If you Google “too many leads” you might find some people saying things like “killing sales,” “bad for business,” or that too many leads are “unhealthy.” We wholeheartedly disagree and truly believe that having too many leads, is an opportunity and a sign of successful marketing.
Marketing your business should be a long-term strategy, not a ‘one and done.’ Some people have a goal to get more leads, so they start a marketing campaign. When those leads start rolling in, that is not the time to stop marketing, it’s the time to piggyback off of the success the marketing is bringing you, and nurture those leads.
Why “Too Many Leads” Seems Scary
We definitely understand why companies think having too many leads feels like a bad thing, and want to back out of more marketing. For smaller businesses, and especially contractors, you see that calendar filling up and you probably feel pretty overwhelmed. You don’t feel like you can tend to those leads as much as you would like, and how do you fit them in when you’re booked out for six months?
This influx of leads is what any business owner wants, but it’s happening too quickly and you’re afraid you may have to turn people away. Or on the other side of the coin, you may be getting push back from leads if response times are down, or if they weren’t aware you were booking up. This is definitely scary, we get it! But, this is the perfect time to start catering to what your business truly wants to accomplish. More leads in the short term, means better business practices in the long term.
Why It’s Good For Business
More leads mean more options, and a better pool to choose from. This situation is your chance to be selective in who you work with, for and in what way. What leads are coming in that are a quick buck, and which are leads that will bring long term profitability, are scalable, and also a joy to work with?
Sure, you can have your salespeople agree to any of the projects coming in and business is good, you’re busy, you’re making some money – these are all good things. However, if you are taking on projects that aren’t profitable or scalable for your team, that is going to make it difficult to grow your business when you’re just sustaining your business.
This period of time, when your marketing is working and you’re getting more leads than you know what to do with is the time when you have the freedom to make good business decisions, pave your own path, and continue to raise the bar. All motives that led to starting a business in the first place. Some things that can help alleviate the overwhelming amount of leads is templatizing and systemizing your process. This means putting up a filter for each lead that comes in. Imagine the vision and mission that has been set out for the business, and in the eyes of your prospects, how is your sales process matching what that vision and mission are?
This can all be laid out in a simple system that puts your business goals front and center to the prospective clients. One way you can do this is with an introductory packet you send to your leads before they even get on that sales call level. A welcome email, with who you are, what you do, and how you can help. Plus, a one-page questionnaire asking your client what they are looking for, what they expect out of you, and what their true goals are. These questionnaires can sometimes reveal that maybe that lead isn’t actually looking for what you can offer and that in itself alleviates the next step. Creating a system that treats each lead with the same filtering process, can help keep that funnel from overflowing, but keeping it systemic and full, filled with scalable leads.
Why It’s Good For Your Brand
There is brand awareness, and then there is brand equity. Brand awareness is when someone hears your company name and recognizes it as something they saw online. Brand equity is putting value behind that brand name. Continuing to do marketing through an influx of leads is the key to building that brand equity. Brand equity is something that takes time to simmer and ramp-up to being something truly valuable to your company, and that starts with curating your leads into long-term business and legitimate profitability. Stopping marketing NOW is going to hurt your business in the long run. Clients don’t just want more leads, they want better leads, and building that brand equity starts with catering to client needs and overtime that value put behind your brand name, proves to prospective clients that you can get them better leads.
Part of building that brand equity is putting your money where your mouth is, in a sense. Online presence matters, not just for that brand awareness but for how your brand is viewed. Attention is a scarce source and a hot commodity that people want, but if you aren’t putting in the work it isn’t going to come to you. Working for a company that promises to get our clients more and better leads, we would be remiss if we didn’t seek that same goal for ourselves. Put yourself out there in videos, social media, connect with followers. You should make it easy for clients to find you, and when they do they can tell by your online reputation that you know what you’re talking about, and you care about your brand.
Lastly, nurturing your existing business can lead to driving new referrals. A referral from an existing client is an ultimate win. That is literally something money can’t buy, and it also is proof of the brand equity you’ve built. When a client was so pleased with the work you did that they tell their friends and family about it, and that turns into a lead – what more could you ask for? The importance of nurturing both existing and new business can give the same return, and it’s incredibly crucial to building that brand equity.
Why It’s Good For Your Clients
In a world that is oversaturated and overstimulated, people want quality service that is worth their time and money. They know that good things are worth waiting for. Like how that two month wait for your fancy dinner reservation is likely going to payoff more than the 5-minute wait in the fast-food drive-thru. So when they are in your influx of leads right now, and you have built that brand equity, and you’ve curated your systemized process, they should know that what they are waiting for is worth it. They want to feel cared for, and this the time to lock that in.
During your newly templatized intake process, you and your prospective client can set full expectations right out the gate including what they want, what you can offer, and a budget that suits their needs. As we stated before, this is also the chance to find out if they are not only a client that will be a joy to work with, but determine that they are a scalable, profitable project. A savvy customer is going to see that a company so well-curated around the intake process, is one that cares just as much about the clients’ needs as their own business needs. It shows that you have pride in your work, and a company worth working with.
Customers may see that a company who has put themselves out there, catered to their brand equity, and is putting in the effort are the one to go with and a company they can trust. Not to mention, more savvy customers are not going to simply click on a paid ad as their first choice, they are going to read through results, and see your company as one that stands out organically. That long term marketing is what is setting your brand apart from the rest, and bringing in good clients on its own.
Why It’s Good For Your Employees
A major benefit to being so selective in what leads become clients is current and future employee satisfaction. By choosing projects you are proud of and scalable to your team, in turn, make employees happy to be working for you. One of the most difficult and expensive parts of running a business is hiring and retaining employees. It’s important to remember that if you are taking every lead that comes in and turning it into a project for your employees, regardless of scale or profitability – that can lead to unsatisfied employees. You want your employees to feel good about the work they are doing but also that they are being treated well and their work is valuable to the business. Plus, bringing on sustainable, profitable projects means paying employees appropriately, and being able to bring on new employees when you need to. In line with that, building that brand equity we mentioned will bring in better and more qualified employees who share your values and drive. This is as important as any lead generation.
All in all, never stop marketing your business when you get too many leads. Use those leads to perfect your business practices, how you handle intake, and to curate your brand how you want. We talk more about this in our Next Level podcast linked at the top of this post, also available for download here.
