Ep. 141: My Best Lead Generation Strategy
I was asked recently what my best strategy has been for lead generation and the results might surprise you!
No, it’s not creating more content, nor is it podcasting! It’s also not spending hours scrolling on social media.
Yes it takes time and intentionality, but not only has it allowed me the opportunity to work with the coolest people, but it’s also enabled me to make new friends, do fun collaborations, and given me exciting visibility opportunities.
To learn more about what it is and why I love it so much, check out this episode.
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Welcome to this episode of the sell it sister podcast. I have a feeling this is going to be a very, very popular episode. It actually, in my, in my podcast plan, it had a different title. And then I asked on Instagram over the weekend. I said, Hey, I'm going to be batch recording some podcasts for February.
Um, you know, does anyone have anything? That they want me to talk about. And somebody had asked, I would love to know what your best lead generation strategy has been. And I thought, Hmm, I actually was planning on talking about that, but I was going to call it something else. And then I was like, no, you know what?
That is rather than calling it what I was going to, which I'll say in a minute, but. I don't want to spoil it just yet. I was like, no, no, no, this is, this is the thing that people want. Right. They want to be able to get more amazing clients consistently without sitting around and waiting for referrals.
Right. So I was like, okay, this, this is what we're going to do. People are going to love this episode. And last year, I hate that suggestion, Erica, then you might not, but I don't think I actually don't think you're going to hate it because this method is going to save you a lot of time, potentially, and a lot of stress.
So what I was originally going to call this episode was connection. Over content, because that is my main lead generation tip. It's the hill I will die on is that content is important. It's good. It's what helps you stand out from the competition. It's what helps people get to know you and what you're all about and your approach and why they should work with you and all of those things.
But if people are not landing on your digital doorstep, if they're not finding that content, then does it really matter if it was an amazing Instagram post or blog post or podcast episode, if your ideal clients aren't even finding it. Right. It's sort of like the, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make any sound kind of like that?
So the number one thing. That you can do is focus on intentional connection. So I'm going to explain more about this. I won't leave you hanging. That would be rude, but intentional connection and building real authentic, no strings attached relationships is. It's my go-to it's it does not feel me. It works beautifully for my clients.
Uh, there are a lot of people out there who are very successful, who you've probably never heard of. They're not like celebrity entrepreneurs. Um, but they're very successful because they do this as well. So as of recording this, I'm actually going to see, I will tell you literally right now, as I reflect.
I'm recording this on the 31st of January, 2022, and I have 824 people on my email list. And I have, let's see how many on my Instagram, it's just under 5,000, I believe 4,766 followers. So the world of online marketing that is not. Right. And even this podcast is not, I don't know what the stats are right now, but like, you know, I'm not, I'm not like in the top 10 charts of the business podcasts world, not even in the top 50 or the, I don't even, not even the top 100, I don't think.
Right. So it could seem from that like, well, that's not enough. How, how do you have a successful business? How do you have a consistent. Successful business and without like working yourself to the bone. Cause I don't, I absolutely don't and the answer is connection. Now I create content. This is content. I create Instagram posts and I hosts, I host workshops.
That's that's content. Um, But when I trace back the vast majority of actual paying clients, I've had some sort of connection with them, or I have a strong connection with somebody that they know. Right. So I can go through like literally every, every client for every offer and figure out like, oh yeah, we've chatted a bunch on Instagram.
Or, um, they are good friends with, uh, a past or a current client of mine. Right. Um, or. We met at a online networking event or we were in a community together. So the two areas I would say, well, it's actually one, I'll boil it down to when you think about connection, think about online. Or offline, you could do offline too, but you know, right now in January 20, 22, um, most things are still online.
Uh, so think about online networking. Now this can be actually like formalized online networking, or this could be informal online networking. And one of the best places that I have done this is in communities. Both free and paid, but typically paid. So some of my best clients and referral sources have actually been from paid communities that I am in either to get help growing my own business or getting help with an aspect of my business.
Right. So like a specialized aspect of. My business. And I'm actually in a group program right now, and I'm thinking of a friend of mine. I've known her for several years, just, um, a brilliant content creator. And she is also in this program with me and she has a VIP day, and I know that she has sold a bunch to fellow members of the program.
So she joined. She paid to be in there, but because it's filled with fellow entrepreneurs, like she's also getting the help of the program, right? So she's benefiting from what the program itself has promised. And also it's filled with other entrepreneurs who are also her ideal clients, because they're not just entrepreneurs, they're established entrepreneurs who.
Really need and are willing to invest in like a high caliber content plan, right. Or some like retainer-based content services. So I don't know exactly how much revenue that she has brought in from just other members of the program. But I would say it's probably likely that by the time she's done with the program, At least have paid for her, the cost of the program with like money that she made just from other people in the program.
