Is it time to get out of the box and explore new sources for sales leads? Stepping out and looking for new prospects in other ways can help you tap into a pool of potential customers that is often overlooked.
Here are valuable resources that entrepreneurs can use to locate more of their best prospects to generate leads.
1. Go Local
When you want to focus on your local market, one of the best ways to find prospects is through local lifestyle magazines. Write articles for the magazine in your area that explains how your products or services can solve problems. Writing for publications such as these will show you as a leader in your industry and an authority that can be trusted.
2. Get into Trade Magazines
Identify magazines that can be tied to any specific industry. You can use these periodicals to search for more defined prospects in select markets.
The directories in those magazines often have information on executives, company history and contact information for businesses in the industry to make it easier to decide how to approach a business for prospecting.
3. Look through Business Journals
Not all communities have a business journal, but if yours does then it is an excellent resource for sales prospects. This gives you information on local businesses in a variety of industries. You can also try publishing in these journals to help share tips and build your notoriety among your potential customers.
4. Let Your Fingers Do the Walking
Today, it may seem like yellow pages and phone books in general are outdated relics. But they are a valuable tool in prospecting for potential customers.
The businesses that advertise in phone books are definitely looking to grow their business and are willing to spend money to do it. When you have converted a prospect into a customer, then you can focus on other businesses in that market for prospecting.
5. Visit Your Chamber of Commerce
Almost every business in your area will be connected with the chamber of commerce. You can check out business profiles for the companies in your city. Many chambers of commerce also hold events for business owners for networking purposes, so this could be an excellent opportunity to do some in-person prospecting among your fellow entrepreneurs and find ways that you can each benefit from what one another has to offer.
There are so many ways that you can find potential customers for your business. They might not be what you are used to, but don’t let that keep you from reaching out to an untapped source of sales prospects.