surprised how many leads this can bring.

14. Brand your car. Vehicle advertising is easy to do with removable car magnets.  They don’t cost much and you can turn your car into a mobile billboard.

15. Use Fridge Magnets. Fridge magnets might seem old school but they still work, particularly with tradesmen and local restaurants.

16. Publish an article. Many publications accept and publish articles from individuals if they are well written. This positions you as an expert and is another good source of advertising.

17. Improve your retail display. Many retail businesses underestimate the importance of displaying products well. A good display creates a great first impression, which invariably leads to more sales.

18. Create a mobile app.  There are many great examples of lead generating apps. Check out Commonwealth Bank Property Guide for one. It generates home loan leads for the bank. Not cheap, but a great tool.

19. Advertise on mobile apps.  A hot new trend in advertising are deal apps that provide smartphone users with offers based on their location.  Check out mobile apps such as Adhunter.

20. Affiliate marketing. Common in the online world, affiliate marketing is essentially paying someone a small commission to sell your product for you.  It can work for offline businesses as well.

So there you have it, 20 ways you can fill your sales funnel.  There are, of course, many more but pick out a couple, try them and see what works for you. Not only does Brisbane marketing company Strategy and Action practice just about everything on this list, we are also more than qualified to help you put any one of these ideas into action.