Imagine a world where Sherlock Holmes has the sharpest mind but no intriguing mysteries to solve. Or Iron Man without his tech-suit. They are simply incomplete without one another. 

In the same way, lead generation is the lifeline of businesses. Without a consistent inflow of customers, even the best business idea will fail to flourish. And you don’t want that, do you? 

This is where we come into the picture. Today, we bring you the top 10 lead-generation strategies that work like a charm in 2024. Each one, when done right, can help you achieve your goal without any difficulty.

So, let’s jump right into it!

1. Content Marketing

7.5 million blogs are published each day. There is a reason why more and more businesses are jumping on the content bandwagon.

This is because the content is just not the king but the entire kingdom! And if you look at it, truly look at it, you will know how true the statement is.

Content is everywhere. From the billboards to radio ads and pop-ups and more, there is no escaping it. But when you have enticing content by your side, that’s a whole other story.

Content marketing goes beyond promoting products. When done right, it helps provide information that solves problems or addresses the needs of your audience. Inclusive content plays a pivotal role here, as it ensures that diverse voices and perspectives are represented, resonating with a broader audience and fostering a sense of belonging.

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When you consistently deliver quality content, you can position yourself as an industry authority. This is super crucial because it helps you stand out and build trust and loyalty among your audience. This trust is a key factor in lead generation.

Why? 

At the end of the day, potential customers are more likely to consider and choose a brand they perceive as knowledgeable and reliable. It is seen that companies that post 15 blog posts a month generate almost 1200 new leads per month on average.

When it comes to content marketing, the sky is the limit. From blog posts to infographics, content marketing serves as a powerful tool.

2. AI and Personalization

Have you ever noticed Amazon telling you when your favorite product is back in stock? Or Maybe you receive an email from your favorite store with a whopping discount just because they miss you.

So, how does this make you feel? It feels incredible, doesn’t it? This is the beauty of personalization. And they leverage AI to run the personalization process.

Now, put yourself in the shoes of an ecommerce store owner who deals with hundreds of consumers every day. Personalization becomes a bit difficult, understandably. But what if AI could help you out?

Unlike putting in manual efforts, AI uses advanced algorithms and data analysis, which intelligently predicts user behavior and customizes your approach to offer your audience a unique and engaging experience.

This personalized approach not only captures attention but also establishes a deeper connection with potential leads. In fact,  89% of marketers say that personalization fetches them positive ROI.

By understanding and responding to each customer’s needs, AI personalization makes conversion an easy possibility.

Whether it’s recommending relevant products, delivering targeted messages, or predicting user intent, AI makes every interaction meaningful.

And 2024 is a tech-savvy era. With so many OpenAI development companies assisting businesses create their own generative AI model, there is no shortage of tools that can be used for personalizing communication throughout the customer journey. So instead of shying away from technology, it’s high time that you embrace it.

3. Social Media Marketing

From the time of its inception, social media has changed the way we humans communicate and consume content. Today, 66% of marketers generate leads from social media by spending only six hours per week on social media marketing.

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn hold so much potential. The key is to come up with a well-structured marketing campaign plan and have engaging content that fully resonates with your audience.

When you come up with a consistent and interactive approach, it builds brand awareness and trust where you easily convert social media users into potential leads.

With social media lead generation tactics, you can check how your content plan is fairing with in-depth insights through analytics. It lets you tweak your approach as you go.

4. Free Demo

Picture this. You are looking to explore a new tool. Everything sounds good on paper but something is holding you back. At the same time, the competitor with similar features offers you a free demo. Which is more enticing? The free demo one right?

Offering product or service demos is a potent lead-generation strategy. It offers firsthand experience, which lets potential customers interact with your offering.

You no longer have to go on and on about how great it can be. Instead, your consumers can go through its functionality to see if it aligns with their requirements.

Remember, with free demos, you are engaging prospects in a practical, immersive way. Demos cut through all the noise and make a lasting impression.

5. Email Marketing

Don’t shun email marketing just because it has been around for quite some time now. It is still powerful and going strong in 2024. It generates $42 for every $1 spent.

