I am a firm believer in lead generation - in fact, self generation of leads. If we don't continually add to our pipeline, we may wake up one day with no business to pursue.
That said, we can go too far the other way also.
There is a lot of emphasis being placed on lead generation, but just gathering leads for the sake of gathering them or without the intention of working those leads to produce sales is a waste of effort.
If I go to the mall and pass out 100 business cards at random, I've probably not helped my business. Those business cards would not have been targeted at anyone although a couple of them may have accidentally gotten into someone's hand that could use my services. Even if I actually talked to people long enough to get their contact information and just kept accumulating names, that would not help my business either.
I need to have a sufficient quantity of leads for the business that I want to do right now plus enough to allow me to pursue the business that I intend to do over time. Not all leads are going to be equally qualified and I may have to work through several to make a sale. I'll take that into account as I decide the pace at which I keep adding names to my pipeline.
If I get too far ahead of myself by making a game out of collecting leads - or become obsessive about it - it will work to my disadvantage. I've to make sales, but I can't to that if I'm only interested in creating new leads rather than making presentations.
There must be balance.
That said, we can go too far the other way also.
There is a lot of emphasis being placed on lead generation, but just gathering leads for the sake of gathering them or without the intention of working those leads to produce sales is a waste of effort.
If I go to the mall and pass out 100 business cards at random, I've probably not helped my business. Those business cards would not have been targeted at anyone although a couple of them may have accidentally gotten into someone's hand that could use my services. Even if I actually talked to people long enough to get their contact information and just kept accumulating names, that would not help my business either.
I need to have a sufficient quantity of leads for the business that I want to do right now plus enough to allow me to pursue the business that I intend to do over time. Not all leads are going to be equally qualified and I may have to work through several to make a sale. I'll take that into account as I decide the pace at which I keep adding names to my pipeline.
If I get too far ahead of myself by making a game out of collecting leads - or become obsessive about it - it will work to my disadvantage. I've to make sales, but I can't to that if I'm only interested in creating new leads rather than making presentations.
There must be balance.
For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2009, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.
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