Finding, quoting, proposing, and ultimately landing clients are key parts of running any agency …
From a small two-person agency to a large creative agency.
They all need paying clients to be profitable.
Every paying client begins as a potential client … or a “lead” …
So, it stands to reason that the more leads you get, the more proposals you’ll send, and the more paying clients you’ll acquire.
In other words, more leads entering your sales process (or marketing funnel) equals more paying clients.
How can you get more leads?
The simple answer is better lead generation.
The longer answer is below …
Preparing for Lead Generation
When visitors come to your website, they may not be ready to hire you … yet.
Instead of trying to change their mind and win an immediate sale, it’s easier (and more effective) to capture their contact information and follow up with them later.
But, before we get to that, let’s make sure you have a few essentials in place … (If you’re a regular reader of this blog, these may be a refresher for you.)
1. Set up a home base or “hub.”
It’s likely that you already have a website for your agency. After all, how else will potential clients view your previous work and contact information?
If you don’t yet have a website selling your agencies’ services, that should be your first step.
Start with this article to guide you.
2. Send potential customers (or leads) to your “hub.”
Once you have a website set up, you’ll want to use a variety of marketing techniques to send potential customers to your website.
The people who then visit your website are often referred to as “traffic.”
Popular traffic generation techniques are social media, guest blogging, SEO, and more.
Assuming you have a website and traffic coming your way, let’s move on to improving lead generation …
Increase Lead Generation By Offering a “Bait Piece”
You’ve likely noticed “bait pieces” offered across the internet – on all different types of websites. Some offer a free report, PDF, or a free trial. Some may give away a discount or sample.
In exchange, the website will request some of your information. At a minimum, they’ll ask for your email address (so they can follow up with you later. (Of course, some websites will ask for more information.)
Let’s look at a few examples …
Here’s one from this website – the Bidsketch blog:
In this example, you’re offered a free guide to getting more clients in exchange for your email address. Once someone fills out the email field and clicks “Send it to me,” they essentially become a “lead.”
Leads are better than traffic because you can follow up with leads, build rapport over time, and eventually earn their business.
Here’s another example bait piece offer:
Bait Pieces = Sweet Spot for Agencies
If you do a Google search, you’ll find very few agencies use this technique for lead generation … that means the opportunity is wide open for your agency!
Let me elaborate …
First, put yourself in your potential client’s shoes … let’s say you’re looking for a graphic design agency to help you create a new logo …
You do a Google search and find a handful of potential agencies. You view their websites and narrow it down to two.
They are essentially the same – same style, same experience level, and the same social proof.
Except that one has something the other doesn’t have …
Company A has a header with their phone number and a call to action. It says, “Call us for your zero obligation consultation!”
You’re tempted … but now isn’t a good time for you to call …
Company B, on the other hand, offers you a free guide called, “10 Things to Consider When Creating a Logo.” You intrigued, enter your email address, and download the guide.
But, you’re suddenly interrupted by an urgent phone call!
You close your browser (including both Company A and Company B’s tabs) and postpone your search for a graphic design agency.
However, on the agencies’ side, something else has happened.
Company A likely lost you forever. You closed their website, they don’t know who you are, and they have no way to follow up with you.
But, Company B offered a bait piece. You accepted their offer and they have your email address. Now they can follow up with you until you’re ready to buy.
So, over the next few weeks Company B sends you a few more tips about creating your logo – colors to consider, font options they recommend …
By the time you’re ready to get back to your logo project, you know you want to use Company B.
And, you’ve likely forgotten all about Company A.
So, my question to you is: If you own or work for an agency, wouldn’t you prefer to be Company B – the one who ultimately got the project?
I know I would. Assuming you would too, here are 6 things to consider when creating your agency’s bait piece …
6 Tips for Effective Bait Pieces
1. Make sure it’s something your visitor wants.
People won’t opt-in to your bait piece if it’s not enticing. So first, consider your target market …
What is their biggest question or problem?
Then, come up with a bait piece that answers that question or solves that problem.
Here’s an example:
If you have a Copywriting Agency, your potential clients are probably looking for help getting more conversions …
A report called, “10 Easy Ways to Increase Conversions” could work really well.
