Lead Generation Is More Doable Than You Think

AMY: Welcome to the Peaceful Entrepreneur podcast. We're together, we're learning how to have peace in the process of everyday business ownership by improving one step at a time, how we think and what we do. I'm your host, Amy Stout.

If you've spent any time in business, you probably have realized that there are a lot of steps in between initially creating your offer and selling it and actually carrying it out for your ideal client. There's a lot that has to happen in between there and I don't think I ever realized the steps. Like I think for the longest time I was like, yeah, marketing, sales, lead generation. It's just like, it'll just happen.

And it's just somewhere in the middle. But I have recently just been diving into how these three things are very distinct, very separate strategies that need to be created. And I've started educating myself on each piece of the process. And so today we're going to dive into lead generation, which is so crucial. And I can't believe that I didn't really pay attention to it for so long because if you think about it, it's the first part of the process. It's the first part of the funnel. 'Cause if you think about it, once you have your offer set, that's the next thing you gotta do. You gotta start figuring out how to get eyes on your offer. And if you're not doing that, you can't carry out the rest of the process.

So I'm bringing in the expert today, my friend Amber, to talk about lead generation. She has built an entire business on coaching and specializing in training other people to do lead generation and helping them do it. And I'll be honest, I'm learning right alongside you during this episode. I learned so much and I truly came away from this episode like, okay, this is totally doable. Like it's not a big mountain that I have to climb. There are very specific small steps that I can put into my daily rhythm that will not be a burden, but will yield extremely high results. So let's go ahead and dive in, get your notebook ready. And if you want more of Amber after the episode, you can check out the links down below in the description and you can learn all about how you can connect with her, get trained by her, or work with her in a different capacity. So let's dive in.

Amber, thank you so much for joining me. I cannot wait to have this conversation today.

AMBER: Thanks, Amy. I'm so excited to be on here and chat with you and connecting.

AMY: Yes, always. I think when we first got on the first call we ever had together, we just talked about how we both love to just connect with other business owners, hear other people's stories, encourage each other. And that's a lot about what we're going to talk about today because that is what you've built your entire business on.

So I remember when you reached out to me first, it was via email. And I was like, "Okay, I've never heard of Amber before, but her website looks legit and her Instagram looks legit." And I'm like, "Okay, yeah, let's have a call. Let's see how it goes." That's kind of how I took it.

But I am excited to just hear you share your expertise today on lead generation. Because like you say, it's something that probably a lot of us do without realizing it. But it's something that if we can kind of harness its power and be really intentional with it, it can revolutionize our business.

So I'm excited for you to share about that today.

AMBER: Absolutely. I think it's so much, you know, like you said, we're already doing it. Lead generation, it's more of like this title, the big scary word that we put on it. when we break it down, we are connecting and being social on social media.

You're engaging with people. You're, you know, talking about your cats and your jugs and your coffee. That's a lead generation, you know, at the end of the day and then you know people are like, "Okay, but the sales aspect." Into that, at the end of the day, we're just serving people. So it all connects together with connecting. Yes, absolutely. So for me, like I was really excited when you reached out, because when I started coaching at the end of last year, this was something that he brought up and he like gave me a list of like a hundred lead generation strategies and like 50, you know, less than 50 were applicable to my business.

But it was kind of my first introduction to the formal term, like you're saying. And I realized like, okay, I need to have some sort of intentional strategy when it comes to this. Because I think as a new business owner who doesn't have business training or experience, you kind of lump like lead generation and marketing and sales is is just like one thing in your head, but it's actually not.

AMY: So let's break down this one thing. Would you kind of start by sharing with us what your view is of what is good lead generation and what can that kind of play out looking like, kind of like you've already started to share?

AMBER: Yeah, so lead generation to me is really human connection. We are connecting on a deeper level through comments, through DMs, voice notes, social media and the online space has given us an amazing opportunity to connect with people from all over the world for free. And so having the ability to, first of all, know in your business who you want to work with.

So as soon as you know who you want to work with, you can go find them in the online space and start that relationship. And then you can take it as far as you want, you know, whether that looks like networking, podcast guests, collaborations, or sales, and they end up buying from you. But I think it's the important aspect of really detaching from any outcome when you're doing lead generation.