Email marketing makes use of targeted campaigns to nurture potential customers. However, plain old boring emails won’t cut. This is the era is all about being different. Don’t hesitate to experiment if you must. The end result must be alluring and personalized messages that solve the specific needs and pain points of your audience.

Strategic segmentation is a must to make sure that each email resonates with its intended audience.

Most importantly, don’t forget to implement calls-to-action and exclusive offers to push your audience to take the desired steps to move them through the sales funnel. Consider incorporating engaging email newsletters to regularly deliver valuable content and updates, nurturing your relationship with subscribers. Again, don’t create emails for the sake of it. Analyze metrics and fine-tune your approach as you go.

6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Your website and SEO go hand in hand. When you amplify your website content, meta tags, and backlinks, you are taking care of SEO. These efforts are rewarded by elevating your online visibility. This is the first step to conversion.

This visibility captivates organic traffic and can convert casual browsers into potential sales leads. Keyword optimization is still a strong SEO tactic in 2024 that aligns content with user intent. This is super crucial to strike a connection between your brand and your target audience.

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As your SEO efforts start making a mark, your website ranking starts climbing upward and soon reaches the first page. However, it is important to be patient with SEO as it can take at least six months.

7. Paid Ads

As aforementioned, social media is a powerful lead-generation strategy. However, if you are looking for quick results, paid ads are incredible.

50% of people arriving at a retailer’s site from paid ads are more likely to buy than those who came from an organic link.

Paid ads are like a shortcut that lets you reach specific audiences with precision and in no time. Platforms like Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Instagram Ads, and Facebook Ads offer robust targeting options.

Additionally, tapping into ad networks such as the Google Display Network or Twitter Audience Platform expands your campaign’s reach across a wide array of websites and apps. What does this mean? It’s simple. Your message reaches users interested in your products or services.

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But paid ads are no magic. It is all about the strategy and efforts you put into it. With careful keyword selection and demographic targeting, paid ads maximize visibility.

The beauty of paid campaigns is that they generate likes in its immediacy. It offers quick results, which drives potential leads to your website or landing page. 

The best part is that you can keep an eye on the metrics and adjust campaigns in real time. You can leverage an AI Ads generator to create compelling ads that will get you better results.

8. Chatbots

Chatbots can be your secret weapon when it comes to lead generation. Why? Because they provide instant and personalized interactions on websites.

As mentioned earlier, we live in a tech-savvy world. So, an AI-driven virtual assistant can engage visitors, answering queries, and guiding them through the initial stages of the sales funnel.

Your AI assistant can also collect user data and preferences. The immediate response and 24/7 availability can improve user experience. After all, if someone is there for you whenever you need them, it just makes you feel good!

9. Influencer Marketing

The influencer marketing industry is now at $21.1 billion, and it has only seen upward growth since it became popular in the recent decade. So, in this era when everyone relies on social media, influencers can help you reach your goals quite effortlessly.

Here, you partner with influencers whose ideologies resonate with your brand value. You use the trust and credibility these influencers have built within their niche and tap into their established audiences.

For instance, let’s say you are a skincare product. You can collaborate with a well-known influencer for an authentic endorsement. This type of social proof can do wonders.

By strategically partnering with relevant influencers, you can generate high-quality leads who are already interested in your products or services, making influencer marketing a powerful tool for B2C lead generation.

10. Webinars

When it comes to lead generation, webinars may be the last thing on your mind. But it’s time to give this idea some merit. 89% of marketers say that webinars perform better than other channels when it comes to producing qualified leads.

One of the reasons why it strikes the right cord is because it combines education and engagement. Hosting webinars positions your brand as an industry authority. When the quality of your webinar is high, it helps attract a targeted audience looking for valuable insights.

During your webinar, make sure you address queries in real-time. This instantly creates a direct and personal connection.

Also, attendees willingly provide contact information to access the event. It helps you with a set of engaged prospects for post-webinar follow-ups.

Bonus: Use Q & A Platforms Like “Quora”

Quora has over 300 million monthly visitors. You might have logged in too in search of a solution. We all do. However, the platform is still underestimated in marketing circles.

