To all the business owners who have wasted thousands of dollars due to poor lead generation setup or are making wrong channel choices for it or the ones who are about to start the journey, we are back with an insightful and tested tips on the topic from where growth of a business actually begins i.e. lead generation.
Let’s quickly give you a glimpse of the information that you are going to discover today:
- Lead generation basics that every business owner should know
- Real-results possible when lead generation campaign is successfully executed
- Top 4 methods business sites use for lead generation (defined with pros and cons)
- Useful insights on how to find the best lead generation channel for every business site
- Our 4-step approach that we use to generate leads for our clients
- Actionable advice on lead generation by our team (insights gathered after working with 100+ clients)
Before You Dive In: The Truth About Lead Generation – What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why Most Get It Wrong
It’s no surprise if you are unsure about what the term actually means. Just like you, many newcomers as well as established but struggling business owners are looking for clarity.
So, here it is- Lead generation is a smart way used by service-based business owners to bring in new customers. More precisely, it’s about finding people who might be interested in your services. Then collecting their contact details (like phone number, email address) and staying in touch with them until they turn into paying clients.
You will be delighted to know that for your business, you can generate leads either organically (like publishing helpful blog posts, guides) or through paid methods like ads.
Here, we would also like to clear the air on something that is really important- some people misunderstand random calls or social media likes as getting leads.
But, that’s not true!
In fact, a qualified lead is someone who:
- Actually needs your service
- Fits your Ideal Customer Persona
- Likely to buy
And for your business only a qualified lead matters.
Here are the Results We’ve Gained for Small Business Owners and Local Service Providers with Our Well-Designed Lead Generation Process
Nothing gives us more satisfaction than seeing our clients succeed and we’ve had the honor of contributing to that success many times over.
Different clients, different challenges and each one shaping our approach to provide the deliverables for the next project with more care and a deeper sense of value.
The business owners who approach us for lead generation are concerned specifically because of the following reasons-
- Getting traffic but no potential client contacting them
- Posting social media posts but none is getting converted into inquires
- Unable to get form fills or calls even after running Google or Facebook ads
- Generating leads but most of them are unqualified
- Leads ghosting their site even after the first touchpoint
For all such B2B and B2C websites (whose customer journey involves research or relationship building), we place a steady system and help them generate a high volume of leads. Do you know what’s more impressive? We commit to provide all these benefits over a sustained period.
These 4 Methods Business Websites Use for Lead Generation (Explaining Each with Pros and Cons) – We Focus on Just 2
Now that you know what lead generation is, it’s time to make you familiarize with the methods that are used for achieving the purpose.
Basically, there are four methods that we are going to explain in this section along with why and when each method works well and potential limitations you need to watch out for.
Based on your needs and resources, choose the one that suits you the best for your business’s lead generation.
So, here we go!
1. Inbound Lead Generation (We Use This One)
Lead generation through inbound marketing is about attracting ideal customers organically and the channels involved in this method are content-driven and powered by organic strategies.
Like, for one of our clients running local gyms, we published workout guides and blogs (which acted as a lead magnet). This helped us attract fitness enthusiasts for our client organically.
Pros:
- Leads generated this way are more qualified and interested ones.
- This is the most cost-effective method in the long run for lead generation.
- Builds long-term brand-trust and authority.
Cons:
- This method helps growth but takes more time.
- You cannot think of publishing content off and on.
- Without mastering keyword research and other significant marketing strategies, you cannot think of achieving success.
Our Recommendation– To be frank, inbound is a long-game but it can turn out to be a smart investment for you only when you have clear understanding of your target audience, their pain points, interests, search behavior, in a position to provide valuable advice, how-tos or useful insights in your niche and already have some traffic on your site, no matter small but it should be active.
Business owners who are looking to attract and nurture leads can also try this method as it helps build genuine trust. More importantly, this method works the best when coupled with local SEO techniques.
(To see how we implement local SEO for our clients, check our detailed article on- the local SEO system we use to help small businesses rank fast, get more calls, and turn local searches into paying customers without spending a dime on ads)
2. Outbound Lead Generation
This method is about reaching the potential customer directly via calls, emails or direct messages on LinkedIn.
Pros:
- Quick results (but only when implemented the right way).
- Targets prospects directly.
- Easier to control.
Cons:
- Response rates are actually low when targeting is not done well.
- The whole process is time-consuming.
- You require special training to generate leads this way.
Our Recommendation When You Should Implement This Method – If you are someone who cannot wait for organic traffic to build, outbound lead generation is the faster path you can choose to get conversions for your business website.
Moreover, this method suits more to the business sites who have a clear, narrow target audience, for the ones who have an expert sales team, competing in a high-value niche.
3. Paid Ads Lead Generation (We Use This One)
This method is about generating leads through paid ads specifically on the platforms like Google, Facebook or LinkedIn. Here, you have to pay to get visibility or leads.
Pros:
- It is a faster way to generate leads and traffic.
- You can target prospects based on demographics, location, and interests.
