Tag Archives: sales

How to find leads on Twitter

Twitter is full of useful and relevant information for your business. You can find industry news, business tips, discussions including Twitter chats and perhaps most important of all; leads.

Here’s an anecdote that demonstrates that leads, even for a niche business, are there to be found on Twitter.

Earlier this week, Cheltenham voice over artist and copywriter Serena Gay - you can email Serena at [email protected] - was having a conversation about social media with Belinda Wilson @GlosJobs. Serena mentioned that she wasn’t convinced that Twitter was the right social network for her business. Wishing to help Serena and as someone who uses Twitter to obtain leads, Belinda decided to see how many people were talking about voice over artists. Using Tweet Binder she discovered that there were 270 tweets in the past week including the phrase ‘voice over artist’ reaching a potential 423,774 people. Here are a few examples of the 270 tweets she found from a quick search:

Freelance voiceover artists wanted at Adams Media Services. Paid work, good opportunity. Closes TODAY. Details - http://t.co/oWAepum3wK

— The Pips (@ThePipscouk) October 10, 2013

If anyone can do and American accent and wants to do some voice over work for an Ad let me know

— Mark edwards (@greenpigsfly) October 9, 2013

Hi @findaTVexpert i need a voice over artist who is available this month. Do you know anybody who would be interested in this?

— Rohini Makwana (@RohiniMakwana) October 10, 2013

To help you find leads like the above you can use Twitter’s own Advanced Search tool. There are a number of filters you can use to fine tune your search, such as Places which helps you find tweets from people within a certain distance of your town. Handy, if you are looking for business close to home.

For a more automated approach you can set up Twilert to receive emails containing search terms of your choice. Like Twitter’s Advanced Search, this tool also has the advantage of allowing you to find words and phrases in a particular geographical area. Once set up correctly you can receive leads straight to your inbox on a regular basis. Nice. Twilert allows you to search for one word/phrase for free and for additional words and phrases, subscriptions start at $10 per month.

For more help on finding leads for your business please contact me to arrange a one-to-one consultation or a half-day social media workshop.

Example of a Facebook fan helping Sales

A simple illustration of how your customers can act as a powerful division of your Sales and Marketing Department can be seen on the Whole Foods Market Cheltenham Facebook Page.

Positive comments likes this are a great way to promote your business; this post being visible on the business’ Page as well as in the News Feeds of the the friends of the person posting.  As the old adage goes, “the best way to get business is by word of mouth”.

It’s also great to see the quick response by Whole Foods Market acknowledging the positive comment and suggesting another visit to the store.

If you have examples of good or bad use of Facebook please let me know by posting them in the Comments below.

5 steps to obtaining sales through LinkedIn

When making an approach to a potential new client on LinkedIn it can be difficult not to come across as pushy or spammy. If you follow the process below you’ll avoid being pushy and will improve your chances of obtaining quality business via LinkedIn.

Here are five steps to obtaining sales through LinkedIn:

1) Saved searches - set up saved searches (business version only) to arrange a weekly email of potential contacts. For example, if you provide medical supplies to doctor’s surgeries you can receive a weekly email of local doctors. For instructions on how to set up a LinkedIn saved search view this #tweetthat video.

2) Focus on 2nd tier connections - by searching for 2nd tier connections you automatically have something in common with your prospect; a mutual connection. You can also use this connection to make an introduction to your prospect if you don’t have InMail - see point 5.

2) State commonalities and be brief - mentioning a shared hobby or a mutual connection sets the tone in an initial message and should create some interest to your approach. For example, if you’ve done some work for a mutual connection - see point 2 - make sure to mention it and refer to the project if relevant.  We are all very busy and an over long message might not get read at all. Make sure your initial message is no more than 150 words.

4) Talk about working together - Rather than blatant self promotion talk about ‘working together’ and make sure to state the benefits of doing so.

5) Consider InMail - one of the benefits of LinkedIn’s Business account is the facility to be able to send an email to any member of LinkedIn; and there are a 150 million of them. Your message will also be displayed on their homepage. By using LinkedIn this way you’re 30 times more likely to get a response using InMail than by a regular email.

You can find out more about using LinkedIn at my regular training sessions in Cheltenham - book now.