If you are wondering how Quora can help you, well, it helps businesses understand the audience’s problems by providing a space for users to pose questions and seek answers.

Let’s say, you are an agency. You come across a question about content marketing. Now, avoid fluff and advertisement-like content at all costs. Instead, be genuine and write authentic answers. In the end, direct users to your website. Do it strategically to convert a Quora user into a qualified lead.

Final Words

As a business owner, you already know how crucial lead generation is for you. But the key lies in choosing the right set of strategies that align with your business needs.

Remember, what works for business X may not work the same way for business Y. Lead gen is never a one-size-fits-all solution. That said, when you implement the top tips we have discussed in the above article, you are bound to make a mark.

The post Mastering Lead Generation in 2024: 10 Strategies to Propel Your Business Forward appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Search engine optimization is becoming incredibly challenging and unpredictable. As search engines are integrating generative AI and learning to surface more diverse results, creating a strategy to rank your pages in the top 5 takes a lot of trial and error.

Video marketing is almost equally challenging. Gone are the days when you had to invest in professional equipment and hire an editor to be able to create a video. These days anyone can create great videos at home and edit them using affordable software. The competition is insane.

So where is the opportunity here?

It’s in combining these two marketing channels.

Let me explain:

• Videos rank incredibly well in Google (they have their own sections in search results, so you are not competing with giants)
• Not many video marketers are optimizing their videos for organic Google search, so it is actually doable.

Video opportunities we are targeting here

Videos are very search-friendly if you optimize them the right way. In this post, we’re going to look at the ways you can optimize your videos on the top networks, YouTube and Vimeo, for increased search rankings and views.

When it comes to organic search, there are two distinct opportunities we are targeting here:

• Video rich snippets (these are usually earned when you embed your Youtube code on your page)
• Video carousels (or video packs): These are separate sections within organic search results, and they are pretty easy to capture. All you need is a traditional SEO.

Here is how to best optimize your videos on YouTube and Vimeo for better search rankings and increased views.

Titles

The title is one of the primary elements of optimizing your video for search as it is equivalent to the SEO title for the video page on YouTube and Vimeo. Therefore, the standard rules apply.

Keep it under 65 – 70 characters, including the main keywords you want it to rank for, and make it appealing for visitors to encourage more views. Think of your video title just like the headline for your blog posts – eye-catching and SEO-friendly! Keyword stuffing is not advised. Using ChatGPT to brainstorm better video titles is a great idea.

If you are using videos as a way to boost your personal reputation or the reputation of your business, be sure to include your brand name.

Descriptions

The description of your video is important for a couple of reasons. For starters, the first 160 characters count as the meta description for your video page on YouTube and Vimeo. While meta descriptions don’t necessarily help with rankings, they do come up in search results in both the major search engines and the networks’ own search results.

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The descriptions also come up as a snippet when you share the video on Facebook and other social networks. This makes the description highly valuable for encouraging views.

As an added bonus, you can include links to your website in the video description. You just need to try to include your links earlier on in your description as most of the description gets cut off at a certain length on both YouTube and Vimeo, and visitors will need to click on the See More / Read More to see them if they are past that point.

Transcription

Is it important to say your primary keywords, name, and business name in a video? It just might be. YouTube automatically transcribes your videos. This means they can make search results for videos more accurate by indexing the video content itself.

On a side note, if you’re curious about any verbal ticks you might have while speaking during a video (like using a lot of um’s), they will be more noticeable in the interactive transcript.

Thumbnails

Take advantage of the ability to choose a thumbnail for both YouTube and Vimeo videos. A good thumbnail could encourage a view the same way a bad one could discourage a view, especially when your video is jumbled in with others in search results.

Embedding

If you want to increase your video views, allow your videos to be embedded. Better yet, add a Creative Commons license to them in the Advanced Settings on both YouTube and Vimeo. This will encourage more people to share them, and potentially increase the links to them as well. It is a good idea to use Youtube gallery plugins on your site to showcase your video content on your site.

