Lead Generation

[rdonovan1]

I was wondering if anyone might happen to know of any good sources that I can use to generate some leads.

I am trying to market and sell pre-paid Legal and I am also trying to market and sell Cutco cutlery.

I was trying to advertise and sell on Craigslist in the Albuquerque area, but recently they have placed my account on hold and at the moment they are not telling me as to why.

I have contacted an attorney about the subject, but at the moment I do not know as to how long it is going to take the attorney to resolve the issue with Craigslist so that I can post on Craigslist again. I have also written to Craisglist several times, but with no response back from them and that is the reason as to why I have contacted an attorney regarding the matter.

In the mean time I need to find ways in which to generate some leads. I currently live in the Albuquerque area and at the moment I just do not know of too many people in which I can talk to and that can provide me with any real leads.

The target market for Cutco are people that are married, over the age of 30, and homeowners.

I would appreciate it if anyone might be able to provide me with any kind of information. At the moment I am basically under employed and am not making any money and that why I am asking.

At the moment the only free sites that I know of are Craigslist and Backpage.com.

[Matt Barrington]

First of all, good choice with Cutco! I have a set that I bought around 10 years ago that are still as sharp and tough as ever.

For something like this, you're going to want to look at a couple of methods for lead generation.

1. Try doing some keyword research and running a Google adsense campaign, but only run it for your local area. You'll see some good results if you do it right (and, of course, if there's a solid need for your product).

2. Try putting up a website describing your prepaid legal services. Focus on SEO, Article Marketing, and other organic listings to get noticed in your area. Again, keep your focus on how this benefits the customer.

3. Get to know your market well. This is one of the fundamental skills of a service professional, but you'll find most don't bother to learn it. If you don't know what they need, you'll never convince them that YOU are what they need.

4. Go check out Google Maps and scroll to the bottom. Click on the link that says "Information for Business Owners". Getting listed on Google Maps will help you build credibility, if nothing else.

5. Test a few classified ads in a local paper. Create a GREAT headline and short copy. Have it sent to a pre-recorded message or website. Give them your best sales pitch.

6. Start a newsletter online for Legal services in New Mexico. I like Aweber for my stuff. If nothing else, this will keep you writing, and keep your skills sharp in your industry.

7. Volunteer to speak at a Local civic group - Kiwanis, Elks, Rotary, whatever's local. You might consider joining Toastmaster's, if you're a little nervous of public speaking. Give a great talk about something related to your services, but not a direct sales pitch. After the speech, network like crazy. Get known and local leads will call YOU.

8. Network like MAD. Get to know others in your field, others who do need your help, and others who might eventually need your help. See if you can refer a new lead to one of them. Helping others will help you grow exponentially, and you become known.

9. Go sign up at rtir dot com (sorry, not enough posts to put links up yet). This is a PR leads directory, so if someone needs to quote someone, you'll be on the list of experts they need. Again, getting quoted will add authority and credibility to your name.

10. Get a GREAT business card designed. Do NOT get a cheap looking one. Have it printed by a reputable printer, even if it costs a little more. People will judge you by your business card as much or more than by your clothes. You do NOT want them saying "Hey, this looks just like Jim-bob's down the street. Do you guys work together?"

Well, there's 10 ideas to get you started. Best of Luck!

[Mr McDonald]

I notice you haven't got a signature with your website information in it. Try this and post to forums that are targeted towards your Niche.
Always post professional sounding posts and never get into a slagging match with anyone. Forums are very cliche and you may upset someone that has a large following.
You will get traffic this way. Also have a pop up appear on your site that people can fill in to join your list. Offer them a free report or software that is relevent to your niche.

Best wishes.

[rdonovan1]

Thank you. These are all very good ideas, but what I am missing right now is a way to get started. Every that you have all said costs money and at the moment I don't have any money.

If you read the first post, that I placed you will see that Craigslist has placed a hold on my account and at the moment I am flat broke.

I am trying to generate money right now, but at the moment I don't know how to do that with no money and my Craigslist account being on hold.

Everything that you have described either takes time or money or both and at the moment I don't have any money and time is running out for me.

I have tried to get help from places like the church that I have been going to and I have tried to get help from local charities but with no luck at all.

I am trying to find a job and I am trying to go back to school as I would eventually like to get into international business.

[Loren Woirhaye]

Craigslist owns their site - they probably banned you because your
activity set off their spam-system. They may unban you in a week
or two. Don't be surprised if they do. You are wasting your time
and energy getting upset about it - you are not entitled to use CL
in a way that violates their TOS and it is at management's discretion
to make that decsision.

Your mlm sponsors, if they are any good at the business, should
have plenty of ideas for you to get leads. Since you are broke
I suggest you start going door-to-door, you will suffer rejection
and learn a lot about your market at the same time.

The question is what are you willing to do to get from where you
are to where you want to be? If running free ads on Craigslist is
all you want to do, then I don't expect success for you. If you
are willing to take action like and go out and solicit business you
may be surprised at how empowering selling really can be.

It takes a thick skin to sell for a living. You need to read books
about thinking big and how to sell effectively - to keep your
mind in the right place. Any book on selling talks about how
to get leads - not as hard as you think for the person who is
motivated to succeed.

[Mike Hill]

No money and no time to do anything.... are you serious?

What are you expecting? The money God's to hand it over? Your expectations do not match your efforts. You need to face that fact.

Get serious about doing business first, this isn't a game and having an education won't help if you don't do the work.

Mike Hill

[JohnMcCabe]

I marketed PPL for awhile. Essentially, what you are selling is insurance. There are a ton of sites out there selling lead generation courses, and most of them have good basic information available for free. Spend a few hours with Mr. Google and you should find at least one idea you can start with.

For the cutlery, do you have any kitchen skills? Can you prepare a simple recipe without endangering your fingers? If yes, you may be able to partner with a local grocer - he provides the food, you provide the show demonstrating a few recipes using products the grocer wants to promote. You hand out copies of the recipes (4 cent photocopies are fine) with your dealership info on them. Make a special offer if your company allows and will support one.

There are a lot of ways to generate leads beyond spamming Craig's List. Use your imagination. And if you need to, borrow imagination from the people teaching what you need to know.

If you can't go door to door, pick up the phone and start smiling and dialing. Ari Galper offers some great free training on cold calling.

It's a cliche repeated so often my ears ache when I hear it, but it got that way for a reason. It's true...

"You can make money or you can make excuses. Pick one."