THERE ARE LEADS & THERE ARE PROSPECTS

Never should the two be considered the same.

Leads (sometimes called "suspects") have taken some - most often minor - action to enter your professional world. Leads are generally those who sign up for your newsletter or some other goodie you offered.

Prospects differ from leads as they've expressed interest in your services and working with you. A lead becomes a prospect when they've inquired about your solutions or shown some intent to purchase.

Indeed, the words "leads" and "prospects" gets used synonymously. For the sake of this program, we're separating both as a means to add clarity to what we're about to teach you.

Just know that we'll distinguish between leads and prospects because this is important as your progress through this program.

Both, Please! 

You might be thinking, "Prospects are best! Screw those leads! I'm only pursuing those who have expressed interest in buying." 

We all want more prospects - those individuals who've raised their hands and asked for more information about our solutions and services. Yet, there's a perfectly good reason why you should pursue a healthy mix of prospects AND leads.

Prospects are ideal. No one will argue with you to the contrary. But too often, people don't take action or buy when we want them to.

This is the BIGGEST REASON for pursuing both aggressively. You can't sit back and wait for a steady flow of prospects to fall in your lap continuously. To further optimize your resume business, nurturing leads to become prospects makes for a great strategy - one that we recommend you do. 

Having a database of leads gives you leverage.

For example, collecting leads gives you an audience to:

• Promote your blog content (more clicks/page views to your website)
• Ask questions and get advice, opinions, and feedback (free research data)
• Build brand awareness (improves the stickiness/ROI of your ongoing promotional efforts)
• Spark conversation (boost "know and like" marketing components)
• Build professional relationships (invites partnerships and joint ventures)

Done correctly, collecting and nurturing leads results in more prospects, so let's discuss the importance of nurturing both.

Action Item: Visit whatever tool you use to track leads and prospects that you received over the past 6-12 months from all your channels. This could be a combination of tools, such as your CRM, Google Analytics, social analytics/insights, website plug-in, etc.

Then, recognize how many leads and prospects originated from your primary sources. Pay added attention to certain definers, such as the EXACT URLs (e.g., www.yoursite.com/this-page/), clicks from popular social media posts, and videos watched. Ideally, you want to identify EXACTLY where your most leads and prospects are coming from. Dive deep into your data to find accurate information. Don't guess.

Then, ask yourself this question: are you happy with the numbers you uncovered? If the answer is no, formulate a plan of action (POA) to improve them. For example, do your online properties have ideal calls to action? Or, do your website pages need more curious-based titles so you attract more visitors from search engines? Or, do you not have your LinkedIn business page not set up optimally?

Then, fix the issues you uncover yourself. While you're making improvements, be sure to "speak to your ideal audience." Be sure to relay your expertise and value, providing ample reasons  for people to message you, submit your forms, etc.

GET MORE LEADS USING A LEAD MAGNET

Lead development can be done in multiple ways, with the easiest method using a lead magnet on your website and social pages. A lead magnet is an item you provide your audience in exchange for something, e.g., their email address. Sure, lead magnets can be used for other purposes, such as soliciting social likes and shares. For this module, however, we're focused on lead magnets to simply collect an email address. We'll talk about WHY as we progress through this module.

The most effective lead magnets are high-value, highly desired, and short/sweet (although brevity isn't always 100% true). A lead magnet converts best when you promote it everywhere*, giving you a chance to get the most ROI for the time it took you to put it together.

*Including your website, personal and business (social) pages, email signature, video mention, and social media posts. You can also promote your lead magnet at networking events, on the back of your business card, and during zoom appointments.