When you're searching for people, connecting with people, really just sitting in the moment and not worrying about what the next message is going to be tomorrow.

AMY: That's a good point because I was kind of, as I'm thinking, as you're talking, I'm like, it's so hard not to have that instant gratification and the instant return because lead generation is probably a bit of a longer game. It's a longer game, right?

You're not just going to send a DM and get a sale the next day. What's your mindset when it comes to, "Okay, I'm going to set out and do this many connections today. How do you kind of prepare yourself for like some of them might confuse some of them right now?

AMBER: Yeah, so really, my mindset is I'm building relationships and growing my network, because I don't know who they know. People can connect you to other people. There's referrals, there's word of mouth, there's getting in rooms with different people. And the more we grow our network, the wider audience we have, the more people we are visible in front of.

And I think visibility has almost, I feel like it's become a buzzword. Um, you know, everyone's like, you need to become visible. And I'm like, you know, and that's been said to me and like everybody, right? But how do you become visible? You become visible with lead generation. Let me ask you this.

How much do you need to do before you start doing lead generation? You know what I mean? I'm just thinking about the precursors. Your offers probably need to be pretty solid. Your feed and your website probably need to be pretty established. What are the precursors? So definitely knowing, first of all, your ideal client, who they are down to as science and not just like they're married kids, but like SEO keywords that you can search because all of the social media platforms are searchable. So search keywords to find your people. So knowing that is so important.

And then yes, having your offers or at least one, at least one offer, solid, you know, one solid so that you can actually offer them something or like having a freebie to offer them. You need to offer people something.

That's good to get them into your circle because also lead gen is off of, it can be off of social media. So your email list is a massive lead generator. So growing that, having all of that. So knowing, you know, your ideal client, your offer, and yes, having like a website and having a feed and all of that, um, I decided spontaneous, well, semi-spontaneously, but not spontaneous. All at the same time, I start a new Instagram account for myself. I am starting like a new one because the one that I'm currently on, I love it. I love my people. I have grown it. I looked when I created it and it was in 2012.

So there are times, so it's taken a beating in the last 12 years. And so I had been toying with the idea. And so I'm literally massively doing lead generation engagement right now. And growing my own account and really transforming things. And it's okay to have this fresh perspective.

And I don't like, if I don't make sales, I don't make sales. It's about connecting. Yes, sales are great, but like connecting and growing my network is priority right now.

AMY: That's a great thing that I kind of want to continue asking you about because I think it's a big question that people ask themselves when they start a new project. For example, when I started this podcast, it was a question of, do I keep everything on one Instagram account or do I make a separate one for the podcast? I ultimately decided to start a second one. But I know that there's pros and cons to each.

So you're kind of saying like you don't have to be scared of starting a new account. And I think I was scared because I was like, Oh no, what? But it's something exciting and new. And then you get to really hone in on what you want because yes, you can revamp an Instagram account, but it's a lot.

AMBER: Yeah. Especially, you know, I had 1700 followers, I just removed over 100 and I was going to keep going on. And I was like, okay. And I'm also having going in a new direction with my business.

Therefore wanting a different audience. And so when you're really looking at, okay, where's my audience? Who do I want? And if there's like an imbalance and that's part of why I kind of want to start a new one is really hone in on that community feel and bring a different vibe to this new Instagram account. I love that. So once people have figured out who they're going for, what they're offering and kind of have started to establish whatever online presence they have, what rhythms would you recommend for someone starting out trying to dip their toe into this lead generation world, where would you recommend that they start?

Start by setting a timer for like 15 to 30 minutes a day. And you can separate those like 30 minutes up, whatever. 30 minutes is just a really good kind of base. If you want only a 15 start there and start with going, I'm going to find five new people, send out three new messages, if that's like your logical brain, you know, or just be like, I'm gonna connect with as many people as I can in this timeframe, without having like a alternate reason.

AMY: Just connect.

AMBER: Just connect, I'm just going to comment on posts that I really enjoy. I'm going to, you know, reply to stories that I thought were really funny or inspirational today. I'm just going to check, Oh, I haven't heard from that person. I was going to send a quick check-in message. Hey, how are you? So Instagram engagement is where you would start.