Of course, you don’t want to give away your best copywriting secrets.
Instead, tell them other things they can do to increase conversions – like adding social proof, using “you” instead of “I,” hiring a professional copywriter … things like that.
2. Give your visitor instant gratification.
Asking visitors to subscribe to your list is not the same as a “bait piece.”
A “bait piece” is something that they can download immediately and use now. They aren’t newsletters or emails over time. Here are a few examples of bait pieces:
E-Books, reports, or guides – usually delivered as PDFs
A free trial – usually for a subscription service
A quiz, handout, or “cheat sheet” – this works best if it’s answers your visitors’ biggest question or problem
Here’s an example of an opt-in form from TheMarketingAgents.com:
While this opt-in probably does well, it’s not a true “bait piece.” It doesn’t offer a download immediately. Instead, it offers expert advice over time.
However, the Marketing Agents also do have a bait piece offered on their site:
Here’s another example:
Again, this isn’t bad. But, it’s an “opt-in,” not a “bait piece.”
To make it a bait piece they could re-purpose one of their emails of 7 tips into a PDF that can be immediately downloaded. (And, still follow up with their newsletter of 7 tips each week.)
3. Consider quantity versus quality …
When it comes to lead generation, you might want to optimize as much as you can … to get as many leads as possible.
However, depending on the size of your agency you may only be able to handle a few new clients each month. If that’s the case, you’ll want the best quality leads coming into your sales process …
How do you do that?
By asking for more information.
I know that sounds odd, but I’ll explain …
Internet marketers often limit the form fields to a single field: email address.
They do this because an email address is the bare minimum they need to follow up. They’re going for “quantity” because the more leads they have, the more money they’ll ultimately make.
But, if your team can’t handle following up with an flood of leads – particularly low-quality leads – you may want to increase the amount of information you ask for.
Studies have shown that, if you ask for more information – such as name, address, email address, and phone number – you’ll get fewer leads.
However, those leads will be more serious – and more qualified. This is especially important if you spend time on your follow-up process.
On the other hand, if your follow up process is automatic – and you can handle a lot of potential customers – you may want to limit the information you ask for in order to increase your leads.
4. Include time sensitive language in your offer.
Part of what makes your bait piece compelling is the offer … or the words around your form.
For instance, some might say, “Download this free guide.”
Others might go further and say, “The 4 Tips in This Free Guide Will Increase Your Traffic in Hours – Not Days! (Download now.)”
One thing you can do to make your bait piece (and offer copy) more compelling is to use time sensitive language such as, “limited time offer” or “limited copies available.”
Of course, with this method, you’ll want to change out your bait piece from time to time … perhaps monthly. But, once your bait pieces “retire” you can add them to a “Products” page and sell them to build a passive income for your agency.
5. Add social proof.
Another way to increase your opt-ins (or leads) is social proof. This basically shows that others trust you.
You might mention how many others have downloaded your bait piece, how many fans you have on Facebook, how many followers you have on Twitter, your Klout score, or even the number of subscribers you have.
Here are a few examples:
Notice the testimonial from Chris Brogan and the number of readers/subscribers in the above examples? Those are both elements of social proof.
6. Eliminate distractions (or use a landing page).
While it’s great to send traffic to your website, it’s better to send it to a targeted landing page. So, when possible, make a page specifically designed to convert your visitors to leads.
On this page – commonly called a “landing page” – eliminate all other distractions so your visitor is more likely to sign up for your bait-piece.
Here is an example:
After the visitor enters their information and clicks “Submit,” you can then direct them to your main website or a “Thank you” page that builds rapport.
Remember, many of your visitors won’t be ready to buy the first time they find your website …
It’s often better to use lead generation to capture their information and follow up over the long term. Rather than trying to make a sale immediately and possibly losing them forever.
By implementing an opt-in form and bait piece on your website, you’ll have an automatic method for capturing qualified leads that you can later follow up with to make a sale.
Your turn …
Do you have a bait piece? Or will you add one after reading this article? Why or why not?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below …
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