Channel optimization

Many people will click on your channel to check out who is the video is coming from. So make sure it is optimized for those user journeys:

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• Complete the about section of the channel
• Add your links
• Set up the “Welcome” video
• Add a Youtube channel header image
• Set up a channel @username so that it’s is easier to type. This tool is great for coming up with memorable names.

Pinterest

Take advantage of Pinterest for more than just image sharing. Pin your videos in order to increase traffic and views from Pinterest to your video content. As an added bonus, Pinterest will give you a link back to both the video and your YouTube / Vimeo channel.

Videos pinned from YouTube will automatically start playing when someone clicks on your pin. Videos from Vimeo will be pinned as the thumbnail image with the ability to click through to the video.

Analytics

Want to know what is working (or not) with your YouTube and Vimeo videos? Be sure to use the video insights to find out where your video has been linked or embedded, the keywords that drove traffic to your video, and much more.

Create a sales journey from each of your videos

Once your video starts generating views and interactions, you want those viewers to go to your site and engage with your sales funnel. So keep that in mind when creating and uploading your videos to Youtube or Vimeo:

• Mention your product or service in the video content
• Use end cards with your contact details and QR codes to direct people to your site. Using IVR technology will help you funnel these calls better, that’s what we were doing.
• Include important links in the video description (and invite your viewers to check the description below the video to click the links)

Make sure to use URL parameters to segment traffic from Youtube and Vimeo. This way you can clearly see the source of each lead and personalize your follow-ups. Using CRM solutions will make segmenting your traffic easier.

Using the strategy above, we were able to create a powerful traffic generation strategy in which video was the second most effective channel for us!

Snowball effect

Videos with a lot of views tend to rank higher than others. Therefore, part of your optimization strategy should be focused on getting more views of your videos. Promote your videos just like you would your blog content. Share them on social networks, include a link to them in your email newsletter, create a blog post around them, or even create a page on your website devoted to all of your videos.

The more views you receive, the better your video will rank in search results within the video networks. As you receive more views, you will receive more shares, embeds, and links back to your video from other websites. Thus, the video’s ranking in main search engines will increase as well.

So as soon as your videos start generating clicks from Google, they will start ranking better on Youtube as well, so you will have more and more visibility for your video content.

This strategy will work even better if you collaborate with Youtube influencers to publish your videos to their channels in the form of interviews or podcasts. This way Youtube will learn to associate your name and content with popular Youtube creators, so your videos will show up in more recommended videos. Hari Ravi is a great example of implementing this strategy well.

Inexpensive Ways to Make Videos

Excited about the possibilities of creating videos, but not sure how to get started? Here are some quick ideas of ways to create a video without having to spend a lot on professional recording hardware or software.

• Host and record live videos on Youtube, Facebook, or Instagram. Gain extra views by inviting industry experts for regular panel discussions to capitalize on searches for their names.
• Record interviews on Skype or Zoom.
• Use Screenflow or Camtasia to record screencasts and tutorials.
• Use tools like VideoScribe to create animated videos.
• Ask customers to make quick testimonials at your business, at conferences, or other places you interact with them.

Ready to take your content marketing to the next level? Then video marketing combined with organic search optimization is the answer.

The post Rank Higher and Capture Leads with Video SEO appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Let me ask you a question:

Are you trying to make money on all your marketing campaigns?

If so, I have bad news.

You’re holding your business back.

Yep, you heard me right. Always striving for a positive return on advertising dollars can actually be a BAD thing—that is, if it means that your business never takes any risks.

Let me explain…

ROI vs Growth in Your Business

If you’ve been following DigitalMarketer or Ryan Deiss for any length of time, you may have heard this little gem of a saying:

This probably feels counterintuitive to anyone who’s ever poured over a budget sheet. That’s because trying to spend goes against many of our natural instincts, which usually focus on minimizing customer acquisition costs.

But the truth is that if you want your business to grow, to SCALE, then you have to be willing to spend more money to acquire new customers. To take on more risk. To lose money in the short term so you can set yourself up for more revenue potential in the long run.

