Marketing is one of those strange disciplines thatโs a mix of art and science. Thereโs no doubt that being a good marketer takes a creative brain and the ability to think outside the box, but itโs also about conducting rigorous testing and creating repeatable results.
Sometimes, marketers place too much emphasis on the creative aspect, and not enough on results. Tom Poland is not one of those people. ย
Tom is the creator of Leadsology, which he defines as the โscience of being in demand.โ Tom has spent years honing his lead generation strategy to the point where he has a sure-fire method for creating a flow of high-quality, inbound enquiries to his business on a weekly basis.
Itโs so effective, he even trains other business owners how to do it. Recently, I spoke to Tom for my Marketing Speak podcast, and he had some powerful advice on lead generation and marketing in general. Itโs an awesome episode, and I suggest you check it out.
In the meantime, here are a few insights Tom revealed on the show to help make your marketing more scientific.
1. Avoid Random Acts of Marketing
Every business owner has hit that low point where the enquiries start to dry up. Unfortunately, itโs only when things get really bad that many people start to think, โWe should do some marketing.โ Often this means a series of sporadic actions, like grabbing a coffee with a well-connected friend, sending a few emails to old clients, or signing up for networking events.
According to Tom, this is not how you should go about generating leads at all. These are โrandom acts of marketingโโthat is, half-hearted efforts to gain new clients that are usually a one-off.
The problem with random acts of marketing is exactly that: theyโre random! These are not repeatable or measurable actions. Say you get some work from your coffee date. Fine, but how many times can you have coffee with a friend to generate leads? Itโs unpredictable and unsustainable.
2. Donโt Compromise Who You Are For Marketingโs Sake
When you think about marketing your business, there are a lot of โshouldsโ that come to mind. You โshouldโ set up funnels. You โshouldโ create personalized Facebook ads. You โshouldโ be blogging on LinkedIn.
Tomโs response is counterintuitive. Rather than forcing yourself to set up and execute marketing campaigns that feel like a chore, donโt do it. Instead, focus on marketing in a way that feels natural and effortless.
According to Tom, โ97% of marketing campaigns have failed for the one simple reason and that is the person thatโs meant to be executing them, doesnโt want to do them.โ
If you love talking on the phone, stick to that. If youโre more of a tech nerd than a people person, maybe online will suit you better. Tom says, โIf in your body youโre going, โI donโt know if itโs needed, but I suppose I should do it because I need clients,โ then donโt do it because youโre compromising your personality…youโre compromising your lifeโs purpose.โ ย
People recognize when something is inauthentic or forced. The best strategy is to do what comes naturally.
3. Create Simple, Repeatable Lead Generation Processes
Thereโs so much noise in the marketing world and so many people telling you what you should be doing that it can sometimes be overwhelming.
Many business owners get confused or spread themselves thin trying to do it all. Instead,ย develop a lead generation process that you can perform weekly and that you know will get results.
“A lot of people are waiting to be discovered. Theyโre waiting to appear on someoneโs stage or get the invitation from Oprah or if they can just get the one big breakthrough, and thatโs not repeatable. We need to have a system that can be rinsed and repeated. Preferably, rinsed and repeated by someone else, by a contractor, so that you and I and our clients can do the things we loved to do,” says Tom.
For more powerful insights from Tom Poland, listen to the full interview at the Marketing Speak website.ย
