The Ladder of Lead Generation

I’ve learned a lot of things by co-hosting the 2Bobs podcast that Blair Enns and I do together. Each episode, whether I’m the one interviewing or being interviewed by Blair, forces me to think about a specific topic and tentatively develop a perspective that makes sense. I’ll then gingerly apply it in my mind to the thousands of firms we’ve worked with and see if it resonates.

(By the way, I hope you’ll give the podcast a listen to if you don’t already consume it regularly. There’s a new episode released every other Wednesday morning. And as a nod to our audience, there are no sponsors or ads. We try to be funny for 10 seconds, usually unsuccessfully, but then dive right into the topic. We’re now at 227 episodes and counting, and the listenership keeps rising to keep it as the No. 1 podcast in this space.)

A Simple Concept

One of the things I learned from Blair is to think of all things we do for lead generation as rungs on a ladder. Here is why that resonated with me, and I want you to think of it the same way. And a fair warning, here: I’m going to wear this metaphor out.

• Every single tactic has a certain level of impact and thus can be ranked somewhere on that ladder. At the top might be a well-received TED talk or a book that goes viral. At the bottom you might have the intern stand out front with a sandwich board sign. Experts, who have paid their dues and who have earned awareness in the marketplace, don’t need to cold call someone. But they might have to do that at early phases along their path.
• You’re only on a few steps at a time. You can’t possibly do a dozen things well. No, pick a few things and just nail them. And pick things that match your aptitude so that you’re not always looking for reasons to stop doing them. You stand at a certain place on a ladder. That’s where you are, and that’s where you try to do your best.
• You climb to higher impact things as your stature rises. In Secret Tradecraft of Elite Advisors, I give the illustration of speaking. Maybe you start with a free webinar, then you’re on a panel at an industry conference, then you do a breakout by yourself, and then a keynote, and then a keynote for money. There are only certain things “available” to you at any given point in your career but climb as high as you can at each phase.
• You take your foot off one rung before you put it on another. You’re exchanging rungs. In this sense, don’t add things to your lead generation plan without figuring out which things could be dropped in order to leave room for the new thing(s). In other words, I think you can give the intern a break from time to time.

Like I said: I was going to wear out the metaphor. Oh wait! One more!

Leaning the Ladder

One last thought for you. If you’re not leaning that ladder against a strong, addressable positioning, it’s just lying on the floor tripping everybody that walks near it. We can help with that via a New Business Audit.

Sometimes the only thing that’ll take you to a doctor is some medical issue that you can’t keep ignoring, and sometimes the only pain sufficient enough to reexamine your positioning is the hopelessness of putting together an effective marketing plan for a generalist firm. If you’re feeling that pain, let’s talk.