To drive that point home, let’s talk really quickly about the difference between growth and ROI:

ROI, or “return on investment,” is a measure of how effectively you have recaptured the money you’ve spent to create, distribute, and promote your product. In other words, ROI helps you track whether every dollar you’ve spent has been recovered or not.

Growth is all about the generation of new customers. It’s a function of scale and volume—instead of acquiring 100 new customers every month, growth means acquiring 200 new customers, then 300, and so on and so forth. More customers mean more market penetration, more opportunities to cross-sell and more word of mouth—all things that can make your business more impactful in the world.

Now, here’s the thing about growth and ROI.

ROI is great. We all want to make money, after all—right?

But if you focus too much on ROI, it can really limit your ability to scale. You’ll be stunting your business’s long-term growth in favor of a quick return.

A while back, we took a look at what was going on under the hood at DigitalMarketer. And we realized that’s exactly what was happening in our own business.

Our ROI was good—we knew we could put a dollar in our campaigns and get $1.50 back. But we had capped out on the number of people we could reach and bring into the fold. We realized that a high ROI does not necessarily mean a growing business.

Unfortunately, the problem with playing it safe like that meant that our business wasn’t growing quickly enough to meet our long-term goal of doubling the size of 10,000 businesses over the next five years.

And we realized that if we were going to hit our goals, we would have to create new selling systems that carried more risk—but along with that risk, the potential for greater growth.

In Business, Risk = Opportunity

Anytime you attempt to scale your business, to grow beyond your current size, you’re going to have to take on some risk.

But don’t worry. We’re not talking about buying lottery tickets here.

These are calculated risks that you make leveraging formulaic selling systems designed to scale your business.

In this post, you’re going to learn how to create a variety of these selling systems that will work together to grow your business. You’ll also learn how to evaluate the opportunity of a selling system and take smart risks that are necessary to scale.

And you’re going to learn through an in-depth analysis of five selling systems that worked for us at DigitalMarketer.

But first, let’s define exactly what a selling system is (and is not). We do that by answering these three questions.

The 3 Critical Questions for Every Selling System

I should explain that when I say “selling system,” I could be referring to any kind of online marketing funnel or campaign that converts visitors into leads, customers, and fans.

They can span any number of websites or traffic sources and look different depending on the market they serve.

(RELATED: How To Architect The Perfect Conversion Funnel For Your Business)

But for your marketing funnel to be considered a selling system, you need to be able to answer these three questions…

Selling System Question 1: What is the Goal of this System?

Every time you create a new selling system, that system should have a goal. One overarching objective. Something your business needs.

It’s important to remember that not every selling system will have the same goal. And certainly, not every system will have the goal of “making money”—some systems exist only to set up future opportunities to make sales and create customers.

For cold traffic, your goal might be to generate awareness.

(RELATED: Traffic Temperature: How To Build Real Relationships With Automated Campaigns)

For early-funnel prospects, your goal might be to nurture visitors and convert them into leads.

Finally, for mid- to late-funnel visitors, your goal will probably be to generate sales and revenue.

The goals you choose for your selling systems will vary depending on how mature your business is. If you’re starting a new business and in need of cash, your goals will almost exclusively be to generate revenue.

If you’re a more established business looking to expand your reach, your goal might be to generate more leads or get more inbound phone calls that you can push through to your sales team.

But to call your marketing funnel a selling system, it’s critical that you have a defined goal because working towards that goal will drive your future decision-making.

Selling System Question 2: How Do You Define Success?

Now that your selling system has a goal, you have to decide how to measure the success of that goal.

You can’t know what success looks like until you know how to measure it.

To define success, you’ll need to choose a key metric or KPI that you can use to gauge the performance of your selling system.

Your method of measurement can pretty easily be deduced from your goal—if you want to grow your email list, your success metric will be the number of new leads you add to that list.

Here are a few other possible metrics:

• Revenue
• Orders
• Site visitors
• Leads
• Phone calls
• Posts read

The most important thing is that this metric must give you an accurate way to quantify your goal and measure the success of your campaign.

Selling System Question 3: How Much Risk Are You Willing to Take?

Finally, you have to figure out what is an acceptable level of risk for this selling system.