Yeah, I would start there on your socials, just getting, you know, some of that going. And then of course those DM conversations, you can take it further, you know, and continue. Do you want to jump on a coffee chat? Do you want to, you know, oh, I see that you're really interested in this service right now. Can this help you?

AMY: Yeah, that's good. I think a lot, I tell a lot of my clients about how like the different uses for each online presence, right? Like a website is for something different than an email list is. And the social media's purpose is even different than that. And I feel like I encourage a lot of people like, "Hey, you need to get an email list because you need to have people's actual contact information so that if Instagram goes away tomorrow, you have a way to reach out."

And I think that that principle still fits here, but you're focusing more on the like, "We got to get that first step there. Like we got to get people in the door and social media is where you start for that.

AMBER: Yeah, social media is really going to be the top of your funnel, you know, and then your DMs and email list, you know, then they're probably going to get to your website and then they're going to make that sale. It's a lot of steps before someone gets that sale. You're going to, yeah, of course there might be that odd person that jumps in your DMs and is like, send me the link, I'm on this, but not a lot of people are going to be that.

You need to take them through the steps and that involves a lot of nurturing. So yes, you can nurture to social media and email at the same time. They're on your email list. Make sure they're on your Instagram or your LinkedIn, whatever, and making sure that they're like connected. Yeah. I want to ask your opinion. Because I do some cold email reach outs to potential new clients. What's your thought on those versus Instagram and stuff?

AMY: So I have also done those and obviously I do them for podcast pitches as well. Um, podcast pitching for that has gone very well. Um, most of my podcast interviews have come from cold emails. The cold emails for clients did not go as well.

So, but I know many people and I have actually offered it as a service where I collect email addresses for people to send out quality emails and they have a very good conversion rate. I've had some good experience with it.

I think it's definitely can be part of your strategy. You know, I gave it, I tried it. did not work for me, which is okay, but I know that it works for other people. I actually will do a mix of the two. Like if I don't hear back from them within a week on email, I'll DM them. And then if I don't hear back from them on an, like after another week, I'll send a follow-up email. So I'll just kind of like try and ping pong and hit like different.

So I think it's, you know, a still a super important strategy that you can use because some people are going to be more on their email and it falls down to who is your ideal client, where are they and what is their business?

AMBER: Yeah, that's very true. Just go find them where they're at. And that's why it's so crucial. I'm like, if you don't know, whenever people are like, I'm having trouble finding clients, then I'm like, you don't know who you're looking for. Step one, if you are, say that you're having trouble finding clients, it's because you don't know who you're looking for.

So you need to back up and do that work that we all avoid because no one likes to do it. I'm so guilty of being like, I don't need to do that. I don't need to do ideal science, but it's so crucial for lead gen engagement.

AMY: That's so good. You're right. I want to go back to this connection thing because we've talked about before, connections are really everything. It's not about what you know, it's about who you know. So let's just sit here for a minute and I I want to hear your experience because I have personal stories I could share, but like, what's your experience with just why is that true? How have you learned that in your life?

AMBER: So connections have really opened up so many doors of meeting amazing people, of, you know, speaking in groups, speaking on podcasts, you know, meeting incredible clients, meeting incredible coaches, you know, sitting in rooms that I was like, I don't think I should be here. But I was still there. And I think when you connect with those people, there's always going to be something that you relate to them. You know, every person you can probably relate to, if you don't relate to a person on some level, it's just not meant to be in, it's okay. And that's okay.

But I think when we prioritize connecting, it also like fulfills us. Because as humans, we crave connection. We love love in so many different ways. And so we need to bring this into our lives every single day. Because I think over the last three years, you know, once 2020 hit, there was so much and we cut, you know, people cut off and everything. And so I think it's more important than ever, you know, that there are so many ways to connect and bring each other in, like not even just in person, but you can still have that same like a similar vibe online.

And I think that's like human connection is just like deep rooted in us and people have forgotten.