And also those people in the program. Are very likely friends with other people who are also her ideal clients and will rave about her. They are now raving fans of her. So they will tell their friends or their friends will say, oh, I'm so sick of like writing my content or I want to outsource my content or like it's content takes me forever or whatever the thing is.
And they'll say. I have the perfect person for you. Hang on, let me, let me give you her info. You reach out, right? So then there's going to be, uh, organic, like referral-based marketing from those people. So the collective total of revenue that she will have made from being in that one program and leveraging it is can be, you know, it might be three to five to 10 times what she spent to be.
That program now, obviously there's no guarantees on that, but like she's utilizing the program very well. Like she's actually engaging with other members. She's getting to know them. She's networking, she's being intentional and she's doing with it without strings attached. There was a, a group that I was in.
In 2020 into 2021 that I actually, uh, got quite a lot of business from it. The amount that I made way more than paid for what I had spent to be in that program and by intentionally networking with people and that program, not only did I get money opportunities. But I also got other opportunities. I got visibility opportunities, PR opportunities, um, all sorts of other things that will continue to pay dividends for me over the years.
Right. But I was active in that group. I carved out the time I made sure I was engaging with people. I made sure I was getting to know people. I made sure I was, uh, You know, asking certain people who I had been engaging a lot with online. Hey, do you want to have a coffee chat offline? Not that you have to have coffee chats, but it's one it's one way.
Several of the people I've become collaborators with others. I've become really great friends with, um, many of whom I have hired myself, right? So people who are my friends, they're my colleagues, but also I have been a client of theirs now as well. So they have benefited financially from knowing me and or I have also.
Tagged them in posts or sent people their way. And they've gotten that referral business from me. And what this all boils down to is taking the time to actually show up in spaces where your ideal clients are and being willing to take the time to get to know. And there are two reasons why I think this doesn't happen.
One, I think that because the social media machine like move so fast and sort of asks of us like, you know, it wants so much like fresh content all the time. That it's very easy to think of. Oh, marketing, getting clients gotta be on social media. What am I going to post on social media? Right. And we kind of get, we get really myopic about what am I going to post on social media, what content can, or should I create for social media?
And we spend a lot of time and I would be willing to bet even more mental energy. On obsessing over what and where to post on social media to get clients. So I think on the one hand, there's just a lack of understanding about this whole concept that I'm talking about. Right? Because it's like 80% of the time.
We're just being drowned out by the noise of like content creation, content creation, content creation, right. And. Less time talking about connection, because also I think how we got to that point is in this push to like scale, scale, scale, scale, passive, passive, passive, passive, um, there's no, there's no time.
There's no time for personal connection in that. Right. It's just, you just gotta get that content out. You gotta get it in front of enough eyeballs. You gotta say the right things to convert the right people and so on and so forth. Right. Well, yeah, if you have a $37 like digital product and you are trying to have a $50,000 a month, like there's going to need to be a different strategy there, right?
There's going to need to be a volume, but when you're selling something, that's $5,000 and you want $20,000 months or even $10,000 months. You probably need to talk to a lot fewer people, right? You don't need to spend as much time creating the most beautiful carousel post that ever existed with the most, perfectly curated caption, right?
You don't actually need that. You just need the right people to know what you do and how it's going to benefit them. And then what next steps they need to take to get it, to do that thing with you. That's really. So to, I think the flip side of why this doesn't happen is because it is more vulnerable, right?
So when people know this, now that you know, this, this is why I said at the beginning it'll work, unless you don't like this idea, and then you're going to run screaming from it. But if you are somebody that does not like people. And you were some and, or you are somebody who is afraid to have that closer connection with people.
Um, and it feels safer to just put up a post and that you hope somebody goes to the link in your bio and buys your thing or books to call. This can feel very hard, right? I mean, first and foremost, I would say. I don't really, I know I am certain, if you are here and you are engaging in my content, there's a really good chance that you are not somebody who just hates people and only wants profits.
It's going to go out on a limb and say, that's probably not you, but I would be willing to bet that, like, you don't want to just spend a million hours a week also just like. Having coffee chats and stuff. Right? So that is where it's good to be discerning about what works for you, where and how do you like to connect with people?
Does it feel better in your body if you host coworking that is in alignment with whatever your expertise is? And it's free and you put it out there and you use it as a list builder, use it as way for people to get to know you and know what you're all about. And if you like holding space for community like intimate community, like maybe that works better for you.
Try it out, right? Try it out. And then let people know the waste that they can work with you inside your offers. Don't be shy. Say like, if you loved, you know, being here or you need further help or whatever, this is what I do with my clients. Here's how you can check that out. Or here's where you can go to book a call or whatever your process is.
So there are always different ways that you can. Approach this, uh, that don't have to feel really scary, but they are super, super effective. You can also partner up with people. Right. So if you're like, I think speed networking would be fun, but like having to do all, like, I don't want to do it all on my own.
