Even the best, most capable agency is really only as good as the clients it can attract, and that’s not something that can be left up to chance.
Although reviews and referrals can be incredibly helpful, they’re not enough on their own to grow your client roster and scale your agency into the future.
You also need a comprehensive, reliable strategy for generating new leads that are solid fits for your company and service catalog.
Here’s a breakdown of why it’s crucial to be proactive about generating agency leads, as well as a few tips to get you started.
Why is Lead Generation Important for Agencies?
The world of digital marketing is booming right now, but it’s also incredibly competitive. Marketers who are serious about getting ahead have their work cut out for them.
That said, they need a plan not just for attracting new clients but for attracting the right clients. A reliable strategy for generating top-tier agency leads is a must for reasons like the following.
Achieve Better Lead Quality
Keeping your agency successful and growing involves more than spreading the word and attracting as many clients as possible.
Unless you’re actually attracting clients who are suitable for your agency and its services, your sales team won’t be able to perform at peak efficiency and close deals.
Grow Your Market
When an agency is brand new, it’s likely only targeting a highly niched group. But sooner or later, every agency will get golden opportunities to expand into other markets.
Quality agency leads are the way to make this happen.
Rely Less on Cold Methods
Many agency sales reps spend a fair amount of time chasing leads via methods like cold calling and email outreach. And there’s nothing wrong with these strategies.
However, attracting better agency leads and more of them means your sales teams can spend more of their productive time actually closing deals and making sales.
Attract Business Alliances
A great lead generation strategy doesn’t just bring an agency more clients. It can also lead to opportunities to network with industry peers, collaborate with potential business partners, and gain access to their audiences in the process.
9 Steps to Get More Agency Leads for Your Company
Now that you better understand why proactive lead generation is so potentially beneficial for your company, it’s time to dive into how you can start reaping the benefits for your agency.
Here are a few key strategies to get started with.
1. Leverage webinars to demonstrate authority
Prospective agency clients are trusting the professionals they hire with a lot, including their own bottom lines and professional futures.
You need a way to convince potential agency leads that you’re an authority in your field and that they can trust your company to do what you say it can do.
The best way to do this is to show that your team members are the experts to trust, and webinars fit the bill perfectly. They’re also terrific ways to foster likability and generate a feeling of exclusivity around your brand.
Modern consumers love value, so offer your webinar for free. Make it informative, and fill it with reasons for interested parties to choose you. Then watch the high-quality agency leads pour in.
2. Upgrade your contact forms
Sooner or later, all of your agency leads will wind up filling out your contact form, but forms are precisely where so many agencies wind up losing people.
Dull, tedious contact forms that look just like the forms other agencies rely on can underwhelm prospective customers and make them think twice about taking that next step.
Instead, invest in forms that generate personalized responses to make consumers feel seen and heard. Interactive content can help a lot with this.
It’s also worth offering people a little something extra to help seal the deal. Think free estimates, initial consultations, and incentives that can help a prospective customer decide.
3. Include video in your marketing strategy
Video isn’t just popular these days. It’s absolutely massive, and it’s not hard to see why. Video is dynamic, engaging, and easy to consume. It’s also an excellent way for agencies to really show what they’re capable of.
- Video efficiently communicates more information in less time.
- Social media algorithms love video and show it to more people.
- It’s a great way to make a near-instant connection with a target audience.
Plus, modern consumers want to feel personally connected to the brands they trust with their money.
A well-crafted marketing video can humanize your brand, too. This ad from Slack is a fantastic example that really gets it right.
4. Use social media to your advantage
Speaking of marketing methods that really humanize a brand, it’s crucial to use social media to your agency’s advantage. Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and others can help you:
- Identify and target key decision-makers within organizations or companies.
- Build and demonstrate authority.
- Field questions about your product catalog and services.
- Become a daily fixture in your prospective customers’ lives.
- Entertain, inspire, and empower your audience.
Social media is even more effective at generating agency leads when you double down on your efforts with highly targeted, paid social media advertising.
5. Build industry cred by writing a book
Some achievements are so widely recognized as indicators of authority that they impress nearly everyone, and having a book under one’s belt is absolutely one of them.
Prospective agency clients are always looking to get increasingly better at what they do, and reading is one highly efficient way to do this. Now imagine your ideal clients with copies of your book in their hands.
If they like what they read, you’ve got a legion of eager new clients to sell your services to. So write the authority book on a critical industry topic in your niche.
Get it published, distributed, and promoted. Then watch a sea of fresh agency leads pour in.
Not much of a writer yourself? Consider hiring a professional ghostwriter to help you develop your ideas into the next big bestseller in your industry.
6. Use events and conferences to your advantage
Becoming a fixture at industry events like conferences, conventions, and similar options won’t be enough on its own to generate all of the agency leads you’ll need to grow your company.
But it’s a great way to supplement other efforts and kick your industry influence up a notch or two.
Yes, you can certainly be a participant in existing events, especially high-profile examples and trendy hybrid events. But don’t write off the idea of coordinating your own.
Agencies that plan and run their own events instantly become go-to authorities on that topic or industry. Doing so also offers you a fantastic degree of control over the audiences you target and connect with, not to mention an easy way to differentiate yourself from the competition.
7. Get listed in key directories
Many agencies overlook this tactic, and they really shouldn’t, as it’s a wonderful way to generate better-quality leads and more of them.
Prospective clients who are serious about finding an agency to partner with and ready to convert do check directories and other industry listings when considering their options.
Directories are also a reliable way to reinforce your brand reputation efforts and boost visibility.
Target tech directories, as well as work showcases, as they’re prime picks for serious clients. Make sure you appear on key review sites and general directories like Yelp, YellowPages, and Google My Business, as well.
8. Become a content publishing machine
Top-tier marketing content is an absolute must for any digital-age company, but it’s essential for an agency that needs to inspire trust in a target audience.
It’s also vitally important for your brand to be an authority content fixture in as many key places as possible.
Target platforms that cater to intelligent readers who are always looking for expert advice and detailed answers to their burning questions. Think options like Medium, Quora, and LinkedIn — platforms that make building a loyal audience reasonably effortless.
Set a publishing schedule and stick to it. Respond to readers who make an effort to engage with your content. And be sure to take advantage of opportunities to point your audience toward your mailing lists and contact forms.
In fact, you can scale your content production and streamline its management with our Content Cloud. Check it out!
9. Tap into additional audiences
Naturally, reaching and connecting with your own target audience should be your primary concern, but you shouldn’t stop there.
Options like guest blogging and influencer collaborations are also incredibly efficient ways to attract quality agency leads.
Collaborating with peers and other thought leaders in your niche or industry gives you the golden opportunity to tap into additional audiences that are already dialed in and ready to engage. It’s also a great way to boost your SEO efforts with quality backlinks.
Network with key industry figures who have audiences of their own that you’d love to reach.
Craft professional, personalized pitches that tell the person on the receiving end exactly what they can expect in return for helping you. Then make the most of the opportunities that roll in.
Wrap Up
Naturally, understanding how to generate plenty of high-quality agency leads is only part of what it takes to grow your client list and fatten up your bottom line.
You also need to know how to get them to convert once you have their attention.
Check out our interactive ebook on generating and converting leads, and develop the skills you need to positively smash your growth goals.
You’ll learn the difference between micro and macro conversions, master best practices for maximizing your results, and even discover incredible tools that take the guesswork out of the entire process. Get started today!