The most important thing to keep in mind here is that risk correlates with opportunity.

The greater the long-term revenue potential, the more risk you can afford to take on.

So, with higher-value offers like a high-ticket item or a subscription business that provides long-lasting continuity revenue, you can afford to take on more risk.

Alternatively, if you’re selling an inexpensive item with a low-profit-margin, then your risk threshold should be much lower.

So, how should you define risk? What exactly IS it?

Risk here refers to how long you can wait to recoup your investment and get to break-even. In other words, how long does it take you to earn back all the money you spent on that selling system?

Your initial investment may include expenses like the cost of your goods, payroll, or the cost of running traffic. And once you break even on those costs, any additional revenue generated by a customer can be reinvested into the business.

For a low-risk selling system, your goal might be to reach break-even after just a couple days.

But for a high-risk selling system, you might be willing to stomach a negative ROI (spending more than you made back) for several months before earning back your investment.

And you know you can afford to do that because the eventual payoff is worth it—you are investing in the relationship based on the promise of future returns.

So now that you know the three critical questions you have to ask every time you build a selling system, here are the five selling systems your business needs to scale. We used these same systems to take DigitalMarketer to the next level.

Selling System to Scale Your Business #1: Bulk Lead Acquisition

Our first example is a classic selling system that we have used many, many times in the past with great success.

It’s called a bulk lead acquisition funnel, and it’s all about driving as many leads as possible.

Having a large list of prospects that you can email anytime you want—when you release a new product, for example, or put out a new piece of content that needs a little traction—is important for any business.

And that’s why this type of selling system has been so critical for us in growing DigitalMarketer.

Goal

Our goal with this selling system is to generate a high volume of new subscribers to our email list.

Success KPI

Our KPI for this selling system was positive growth in our email list. In other words, we wanted the number of new email subscribers to outpace the number of unsubscribes caused by normal email list attrition.

So, if we were losing 5,000 subscribers each week to attrition, we needed to be gaining at least 5,001 new subscribers. (And preferably many more than that.)

Risk

This was the selling systems where we could afford the least risk.

That’s because the offers we promoted with this selling system weren’t very expensive, and we cast a wide, wide net (meaning some people weren’t qualified off the bat).

Because the opportunity here is relatively low, we don’t want to take on too much risk.

In this case, we were willing to stay in the negative for 30 days. That let us include the revenue from those who took the Lab membership and decided to stick around past their first month

Example

One of our most successful examples of this type of selling system is our “Facebook Ad Template Library” funnel. It started with this Facebook ad:

The ad took visitors to this landing page, where they could opt-in to get a free resource that would help them create better Facebook ads.

After the visitor opted in to our email list, they were offered a Tripwire (a low-dollar offer designed to convert leads into customers).

And finally, we followed up by selling them our monthly subscription product, DM Lab.

This selling system did generate some sales and new customers—and it made enough money after 30 days to cover the costs of the paid traffic sending visitors there!

But more importantly, it achieved its primary goal, which was growing our email list—allowing us to reach more people and helping to scale our business.

Selling System to Scale Your Business #2: Low Entry Barrier Subscriptions

So our first selling system succeeded in growing our email list. Bringing in new leads.

But as I mentioned, it doesn’t necessarily do a great job of converting those leads into customers.

Only about 4% of people who saw the ad for our “Facebook Ad Template Library” ever even saw the DM Lab offer.

And that was a huge barrier to adoption.

The challenge was: how do we get them to join in the first place?

We solved that problem by creating a low-entry barrier subscription selling system.

We removed the risk by offering people a $1 trial to DM Lab. If they stuck around after 30 days, they would become a paying subscriber (which, at the time, was $38.60/month).

Goal

The goal of this selling system is to encourage massive subscription growth in DM Lab.

We believed that if we could limit the perceived risk by offering a 30-day trial for just $1, we could convince a large number of people to give Lab a try…

…and we knew from experience that once they did, more than half (about 58%) would stick around and become full-paying customers.

Success KPI

Remember our goal here wasn’t to generate leads. It was to generate actual paying subscribers.