Okay. Get a, get a friend who would love to do it with you. You can co-host it. And then maybe once a month. Yeah. Cohost, uh, like a speed networking event or something like that. Right. Or a training, a collaboration, like just doing different things where you are allowing people to connect with you in different ways you could even create.
Um, I've been a lot, part of, a lot of really great, like peer led masterminds before little pods, little like entrepreneurial pods. You can do that as well. Get a group of people together. Where it makes sense for you, you know, to be masterminding together. You can, you can do that, come up with a schedule of when you're going to meet what you're going to do.
Um, as like, as a cohort and yeah, and, and see, see what happens. You can create your own summit, even if you want it to you and your friends, and then invite other special people to get involved. And then leverage the fact that like they would be, you know, talking to their networks. Um, getting more people that maybe don't know about you in front of you.
Right. But bottom line, when your offers are priced accordingly, um, in alignment with your. Goals and obviously the value that you provide. And when you really think about how many people then you would need in order to be able to hit those goals, it's you actually need to be connecting with a lot fewer people than you realize.
So I'm going to take this back all the way at the beginning. This is how, when I read you those numbers, And I'm sure some, you know, some people listening are going to be like, well, that's a lot more than I have Erica w I mean, yes, it might be. But also considering I'm in my fifth year of this current business, like there's a lot of people in the online space who've been doing this the same amount of time who have a lot bigger numbers than that.
Some of my clients have a lot bigger numbers than that, but I feel have a very successful business that. I generally don't work more than 25 hours a week to wing, and I have the best clients and I freaking love what I do. And new clients and opportunities are always landing in my lap because people trust me through the connections that I built.
Right. You can build trust really fast in direct connection with somebody, with somebody else. So there's a lot of different ways and places that you can. Connect with people. Uh, you probably heard at the top of this episode of promo for my rag clients and repeat workshop, if you go to rad clients and repeat.com, you can sign up for that.
But I also want to say, Keisha listening to this after the fact, I will still my team and I will still have that available for purchase somewhere somehow. Um, but, uh, so, you know, if, if you want that, let me know, but also this workshop. Where I'm going to be walking you through, not just places where you can connect, not just ways that you can connect with people, but also the two other key elements of marketing to get the rattus clients on.
Repeat I, this is actually going to be a new bonus inside of my rebellious six. Program, which is my flagship program. It's my favorite thing I've ever done. I love it to bits. And the March cohort is starting soon. So it's mid-March and I want to be sure you know about it because when you apply, when you, if you go to the page, rebellious, hyphen success.com.
If you go to the page and you're like, oh my God, it's just speaking my language. Then I encourage you to apply. And then you will also be able to get a ticket. For the rad clients on repeat workshop, because once you're inside that program, it's going to be a bonus anyways. So I want to make sure that you have access right away to that.
And in rebellious success, why I love it is that. We don't just look at marketing. So remember how I said, talking about your offers need to be in alignment with your goals and how much you can work in all of that. We make sure everything is cohesive. We make sure everything is working together to get you to your goals in the simplest best way possible for you.
So it's not cookie cutter. We're not, we do not do cookie cutter. We do personalized. We do. You know, what is going to work best long-term for you? I like to say I used to use the word sustainable a lot, and I've really shifted that to regenerative because we, we want this to be not just growth, not just a sustainable growth, but so that your revenue actually feels regenerative.
It feels restorative. It helps to. Propel you forward even even faster because you're able to have an excess that you can both give from generously, but also pays you well and also allows you to outsource some of whatever it is that you want to outsource, which I have an upcoming episode on. And we make sure that your offers are in alignment, which next week's episode is also going to be, uh, on something I teach in the program around offers and ways to get more repeat and recurring revenue in your business business with a certain type of offer, but we make sure all of this is working together beautifully for you in side of that program.
So if you're an established entrepreneur who is ready, Eager and excited for more, but you want to do it all without burning out or selling out. Please check out rebellious success@rebellioushyphensuccess.com. And if it speaks to you, then put in your application. If you've got questions, you'll see my email address on there.
Erica, Erica dobbins.com. Shoot me an email or a DM over on Instagram at Erica Kevin's consulting. And I will, I'm happy to chat. I'm happy to. Answer your questions. And if it's not the right fit for you, I will send you in the direction of somebody who can help and, um, who might be a better, might be a better fit for you.
So hope this was a really, really helpful episode. Again, focus let you can focus less on content creation I'm giving. This is your permission slip. If you feel like you need it, you could focus less on content creation and more unintentional. Connection with people who make sense to be connected with and connected to, and in a very authentic relationship, building focused, no strings attached way.
So hope this helps hope you love it. Uh, if you got a lot of value from it, be sure to share it with a friend, you can post it on socials and tag me and as always happy selling.
