Hot Lead Generation Tips for Summer!

Summer is almost over, don’t let the heat cool down your business! Summer means vacations, rain, heat, and the “summer slump” in sales. You don’t have to let the heat beat up your business though. Have fun with our hot lead generation tips for summer below.

Flash Mobs at the Beach

Working on work may seem like the last thing you want to do while at the beach. You can turn it into something fun, enjoy the sun, and shake up some excitement about your brand or company. Take a “demo box” out to the beach with you and have fun setting up a flash mob. With just a post on Craigslist or some targeted social media posts, your business should have no trouble getting together a group to unleash a marketing flash mob.

If you are unfamiliar with the term, a marketing flash mob (or flashmob) is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform some unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then disperse – but sponsored by a commercial venture, company or idea. Here is a link to a great article with 5 AMAZING Flash Mob Marketing Examples that Generated Buzz.

Cool Down with Freebies

The only thing people love more than free, is something free and refreshing. Look into having some custom water bottle labels printed for your company and hand them out at festivals, downtown crawls, art walks, or community events. Try handing out ice cream cones with your logo printed on the cone paper, or pass out fans with your logo on them. Getting out there and giving something free and refreshing to your prospective clients shows them how much you care about not just their business, but also them.

Looking for custom water bottles? Why not work with one of our clients, the fine folks at at: Free Water for You

Street Art

You don’t have to be a professionally trained artist to get away with street art marketing. If you have a printer, some cardboard, a water bottle, and old chalk you can start putting up temporary “tags” all over town with your business name or logo. Spend some time before large events decorating the space leading up to and away from the event, and make sure your business is the first and last thing on their mind for the evening. Please do keep in mind that anything permanent such as spray paint is considered graffiti and is frowned upon by most cities and prospective clients.

Sand Sculptures

While you’re at the beach, have fun, get your hands dirty, and drum up some excitement about your business. It could be as simple as a giant sandcastle with your company logo printed on the flag; or a giant sand lettering of your companies name. For more adventurous marketers you can make giant sand cars, or animals, to really turn a head.

Mobile Solutions

No, we’re not talking about helping grandmothers use their iPhones. Find a way of mobilizing your business. Vinyl wrap your car, or look into a company “hype” trailer that you can park at large events. Make sure you have plenty of freebies to hand out, along with ample business cards and marketing pamphlets!

Pop Ups

Business’ have taken a new directly lately in wanting to support each other in “pop up” shops or events. The idea is simple. You continue to do what you’ve been doing for your business, but just in a new location for a small period of time. Local bars have recently taken a liking to trading staffs for a week with another bar out of state and giving each town something new to smile about for a week.

Don’t Just Sell Yourself

If you find yourself out at an event try to take off your “sales hat” and put on your “networking hat”. Most people attending weekend events or family themed outings are not in their business mindset. Keep some of your lead forms nearby if you do happen to find someone who’s sincerely interested. The real goal behind guerrilla and pop up marketing is to build your brand, establish new contacts, and reinforce your local presence.

Put the Table Behind You (Literally)

When at a business expo it’s easy to get caught up behind the table. Just remember, it’s even harder to break down the wall between you and a potential customer when there is a 3 foot wide partition seperating you. That’s why we recommend staying out from behind the table as much as possible. By putting yourself out into the foot traffic, you’ve made yourself more approachable. The pressure that you’re going to try to sell someone something is alleviated, and you come off as more open to conversation.

FOLLOW UP

All of the marketing tips and tricks listed above are completely useless if you do nothing to follow up. Make sure to utilize a CRM software to help manage your leads and contacts. Look into a online newsletter solution, and set up a follow up schedule. Within the first 3 business days of an event send emails to all your new contacts thanking them for their time and leaving the door open for communications. If you have a limited time promotion that you would like to let them know about, send another email to them after a week has passed offering this promotion. After a few weeks have passed, go ahead and set up the contacts into your newsletter contact list. If this is a yearly event, make sure you reach back out to them before the event. Invite them to stop by your table again and maybe include a special “return visitor” promotion.