Are you looking for other ways to generate sales leads without social media?

Maybe you’re not enjoying spending time on the platforms.

Or perhaps you’re feeling disappointed about the results you’ve been having.

Whatever the reason, I want you to know that I get it.

Marketing on social media can feel very frustrating, especially when you spend hours (or days!) creating content but don’t generate any leads.

The good news is that there are many other ways to generate sales leads for your service business.

Plus, most of them don’t require you to learn how to use complex online tools or follow the latest shiny new trends.

It simply requires you to take a back-to-basics approach with your marketing and to connect with your target market.

In the blog post below, I’ve outlined seven ways to generate sales leads that don’t involve spending so much time on social media.

I recommend implementing the marketing activities that best align with your business and closely tracking and monitoring the results.

When you find the activities that work well for your business, then it makes your marketing so much easier and more effective going forwards.

How to generate sales leads in your small business:

Search engine optimisation (SEO)

Despite what many people spend a lot of time focusing on, marketing on social media is not the only way to get found online.

There’s also a massive opportunity via the online search engines to boost your visibility.

SEO works well for local service businesses and the type of businesses people are likely to look for via search engines.

The key to getting found via Google is ensuring that your website is optimised for the search engines.

To do this, you need to ensure your website performance is working well and it’s fast to load.

And you need to add targeted keywords and phrases to your site that you want to be known for.

Starting a blog is also a great way to optimise your site, drive more qualified traffic and get online sales leads.

If you’re unsure how well your website is optimised, check out a tool like SEOptimer, which will give you a score for your SEO.

This tool will also guide you on what you can do to optimise your website further.

RELATED: How to choose the right keywords for your target market

Networking

Networking is a great way to generate sales leads because it enables you to build a trusted relationship quickly which is essential for making sales.

Before people decide if they’re going to work with you, they’ll want to know who it is they are buying from.

And whether they feel like they can trust you to deliver what you say you will.

A lot of networking is done in person at business events or via networking groups or associations.

However, you can also network online in Facebook groups and via online memberships, to provide just a few examples.

For more tips on how to build a networking strategy, check out my blog – How to Build a Network: The Ultimate Small Business Networking Guide.

Local marketing activities

If you’re a service business that’s only looking for clients in your local area, then there are several local marketing initiatives you can use to generate sales leads, including:

• Create a Google Business Profile so you have a listing on Google Maps
• Placing signage on your building or car
• Distributing flyers or postcards in letterboxes
• Wearing business branded clothing or handing out branded merchandise
• Get involved in or sponsoring local community events
• Listing your business in local business or community directories
• Networking at your local council or business chamber events

These marketing activities are relatively simple to implement and cost-effective because they are targeted only at your local market.

Not sure where to start when it comes to marketing your service-based small business? That’s where I can help. Get started by downloading my free Ultimate Marketing Checklist by clicking the button below: 

Engage with past clients

If you’ve achieved results for clients in the past, they will likely work with you again or be willing to refer you to others in their network.

So, consider if you have any past clients who you could make contact with to generate a sales lead.

To provide you with a few examples of how to do this, in my business, I’ve made it a marketing habit to contact past clients whenever I am increasing my prices.

I write a short email to advise them of the upcoming change in pricing and invite them to contact me if they would like to lock in my services at the current rate.

I also contact past clients when introducing or removing a service from my offerings.

Again, I send a short email to let them know about the new service if change and invite them to contact me if they would like to learn more.

When I’ve done this in the past, I’ve had clients who weren’t interested in my new service, but the contact was enough to prompt them to book in for some once-off coaching.

So, don’t worry about reaching out to past clients to update them on any changes in your business, as your clients will more than likely appreciate you keeping them informed.

Email your subscribers

If you’ve been working on growing your email list, then sending regular emails to your subscribers is a simple way to generate sales leads for your business.

I recommend sending valuable and helpful content to subscribers and adding a call to action that sends them to your website or to contact you directly.

Also, send multiple emails for every marketing campaign you run, as only 30 – 40 % of your list will likely see your initial email (based on standard email marketing open rates).

To generate sales leads, you could also add a PS. at the bottom, which says something like: Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways I can help: (and then listing three options to work together at different price points).

For more ideas on what to send your subscribers, check out my blog – 15 Types of emails you can send to engage your list.

Host an event or workshop

Setting up and hosting an event or workshop is a great way to generate sales leads.

Because at your event, you’ll have the opportunity to provide valuable information or training that will nurture and warm up your audience before you sell to them.

For higher ticket purchases, it’s often the case that people have questions and want more information before they are ready to buy.

So, include information about common questions your past clients have asked you.

Also, I recommend addressing any common sales objections during your presentation to help you generate more enquiries and sales.

RELATED: How to promote an event for your service-based business

Paid advertising

Finally, paid advertising is also an effective way to generate sales leads for your service business.

Paid advertising campaigns are most successful when they are designed to reach the right people, at the right time, with the right message.

So, when designing your marketing campaign, consider what advertising channel would be most suitable for your intended audience.

Also, what message would cut through and stand out to your ideal clients?

I recommend testing your marketing organically before spending a lot of money on paid advertising.

Or, if you’re looking for faster results and want paid advertising to be a part of your strategy, you could also set aside a test marketing budget to find what works before scaling your ads.

Not sure where to start when it comes to marketing your service-based small business? That’s where I can help. Get started by downloading my free Ultimate Marketing Checklist by clicking the button below: >

To summarise, here are seven ways to generate sales leads for your service business without using social media:

1. Search engine optimisation (SEO)
2. Networking
3. Local marketing activities
4. Engage with past clients
5. Email your subscribers
6. Host an event or workshop
7. Paid advertising

I recommend having around three to five strategies to attract new leads to expand your reach and open your business up to more opportunities.

Having multiple lead generation strategies also reduces your business risk as you won’t become reliant on any one form of marketing to generate sales.

Tired of trying to figure out what you’re missing when it comes to finding clients and making sales in your service business?

Break through the barriers that are holding you back with the support of an MBA-qualified Marketing Coach and Business Mentor who will tailor a 1:1 program specifically for you.

BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH is a 3 or 6-month 1:1 Coaching Program for service-based business owners who want to develop the strategy, systems, and structure they need to find clients and make sales, so they can stop feeling stuck and start gaining massive momentum in their business.

Did you find this blog post helpful? Please don’t forget to PIN to Pinterest or share on Facebook.