Marketing vs. Prospecting

Did you know that for a shark to breathe, it must keep moving?

This movement forces water through its gills; if it stops, it drowns.

The same is true for your marketing program. It must remain active; if it stops for any length of time, it loses its strength.

I often see professionals experience difficulties when they stop marketing and shift their focus away from lead generation.

They might engage in prospecting and marketing activities for a while, generate a few leads and then fall into the ‘servicing trap’.

When that happens, they wind up in a continuous cycle of peaks and valleys in activity and cash flow.

Top professionals understand the importance of consistent lead generation, and they make it a top priority.

To be effective for your clients, your career and your business, your lead generation needs to be systematic, consistent, and sustained.

This can be difficult while you’re trying to balance the demands of your existing clients.

You can achieve it when you develop a lead generation model that will shift your activities from prospecting towards marketing.

Marketing is much more efficient than prospecting

To achieve top results, you need to develop a lead generation marketing model that is more time efficient and more highly leveraged than mere prospecting.

Lead generation comprises four categories:

• Strangers
• Targeted prospects
• Targets of attention
• Targets of opportunity

Strangers are people you don’t know, and who don’t know you.

To reach this group, you need to engage in proactive, direct prospecting. For professionals just starting out, this is the method to use. You should focus 80% of your time on this technique, to build your database quickly.

Include:

• Introductions
• Referrals from satisfied clients
• Networking

The goal is to build a database and convert your strangers into qualified prospects.

Targeted prospects are people you have not met, and who do not know you.

Targeted prospects can be distinguished from strangers because you have targeted them as people you want to do business with. Use a combination of proactive, direct and indirect prospecting (80/20) with this group.

Include:

• Referrals
• Follow-up
• Newsletters

Aim for 12 touches per year, to fill your sales pipeline continually with qualified new leads.

Targets of attention are the top 20% of your clients (A & B clients).

These are the clients and accounts you cannot afford to lose. With this group, use a proactive, direct marketing approach to identify cross-selling opportunities and generate referrals.

Include:

• Systematic follow-up
• Special communications
• Sending items of value

Aim for 20 touches per year to your targets of attention.

Targets of Opportunity are existing clients with additional needs, and your referral sources.

This is your inner circle of high-value relationships that provide 80-100% of your new business. Use a proactive, indirect and direct marketing approach with this category.

Include:

• Continuation processes
• Strategic client meetings
• Invitation and events

Aim for 30 touches per year, to become a 100% referral only professional.

Having a lead generation model that systematically moves Strangers to your inner circle of Targets of Opportunity will make your selling more enjoyable, less time-consuming, and less labour intensive.

To reach the top of your game, you need a proactive approach.

Like the shark, you need to be continually moving – generating leads and winning new clients.