- It is easily scalable and depends on how much you are willing to invest.
Cons:
- If it’s not managed well, it can end up costing more.
- Sometimes leads generated this way are less qualified when ad targeting is poor.
- This method requires more ongoing investment and optimization compared to others.
Our Recommendation When You Should Implement This Method – Paid ads are helpful when you need immediate lead generation. And if you are actually thinking to use this method, there are certain things you cannot afford to skip, like clear understanding of your target audience, a lucrative offer to entice your customers (free discount, consultation or any other useful lead magnet like checklist or ebook).
Most importantly, you should have an optimized landing page or website where you want your target audience to land after clicking on your ad.
Another important point that we don’t want you to miss is that paid ads always require testing and tweaking. So, be prepared to spend money for identifying what actually works.
(You can also check our Google Ads blueprint that we use to generate leads and calls for small businesses even on a limited budget. Here, you will get to know more advanced techniques related to this method)
4. Referral-Based Lead Generation
As clear from its name, leads are generated through word-of-mouth or referrals from previous customers or partners.
Pros:
- Costs lower compared to ads or outbound efforts.
- Builds strong relationships and loyalty.
- Trust is established easily and consequently faster conversions.
Cons:
- Works slowly to build up initially.
- Depends heavily on satisfied customers or partners.
- Requires incentives or structured programs.
Our Recommendation When You Should Use This Method – Referral lead generation suits the best for service-based sites that rely heavily on trust like legal, financial, coaching, consulting or home services. But, this method is best only for the sites that have served a few happy customers.
Still Confused? These Insights will Help You Find the Best Lead Generation Channel for Your Business
We have worked with several local service providers and professional service business owners and figured out while making the choice for lead generation channel, you have to consider basically 4 factors:
a. Your Industry
Lead generation approach varies for every industry. Like, B2B sites generate a good volume of leads through LinkedIn outreach and whitepapers. The reason behind this is that most of the business decision makers stay active on those platforms.
Similarly, service-based businesses can benefit the most through Local SEO and Google Ads. So, it can be inferred from here that when you choose the right channel only then your message can work the best.
b. Your Local Competition
For all business owners who are competing in a highly competitive local market, it’s better if you start with content creation on useful topics, optimize your site for local SEO, publish reviews and provide your target audience offers.
The reason is quite evident- strong competitors in your field have already dominated paid ads and map results. So, achieving that level of success can be difficult for you but if you follow our suggested strategy, your chances of generating leads will certainly boost.
c. Buying Behavior of Your Audience
As we’ve already specified, you should be completely aware of your target audience. Notice their behavior, see where they like to hang out the most when looking for the services you sell- like either on Google or social media.
Now, younger audiences respond to quick visuals and DMs. So, for the sites that are targeting them, it would be best to use ads. However, business professionals prefer in-depth information and emails. So, in that case, the targeted channel varies.
Hence, based on your user habits, you should choose the way your lead strategy aligns.
d. Your Site’s Current Stage
All of us can understand a new website will struggle with traffic and trust. For all sites, implementing SEO in the initial phase will not work. So, in such a scenario, one should run ads.
However, later on SEO can be implemented of course that too with the keywords used during ad campaigns.
On the other hand, for an established site with strong topical authority and good UX, organic optimization strategies and content creation can do wonders, in your terms generating a huge volume of leads.
The 4-Step Lead Generation Approach We Implement for Each Client’s Site (See How We Execute)
This is the winning strategy that we implement for each client who approaches us for lead generation. These 4 practical steps have literally helped us strengthen the foundation and consequently helped us succeed the campaign for clients from several and almost every niche.
Let’s show you the system we’ve created for lead generation!
Step 1. Making the Website Search-Friendly and Trust-Worthy
To make it easier for prospects find the client’s website and feel confident reaching out to them, here are the steps we ensure to take:
a. Add client’s service-related + local intent keywords in meta tags, headings and website content. (Click here to see how we do local keyword research)
b. For better user experience and rankings, identify their site’s page load speed related issues, improve them and make the website fast.
c. Provide ready-to-implement recommendations on mobile usability and help them make their site fast, responsive and easy to use on every device.
d. Fix technical issues like broken links, crawl errors, sitemap, robots.txt.
e. If required, rewrite pages to be clear, helpful and keyword-rich. Also add FAQs, blog posts or case studies.
f. Strategically place clear and relevant CTAs (like “Book a Free Call”, “Get a Quote”).
g. Add previous client testimonials, snapshot of Google reviews on the site.
h. Enable SSL (HTTPS) and secure payment icons to build user confidence.
i. Keep clean layout, consistent branding and no visual clutter.
j. Assure privacy by showing visitors the disclaimers (if required).
Step 2. Choosing the Lead Channel
We understand not every business attracts leads from the same place. For some, Google works best while for others, it’s social media, paid ads or even email outreach.
Thus, before building the system, we help choose our clients the best lead channel based on their target audience, budget and current stage of growth.