With that in mind, our success KPI wasn’t trial sign-ups. It was the number of people who stuck around after the trial was over and converted into paying members of DM Lab.

Risk

Our risk tolerance for this selling system was higher than it was for the bulk leads acquisition funnel, but it was still fairly low—because we were only guaranteed a dollar off the bat from conversions—the real payoff wouldn’t come till later.

For that reason, we required this selling system to break-even after 40 days (just after the first rebill period).

Example

To create a similar system of your own, you need two things: some kind of a subscription product and a “warm” audience of people who know who you are.

For DigitalMarketer, that audience included site visitors and email subscribers.

We drove those people to a sales page like this one, where we offered them a $1 trial membership in DM Lab.

This is a really common strategy that you’ll notice all over the place when you start looking. Subscription companies like Audible, Spotify, and Pandora offer similar trial offers designed to generate new subscribers and build recurring revenue.

Selling System to Scale Your Business #3: Value-Centric Lead Acquisition

The first two selling systems were all about volume—driving massive numbers of leads and subscribers.

But this one is different. In this selling system, we’re optimizing to deliver value and a great experience.

Everything else—leads, subscribers, revenue—all that goes on the back-burner.

This can be a scary prospect for a company that is in need of quick financial returns because it involves more risk and delayed monetization. With a selling system like this, it can take several months to earn back your investment.

But when you can use a system like this to promote a fairly high-ticket item, it will prove well worth it in the end.

Goal

With this selling system, our goal was to educate and excite people. We wanted to prioritize providing a great experience and ensure customers learn a lot from us in order to qualify people for a more expensive, higher-touch offer on the back.

Success KPI

That brings up a tricky question…how do you measure education and excitement? There’s no straightforward metric for that.

So, what we did was use percent of course consumed as our KPI.

And by doing that, we were able to optimize for that metric…getting more people to actually watch more of the training videos. We used emails and even Facebook ads to encourage students that didn’t complete all the lessons to go back and finish the course.

It’s important to note that we still promoted products to these customers and made sales. We just optimized our system around consumption, rather than sales.

Risk

The training product this selling system promoted is relatively expensive ($1,997), so as a result, we could take a little more risk here. We set our break-even goal at 60 days, which was enough to cover the six-week course plus the follow-up emails to promote the product, “The Machine.”

It was definitely a risk to spend all this money with no expectation of making it back for two months. But the results were incredible, and we blew all our goals out of the water.

Example

Ryan taught a free six-week class in conjunction with InfusionSoft called “Double Your Sales.” And in that class, he delivered a ton of great information how people could double their leads, double their sales, double their reactivation purchases, and so on.

It was an awesome course that proved to be a great introduction to digital marketing for people who needed an automation tool like Infusionsoft but didn’t realize that this was a missing piece in their business.

During this six-week course, we weren’t focused on making money at all. Instead, we put 100% of our focus on delivering value and making sure the people in this class had a great experience and learned a lot.

At the very end of this course, we did promote our product called “The Machine” to people who had finished the class. We didn’t push it very hard; we basically said, “You’ve learned a lot, and now that you’re using InfusionSoft, here’s a course that will help you to get the most out of your email marketing.”

And what we realized was that over time, even after three to five months, we were generating an insane number of sales from people who had taken this class!

3 Keys to Success with this Selling System

To succeed with a selling system like this, you need three things.

First of all, you must have great content.

People who consume your content have to learn a lot and come to trust you as an authority in your niche.

Second, that content has to lead naturally to the product you’re promoting.

In this example, we taught a course in combination with InfusionSoft (which is a marketing automation platform with a big email marketing component). Then we promoted an email marketing training system on the backend.

A big part of the reason why this worked so well was because of the congruency between the free class and the product on the backend.

And finally, the product you’re promoting has to sell for a fairly high dollar amount. Otherwise, it’s hard to justify all the time and expense of delivering that content for free.

Remember, risk is always correlated with opportunity.

Selling System to Scale Your Business #4: Monetization & Retargeting

Of all the selling systems in this post, this is the one that everyone should get started with.

This is where you promote your best stuff to your customers and previous buyers—in other words, your smallest but highest-quality audience.

