To grow your business means you must generate leads. Without leads, whether they are referrals or people visiting your website, you really have no business growth.

There are a ton of ways to generate leads, but you have to find what works for you and your business — and of course, your target audience!

Here are 7 ways you can generate leads in your business:

1. Create a lead magnet that excites people and has them wanting to give you their email address! You want this to be something of value and something your ideal client WANTS. It could be a free report, a video (or series of videos), a top 10 list. While you want it to be of value, you also want it to be something your prospect can consume in 10 minutes or less. Click here to learn more about lead magnets.
2. I love getting referrals! The person who gets referred already feels better talking with you because someone they know referred you. If you don’t already have one, create an “official” referral program and then let clients and colleagues know about it. You want to make sure you reward the people doing the referring! I read a great book about setting up a referral program called “The Referral of a Lifetime” by Tim Templeton. I also have a Kindle book called Marketing for Small Businesses: Creating an Amazing Referral Program.
3. Make sure your personal contacts also know what you do and the type of people you work with. I recently was talking with one of the ladies at my cardio dance class and she asked what I did. When I told her I did marketing, she had some questions relative to the company she works for. I had clarifying questions, which she didn’t have the answers to, but she set up a meeting with the person who did. I sat with my dance fitness friend and two other people in the company for half a morning, and we brainstormed around their marketing. We will now be doing work for them building their new website and helping with their marketing. You never know where a lead may come from!
4. Get active on social media. I know, I know…this can become a time suck, but you want to do it strategically. If your ideal clients are hanging out on LinkedIn, then that’s where you need to concentrate your time. If they’re on Facebook, guess what? Yep, that’s where you need to focus. Make sure your bios are optimized and look professional. Post regularly. Share other people’s content. Join groups and become the go-to person for answering questions so you can show your expertise.
5. Along the lines of social media is connecting with influencers. These are people who essentially have the same type of target audience as you, but do something different than you. Be sure to share their content and comment on their posts. Make an impression – a good impression!
6. Post a blog article on LinkedIn. You’re already blogging regularly and posting to your website, right? So also share it on LinkedIn. Make sure to include a call to action like scheduling a call with you. When you post, make sure you’re sharing on the other social media channels, but on LinkedIn, in particular, you want to “write a new post”.
7. Attend networking events. Yeah, face-to-face interaction is still important! Make sure to bring business cards, but also receive business cards. Then follow up with them after the event and connect with them on social media.

There are a ton more ways to generate leads, so share with me below what you’ve found to work best!