Perfectly designed results

Eavesdrop on a recent call I had with an industry business owner concerned by the lack of new leads:

Me: How many new leads do you get in an average month?

Caller: Not too many, really. Usually around eight a month.

Me: Every month?

Caller: No, even less these last few months.

Me: Where do these leads come from?

Caller: I’m not totally sure.

Me: Can you guess?

Caller: Well, Google, probably … and most likely some of them are referrals. We have a lot of happy customers.

Me: What kinds of Web marketing are you doing?

Caller: We have an old website that really needs some updating. I’ve thought about doing some SEO, but the costs were high, and I’ve never done anything more than that.

Me: OK. So, any other marketing?

Caller: We’re members of the Chamber of Commerce. We also do a local business trade show through them each year.

Me: How’s the Chamber thing working for you?

Caller: Well, ahhh … I let our last salesperson go. He was supposed to be doing all this stuff for me. And I’m trying to hire a new one, but that hasn’t happened yet. I’ve been really busy with a new software installation, so no one is going to the Chamber meetings. Plus, we missed the trade show this year as a result.

Me: An old website and Chamber membership? Anything else?

Caller: We used to do a lot more. When I started the business, I did a ton of stuff. But, no, right now, nothing more. I just wish I had more coming in.

Me: Sounds to me like you are getting the appropriate amount of leads then.

Caller: What do you mean?

I went on to explain that his marketing was perfectly designed for the results he was getting right now. With no consistent, ongoing marketing program in place, the leads he received were normal and suited to the kinds of actions he was taking in his business. How could it be any other way?

As you look at your own lead-generation results, I’m willing to bet they correlate almost perfectly to the marketing actions you have been taking up until now. Limited or nonexistent marketing means limited or nonexistent leads.

If you want something different, you have to change what you do.

Tom Adams is an executive coach and strategic advisor to RIM service companies. Check out his Thrive in 5 videos at www.TomAdams.com.