AMY: That's really good. And I can attest to that. Like the people who have, I either I have randomly found or have randomly found me on Instagram, the amount of like similarity that we have, I'm just always blown away.

Like you said, there's always a connection, but sometimes there's multiple and you're like, how did you find me? How are we the same? And for me with clients, because I have a very like client heavy, ongoing client heavy business, I'm not kidding. When I say all it took was one connection. And now I have like an entire network from that because one connected me to another connected me to another connected me to another.

So if you, again, with the ideal client thing, like you're saying like, find the ideal client, it, break into their sphere, and then get connections from there on out. That's what's worked for me.

And you know, people are like, the online space is so big. And I'm like, it's not, it's a very small, you can talk to someone, they know that person and they know that person and they know that person and they know you from that person, even though you didn't know them. It is a giant circle where everybody somehow probably recognizes you.

The world is big, but the world is small. Like there's so, because I also have to tell myself, cause I get into scarcity mindset. So I have to tell myself sometimes like, no, there are people out there. They are there. Um, but you're right.

There is, everyone is connected. Like usually when people find me, I have at least two or three people in common. That's actually usually how I decide if I'm going to follow them back or not. Is like, are we in the same circles?

AMBER: Yeah, absolutely. And it's really also impactful to break into new circles. I've been doing more of that lately just to be, and it's opening up other circles and other circles. And it's widening that network even more. And I think that's like, you can stay comfy in your circle. We do that of our connections, but when we start making new connections and going into a new circle, that's when things can really start happening because then it's out of our comfort zone.

AMY: Okay, I want to ask, because I've been saving this question, but how have you, with all these strategies that we've been talking about, how have you seen that actually play out practically in the success of your business? How has it worked for you?

AMBER: Yeah. So I ended, as soon as I niched down to lead generation engagement three years ago, as a service provider, I was booked out in six months because people saw the amazing benefits of connecting. And, you know, I help clients book out theirs. I helped a client, you know, book out three of her group programs, like continually, you know, her first 50K launch because of the connections and the relationships that I helped build for these clients.

And for my own business, it's just the continuance, You know, I would say like my client success is my success because you know, you help so much within that. I agree with you there. So when, when you're practically going on and you've set your timer and you're doing your lead gen, are you spending a certain amount of time nurturing the connections you already have and then another certain amount of time breaking out into those new circles?

So you can break up, say you have 30 minutes, so I would spend maybe the first 15 minutes like nurturing your current audience, and then like 15 minutes breaking into new audiences, those new people. And my favorite thing, if someone, if I start following someone after I've commented, I've checked out their feed, maybe I've replied to a story, and then they start following me back, then I, and some people, this is an opinion of mine. I like welcome messages.

I send out and it's not a spammy sleazy. It's a, Hey, welcome to my corner of Instagram. How's your week going? Hey, welcome to my community. What are you working on this week?

I spark a conversation.

AMY: Yeah, I think that is one of the most valuable things about what you specifically offer is how you focus on being genuine. Because I feel like I can just see it from a mile away if someone has just hired someone to engage on their Instagram and they're just like throwing a comment out there just to throw a comment out there. Like you can spot that, you know, and nobody's going to respond.

So the fact that your focus is on the intentionality and the genuineness, like that is, I think that's like really the secret to your success. It is because as soon, you know, we are all done with the spammy 2020, you know, vibe. It is raw, now authentic.

You don't need to put emojis as comments because what is that? like and saying love this because what do you love about it? I have replied and been like that's awesome. What's a piece that you loved about it? Comment should spark conversation. That's like your first three second impression in order to bring that conversation on.

Okay. So let's switch gears a little bit. I mean, this is still kind of talking about the success, Like another piece to how you can have success with lead generation, something you mentioned to me before we started recording was keeping track of what you're doing. And I will be the first to say this is the bane of my existence. I don't like to track things, but I know how important it is. So share with me that side of like, okay, you've done the pre-work, you've done the work to connect. What do you need to do after that?

AMBER: Yeah, so I will be completely truthful. I love doing lead chakras for everyone else but myself. And I am working so hard on creating a lead chakra. And I think this is the key here, creating a lead chakra that fits you. Okay, there's not a one size fits all because we all work differently and you don't need to have it all the same, needs to work for you.