It’s low-hanging fruit with great potential for immediate revenue and high ROI.

Goal

The goal here is simple: to monetize your leads and customers. You want to turn one-time buyers into multi-buyers while promoting higher-ticket items.

Success KPI

For the KPI, we’re also going to keep things simple and straightforward: we’re looking for maximum positive ROI.

Risk

With this selling system, because you’re promoting your hottest products to your hottest audience, there should be almost no risk. Typically we look to break-even after 0-3 days (only use more than 0 days if you have cart abandonment retargeting to recapture potential buyers).

Example

At DigitalMarketer, we run a number of live events each year (Content & Commerce, Traffic & Conversion, and Digital Agency Growth Summit).

If you’ve never been, then take it from me: they’re an AMAZING experience for everyone involved. Because we have in-person access to people for several days, we can provide massive, massive value during these events. They’re some of the best training we can offer.

But guess what?

We aren’t promoting these events to cold traffic. Because someone who has never heard of us is not likely to buy a plane ticket and fly several hours to spend a couple days with us.

Instead, we’re promoting these events to CUSTOMERS—people who have already taken the time to know us and invested in some of our other trainings. Those are the people who are most likely to go to these live events.

Selling System to Scale Your Business #5: Sales Lead Acquisition

When we implemented this fifth and final selling system, it was a big turning-point for DigitalMarketer.

Why?

Because this one helped us change not just our strategy, but our audience. It marked the point where we expanded beyond B2C marketing (which targeted entrepreneurs and employees) and started talking to larger businesses about how we could help them grow with better marketing training.

The thing about B2B marketing is that some big-ticket items will never be sold via an online sales funnel. That’s because they require a conversation to make sure that the product or service is a good fit for what that business needs or to customize the offer to suit the business’ specific needs.

This requires a strong sales team to close your leads.

It also requires a different kind of selling system to be effective. We call it the sales lead acquisition selling system.

Goal

The goal of this selling system is not to generate new customers…but to generate conversations with prospects.

The reason we focused on conversations was because the product we were promoting typically requires some customization and approval from a chain of command rather than just one individual.

Our salespeople have to take the time to understand each customer’s unique situation and make sure they are really getting a version of the product that fits everyone’s needs.

Success KPI

In this case, our success KPI was a customer-initiated conversation where the customer came to us with a question or request for more information.

Primarily we looked at…

• Lead forms completed
• Email replies
• And phone calls initiated

Risk

Because this is a high-reward sales funnel leading to an expensive product with a recurring element, our goal was to break-even after 60 days.

And in many cases, you can push that out even further, depending on the revenue potential of your product or service (and your average sales cycle).

Example

We used this selling system to extend an invitation to DigitalMarketer HQ, our flagship training program designed to train an entire marketing department.

It’s a more complex offer than DM Lab. It requires more decisions on the part of the customer.

So rather than trying to sell the product directly online, we just wanted to get the customer on the phone—and give our salespeople a chance to help customize the offer based on the needs of each individual business.

If you take a look at the form page for DM HQ, you’ll notice that we require more information than simply an email address.

For instance, we ask for a phone number because when someone fills out this form, our ultimate goal is to get them on the phone.

The Importance of Multiple Selling Systems for Business Growth

One thing I hope you take away from this blog post is the realization that a successful business requires more than one good funnel or traffic campaign.

In order to set your business up for growth, you’ll need a variety of selling systems that bring you a diversity of leads using a healthy mix of low, medium, and high risk selling systems.

Don’t forget—risk is an inevitable and essential part of business. You need some risk!

You should, of course, avoid taking on too much risk. Don’t go out and empty your company’s entire bank account on Facebook ads after reading this (that’s just not smart).

Instead, you need to find a happy medium. And that happy medium typically involves leveraging a few higher-risk selling systems supported by many lower-risk selling systems to scale your business.

So, take the five selling systems you learned in this blog post, try them out in your company, and test new variations on each one to reach new heights in your business.

The post The 5 Selling Systems Your Business Needs to Scale appeared first on DigitalMarketer.