4 Best Practices to Increase Sales with a Lead List

Anyone who has ever worked in sales can tell you that leads are everything when you're trying to increase your business' sales figures. But which leads will provide the best results? How do you nurture and grow those leads to turn them into conversions? These four best practices will help you increase sales by building a lead list that will provide great results.

1. Start by looking at your existing relationships for the fastest start to your list.

   Do you know someone who is starting to look for what you're selling? Have you hear them complain about a problem that your service can help solve for them? If they can't use what you're selling at the time, whether due to financial or time constraints, use that connection to generate new leads by asking if they know anyone else who could use what you have available. A personal reference is a great way to get a foot in the door in places you'd otherwise be turned away. 

2. If you want to target vertically, make sure you do so intelligently.

   Are you able to ramp up and grow relationships in your chosen vertical quickly enough to create the revenue your company needs? Vertical targeting can be very lucrative, but only if you can afford to spend a lot of time and energy on it. Working on a random vertical without having a strategy in place can ruin your business as existing income streams dry up.

3. Consider using geographic targeting to build your list based on local interests and relationships.

   Do you have a product or service that is best marketed locally? Targeting geographically makes great sense if your product or service only works in a particular area. Tennessee Titans giftware may sell well in Nashville, but not so much in Wisconsin. Target the location where you'll have the best conversion improvement.

4. Use targeted accounts to put a powerful focus on finding your ideal potential clients.

   It used to be that you wanted to target everyone you possibly could with your advertising, but with today's connected world, you need to focus on finding the clients that provide the best income potential for your business. Instead of a billboard that advertises to everyone in rush hour traffic, focus on targeting leads towards individuals and companies that provide your business with the best profit margins.

Lead list development can be a complicated process, but by using these best practices, you should see a significant increase in your lead quality. Over time, this will lead to higher quality sales, repeat clients, and improved business conversion. Spending a little time each week going over your list and looking for ways to improve the quality of your leads will provide great results.