You don't have to make it complicated unless you want it to be. You just want it to be a Google spreadsheet with colors and like toggle downs. Do it. But what the lead tracker does is it allows you to stop holding things in your brain and get it out. And this way people don't fall through the cracks because we have people that are like, you know, say you pitched them.

They're like, no, not right now. I had lots of things going on this summer. Can you chat with me again in October? So October rolls around and you were like, I supposed to talk to someone. On your lead tracker, you go, oh yeah, there's an alert set that I need to talk to Susie in October. I'm gonna message her, which by the way, if you haven't talked to Susie between like July and October, that's also another problem. There should have been some messages in there.

But it really is reminding you and I think because we have so much going on between our client work and all of this, and as like a down for you service provider doing numerous clients lead gen names were flying. And so it's so important just to get it out, then you can also make notes like, oh, you know, she, whatever, like has two kids and is super busy or only, or is in this time zone, message them at this time, they answer faster or, oh, they're this fire type. So this is how they like to be spoke to. This is all so good. And I'm also thinking about following up.

Like I have personally seen how much more return you get just from following up with somebody. And so if they fall through the cracks and you don't follow up, you are missing an opportunity. Yes, absolutely. And it really allows you to see where your audience is sitting. Like for, in order for you to create content, Are they like all new followers and you need to do more awareness or, you know, are they like warmer leads and they're really engaged and they're watching and they're stalking, then you need to entice them a little bit. So it also allows you to do other marketing through your business.

So lead generation is just the beginning.

AMY: It is. And I think that the way that you're describing it really does make the big beasts seem a lot smaller because it does feel kind of scary.

But the things you're saying like set a timer for 15 or 30 minutes and then create a tracking system that already works for you so that it doesn't feel as like it's heavy of a lift to do it. Just like do it in that moment. Like it's already fresh on your brain. Just put it down. You know, that makes it feel so much simpler.

And it's making me feel like, okay, I can do this. And that's good because, you know, I think it gets so scary when we put formal words on things, you know, the generation strategy, engagement strategy.

And I'm like, let's just break this down. You're bringing in people, you're connecting with them, you're nurturing them, you may or may not sell to them. And then even after they say no to your sale, okay, cool. But I still really like you. So I'm still going to talk to you.

AMBER: Exactly. I love that. And that's that genuine connection. Like just find someone that you like just cause you like them, not because you think that you're going to make a sale off of them.

AMY: Yeah. So good. Okay. I have a couple more questions for you, but I'm going to start with. For people who are listening to this, some side with me and they're like, okay, I feel equipped. I can do this now. There's some who still probably just don't want to do it. So what offers do you have for, cause I know you do the done for you. What sort of stuff do you have within your business that would support people as they're starting their lead gen process?

AMBER: Yeah. So my done for you services are pretty, I keep a tight lip on them. really what it is is I'm in your account acting as you and I'm bringing in new leads and nurturing them. I also do GM sales or if you are into discovery calls then I drop that link in there for you.

So I'm really helping you manage your account. I'm letting you know where your audience is, how to you know we're going to identify people, we're going to organize them and then And then we're going to activate them in order to create sales and really that community feeling.

AMY: That's so good. I love that. Okay. So that's your main selective.

AMBER: Yeah, that's my like done for you side.

And then I do have a mentorship side. So for VA's or social media managers that are like, I'm doing this for my business. clients are starting to ask about this or you're maybe offering like a 30 minute in with your content and you really want to do more with it. This is where I step in. I have a couple smaller offers this summer.

I'm launching a group program come September that is going to be called Aligned Lead Gen Pro. We are talking all about just connecting with your business and creating those Lee-Gen offers that feel so good to you. I think that's so valuable because it's something that I could probably and will probably quickly lose steam on.

So if I'm not doing it, I think I've decided to schedule a quarterly like revisit my Lee-Gen and marketing strategies and make sure everything's good. But like having that accountability of that group program and having encouragement from you and new ideas from you, I'm sure is going to be so valuable. So I love that idea. Absolutely. And you know, I always love chatting with people in the DMs. If you're like popping, you're like, I just have a random question. I love answering random questions in my DMs about these things because, you know, your question that you've been like wondering about for the last like five days takes me one minute to answer. You can know. So it's not anything for me to give out information that can help you change.