Step 3. Capturing Leads Effectively
At this stage, we get leads. Here onwards our next job is to retain visitors and convince them to share their contact information. So, beforehand we make the following changes:
a. Improve CTA button placement, and if there is a generic CTA, we suggest placing a persuasive text like “Get a Free Quote” or something that goes better.
b. Analyze their Lead Capture Form and advise them on the number of fields, form location and whether multi-step forms will work for them or not (this recommendation is specifically based on analytics or heatmaps).
c. For the clients who have sites on WordPress, Wix or Squarespace, we recommend using exit-intent and timed pop-ups, writing compelling messages for them and keeping their visitors engaged.
d. To be more confident, we run A/B tests to check the effectiveness of CTAs and Form Placements using tools like Hotjar.
Step 4. Tracking Every Lead (We Don’t Want Any Sales Opportunity to Leave Behind)
This step is not about merely looking at numbers but understanding where the best opportunities for the client are coming from. These are the steps we take to track leads:
a. We install Google Tag Manager and use GA4 to track form submissions, phone number clicks, email clicks, button taps and download requests.
b. Add UTM tags in guest posts, email campaigns, social shares, etc., to know which traffic sources generate leads.
c. Use Google Ad call extensions to track calls as leads and understand source attribution.
d. Use heatmaps and session recordings to see how users visiting our client’s site interact with lead forms, CTAs and spot drop-off points and later on optimize the weak points.
Small Tweaks That Can Help Big Lead Gains (Actionable Advice On Lead Generation by Our Team)
After reading the above sections, many of you may say that they are implementing the same process and getting leads but are still disappointed due to the lost opportunities. For all such growth-driven owners, here are some quick, high-impact tweaks discovered by our team.
These tweaks will help you turn more visitors into actual leads. Wondering how? Let’s reveal!
1. Add a “Mini Lead Magnet” Above the Fold
To capture your visitors’ attention early, we recommend you to add a valuable lead magnet like a free checklist, discount, tip sheet or coupon at the top of your homepage.
This small gesture gives visitors a reason to explore your site for some more time.
2. Use ‘Intent-Based CTAs’ Instead of Generic Ones
When you speak directly to the intent of your readers, it helps you boost click-through-rates. See yourself- out of the 2 CTAs, “Submit” and “Book a Free Call”, which one you would like to select. Personalized CTAs increase the feasibility of conversions.
3. Add Real-Time Social Proof (Not Just Testimonials)
When you turn salesy, customers hardly bother to choose you. Instead of showing only testimonials, you can show the real-time social proof on your website, like-
“Booked by 15 people today”
When a visitor sees this, a sense of urgency and trust is established because what is happening now matters the most to the client.
4. Create a ‘Why Choose Us’ Visual Section
Always focus on building a smooth experience for your site visitors. The easier it is, the more are the chances for you to get a conversion.
That’s the reason, for all the visitors who are curious to know what special you will offer to them, highlight your key strengths using icons to help them grasp the reasons quickly.
5. Include a “What Happens Next” Section Below Every Form
Remember you have to build trust at every touchpoint whether it is beginning or while providing services. We suggest you include a short message like-
“ Give us 1 business hour to analyze your requirements and expect a call after that.”
These kinds of short messages set clear expectations, reduce customer anxiety and build trust on the website.
6. Leverage Local Hooks
The moment customers see their city, neighbourhood or service area on a specific site or ad, chances of conversion increases. And the reason is quite obvious- customers feel a sense of instant connection.
So, including local hooks throughout your copy can make you more relatable even than big-established names.
7. Add a “Speed-to-Response” Promise
A customer has several options. The more quickly you will cater to their queries, the more are the chances of you closing the deal. In case, there’s a specific time of your operation, be bold to transparently mention it on your site. This small step will not let your prospect feel frustrated at all.
FAQs
- What to do when leads don’t respond?
Ans. For those who are worried that their leads (prospects) are not responding, here are some ways that you can implement and fix the issue:
- You can send SMS because a few customers respond to texts faster than emails.
- Don’t send your follow-up messages (like emails, calls or texts) too early or too late. Take your time and it would be better if you text them back at the right timing. (like we will suggest you to wait for at least 10 minutes).
- Set a system that after every form, “What Happens Next” text appears.
- What to do if our suggested methods do not work?
Ans. We can understand it’s natural to have this fear. But in such scenarios, you always have the following options. Like-
- If your ads do not perform well, you can test new creatives and landing pages.
- If leads do not qualify, you can analyze your audience targeting.
Remember after every failure, there is always a RESTART.
- What specifically do we provide to the clients who approach us other than results?
Ans. For our clients who approach us for lead generation, here’s what we provide other than results-
- Biweekly or monthly reports
- Tracking setup
- Visible lead flow (for sure)
Wrapping Up
Conclusively, we’ve shared all the required information and actionable tips you would require when generating leads by yourself for your business. Still, if you get stuck on any step and require our guidance or want our direct assistance to help you out, we are always here to help you attract, convert, and grow with confidence.
