In an age where everyone is vying for everyone else’s attention, the slack that people are willing to show you seems to be getting shorter and shorter every year. If you’re in a business that relies on leads, your number one goal should be talking to people who actually want to talk to you. We’ll look at how to make that happen, so you can have more productive conversations. (And we’ll start with aged leads because they’re less expensive and often people’s go-to.)

Recognize the Situation: Working with Aged Leads 

When people want something these days, it’s usually pretty easy to get. Not only are there stores on every corner, but sites like Amazon can overnight whatever they need. There are also plenty of websites that promise to do it all, so you never have to leave your house. And it isn’t just limited to basic household items. All that instant gratification has made people impatient about practically everything.    

If you’re relying on aged leads you have to consider the possibility that either:

• The person accidentally signed up for something without realizing it.  
• They already found what they’re looking for.  
• They were never serious about it and have already forgotten they were ever interested in it.  
• They provided a Google Voice phone number or spam email address and never received your message.  

None of these options are particularly good for your revenue, but they are pretty good if you’re looking to shut down your business in despair.

At Conversion Marketing, we think it’s a lot easier if you think about aged leads as more of an opportunity to build up your contacts list rather than an instant money-maker. You don’t necessarily have to hit the hard sell immediately, but rather talk to people on their level (when you can get ahold of them at all). Maybe they aren’t interested in what you’re offering now, but ask for a call back in a few months. (Just make sure to actually call them back.) Maybe they would never buy from you because it’s not in their budget, but they have a brother-in-law who might be interested. Leaving the conversations more open-ended is a way to let people know that you’re less interested in their money and far more into what you can do for them.  

Get the Right Information

The lists that you’re working with are your bread-and-butter. If they’re slapped together from outdated sources, it’s not going to take that many attempts before you realize that you’re working with a dud. While some of it does come down to what kind of technology is being used to assemble the list, your leads ultimately need to be curated by people who know your industry. In other words, if you’re going to spring for real-time leads, you better be certain that they’re going to offer you the most efficient ways to get your pitch out to the public.  

At Conversion Marketing, our staff is here to work with you and ensure you talk to people who won’t hang up in frustration or scream at you about violating their privacy. This is not to say that we can eliminate the possibility of this occurring (as no one can), but the goal is to put you in the driver’s seat so you can steer the conversation. If you want to learn more about what we do — and more importantly, what our results look like — we’re here to give you the low down on finding better leads.  

New homeowners are often overlooked by numerous businesses, despite the fact that this demographic often has big plans for their new space. We’ll look at how you can appeal to them and what kind of information you need before diving into a new strategy.  

Why Homeowners Are Overlooked 

In a lot of ways, it makes sense for businesses to ignore new homeowners. After all, they likely just spent much of their savings on the home, so why would they be ready to dump even more as soon as they move in? (They’re also likely to be exhausted from the moving process.) In addition, many business owners might discount new homeowners entirely if there isn’t a lot of turnover in their area — why go after such a small portion of people when you could be casting your nets a lot wider?

Why You Need to Pay Attention 

New homeowners are excited about their new property, and they’re ready to invest in it to make it better. Even if they’re just moving across the street, this is an opportunity for them to build a different life for themselves and their family. Whether you’re a gardener, kitchen designer, or new solar panel installer, this is the chance to talk to people and capitalize on their motivation. If they’re willing to take bold steps, you should be willing to pick up the slack. 

Marketing Campaigns 

Before you start anything, make sure you know:

• Locations: You should ideally have this down to a cross-street science. Going outside the boundaries can potentially compromise your quality if you make too many concessions. 
• Format: Would you rather talk to people on the phone or send them a mailer? Calls are more immediate and harder to ignore. Even in the age of screening, they’re often more effective than business owners give them credit for. However, direct mailers are often a non confrontational way to introduce your business. It’s a local ‘hello’ that people might be thankful for. 
• Message: Are you telling a new homeowner that you’re cheaper than your competitors? More efficient? More experienced? Better looking? Whatever it is you’re trying to tell them, just keep in mind that they’re probably still wincing from the down payment. (And they probably are pretty tired from moving.)
• CTA: Do you want people to get an estimate? Come into your shop? Save the environment one purchase at a time? Make sure you know what you want your customers to do so they don’t have to do any more decision-making (may we remind you they’ve already done enough of that). 
• Tracking: How will you measure how effective your campaign is? Some marketers will set up two separate phone numbers (say, one for direct mail and one for cold calling), and then determine how many people call in on each line. 

The Importance of Data 

At Conversion Marketing, our job is to get you data that you can trust, help you design campaigns that will work with your target demographic, and help you adjust them if they’re not landing with people. No matter what area of the country you live in, new homeowners can be a source of revenue that you hadn’t even considered. 

The catch is that you need to know who you’re talking to before you pitch them a service or product that they either have no use for or couldn’t afford in their wildest dreams. If you want to scale your income up, we’re here to tell you what you need to know. Contact us today to learn more.