AMY: Yeah, I feel the same way. Like you don't have to be super tight lipped about your knowledge. I appreciate that. I mean, don't like sell yourself short and give your secrets away, but still be generous. There's a balance to find.

So I kind of want to wrap up by talking about like peace, which is our whole premise here. And I'll first want to specifically ask you how focusing on lead gen in your business has brought you peace as a business owner?

AMBER: Well, because I then have an intentional strategy, I am not panicked all the time around doing it throughout the day. When you have a set time for your lead generation and engagement, you're not like, "Oh, I didn't engage today. Oh my gosh." And the thoughts go through your head, but when there's intentional time and intentional focus, which then brings in the lead tracker because you know who to engage with that's already in your audience that needs to be nurtured, then that time is there.

And then it allows those boundaries to come into place, allowing space.

AMY: That's so good.

AMBER: And I think another piece for me would be just knowing that like I have, there's people that I'm connecting with, like it's just the, the feeling of, I don't have any leads right now. You know, you kind of get rid of that because you're always opening new potential connections.

AMY: Yeah, absolutely.

AMBER: And knowing that like, those DMs don't have to be answered every minute of the day. All those comments don't need to be answered. It will be okay.

And I think I tell myself that too all the time because it's like, oh my gosh, but if I don't get back to them right away, then like, what are they going to think of me? But like, and that's where it's okay to leave it. Nothing's going to happen. I'm like, what is going to happen? Ask yourself, what is going to happen if you don't answer that message right now? You're far more worried about it than they are.

AMY: Well, thank you for sharing all your wisdom. I've gotten so many nuggets and I actually literally have it on my list tomorrow to do my quarterly like revamp and, you know, and so I am excited to immediately implement some of these because like you're saying, like just set the timer. I think that when I'm on Instagram just throughout the day as a distraction, it stresses me out.

But if I'm intentional and I just set aside time to just enjoy it, it can actually be really nice. And so I'm excited to put that into practice and just get better because you're right. The world, there is so much out there, so much opportunity, so much potential.

AMBER: Yes, absolutely.

AMY: So thank you so much for being on this was such a good conversation.

AMBER: I can't wait to watch everyone implement their lead then.

AMY: Yes, I'm going to have all of your connections, your Instagram, your website, everything in the descriptions that people can connect. But before we go, my last question, and you can interpret this however you would like, but what is bringing you peace right now, either today or recently this week, I would love to hear.

AMBER: Lately, it is just about creating space in my day to enjoy the small moments. It's, I'm in Alberta, we have winter for eight months out of the year. We're now in like summer.

So, you know, I took my kids to the beach yesterday afternoon. It was a Tuesday afternoon and I was at the beach with my kids, being able to take these moments is what's giving me space. Because when I take this space, I'm so much more creative and happiness and joy all comes.

And then, you know, things like people coming into my space, you know, DMs are happening all because I decided to Just enjoy. I love that margin. Margin brings peace.

AMY: I'm right there with you. I've been in a stage in the last like six weeks that I haven't had as much. I knew I'd like, I knew I was taking it on. So, um, but I'm kind of moving out of that and I'm excited to like, just regain the margin, the time to process the time to just exist, the time to get filled back up by being with family or friends or whatever that is.

AMBER: So important.

AMY: So yeah, it really is. It just is like we need to do part of that every single day. Even for like one minute. However much time you can take.

AMBER: Exactly. That's awesome.

AMY: Well, everybody, thank you for listening today. I would love to hear what you pulled out, what stood out the most, and go ahead and make sure you connect with Amber on Instagram. And Amber, thank you again. I can't wait to continue the conversation. Over on IG.

AMBER: Thanks, Amy. Can't wait to see you all on IG.

AMY: All right, see you guys next week. Thank you so much for joining us for today's episode. Don't forget to connect with us on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. And we would love it if you would leave a review wherever you're listening. We'll see you next week for more tips for how to become a peaceful entrepreneur.