7 Ways to Get New Customers

Last evening I had dinner with a group of 26 successful independent consultants. During the meal, each consultant was asked to talk about a key business priority or challenge he, or she was facing at this time.

Guess, what topic took centre stage? Yes you got it - how to get new clients! Approximately 3 out of every 4 consultants present raised this issue in some form or another.

Great! Getting new customers is the most wonderful obsession there is. It has been said that what you focus on expands - so focusing on new customers that is sure to expand too! But what were some of the specific recommendations?

Well here are Top 6 recommendations offered by the consultants:

1. Referrals and use of customer testimonials (customers like to be asked for testimonials provided your write it for them!)

2. Repeat business - 80% of business is repeat, so to get new clients you should invest heavily in our existing clients, also you may need to do lower cost work to get the first project with a client

3. Look at the key success factors you had with key clients and sell that success to others

4. Focus on a sector - demonstrate your expertise (through research) that you have information on that sector to potential customers

5. Write an article and get it published, or circulate it

6. Networking - get out and meet more people who have the potential to be your customers

7. Stay positive - avoiding the all to pervasive recession hype

Why Most Lead Generation Initiatives Fail

Virtually every manager believes his/her sales team could sell more if they have more and better sales leads. In most organisations lead generation is broken, but who is going to fit it?

We are soon to publish a benchmarking study of sales and marketing by Irish B2B technology companies (70 in total), here are some of the interesting findings with respect to lead generation:

· 88% of sales managers identify sales lead generation as a challenge

· 96% want more sales leads

· 80% say sales people are not spending enough time prospecting

· 63% still rely heavily (if not exclusively) on cold calling

· 61% don't have a plan, target or budget for lead generation

So it seems that, although of vital importance, sales lead generation doesn't get the time, or attention it deserves.

Most lead generation initiatives don't work, more often than not creating tension between marketing and sales.

In fact there it appears, more than almost any other area of sales and marketing, lead generation lacks structure, process and science.