The 7 Fundamentals of Lead Generation for Health Brands
When I worked as an occupational therapist, I was responsible for generating my own leads.
I hated it... because I was terrible at it.
I was doing everything my mentors at the time were telling me to do.
None of it worked.
Not because it was bad advice but because I didn't understand the bigger picture. Lead generation isn't as simple as "Do THIS thing and get THIS result." There is a TON of nuance, and like everything in life, it takes a lot of time and energy to get good at it.
I have been helping health brands generate leads for 4+ years and can safely say I'm a lot better than I was. I've learned a lot about what works and what doesn't work. But more importantly, the fundamentals of generating leads for any health brand.
I want to help you decrease the time, energy, and pain required to get good at lead generation.
Here are the 7 fundamentals of lead generation that will take you from "I have no idea what I'm doing?!" to "Alright, I think I can do this if I give it a little effort."
LFG ??
1/ Define Your Ideal Customer
Everyone thinks they know their ideal customer. But it's almost NEVER as specific as it should be.
I've attended SXSW every year since moving to Austin, Texas, and one year, there was a panel with the founder of a website builder I use called Webflow .
When they asked him how he took a side project to a billion-dollar company, he said everything changed when they got clear on their ideal customer.
Yes, of course, they did all the usual things, such as figuring out their gender, their pain points, their marital status, their fears, their pains, their ambitions, and their worries. But what really stuck out to me is this next part.
They printed out a cutout billboard of their ideal customer and gave it a name. Whenever they had to decide what to do next with their business, they would look at the cutout and ask, "What would THEY want?"
Far too often, we get into the trenches of our business and forget the Dow of business. Your CUSTOMERS are the only reason your business exists.
Fundamental #1 of lead generation... know your customers better than they know themselves.
The better you know your customer, the easier it is to provide the solutions that will change their life.
2/ Create Compelling Content
Compelling doesn't mean trendy.
If I wanted to be trendy, I would post cat photos.
Compelling, on the other hand, is about creating an emotional connection with your audience.
It's about telling stories and giving people a behind the scenes.
My best post to date was when I ran my first-ever half-marathon. But the reason it did so well actually had NOTHING to do with me running the race. It had to do with the STORY that I told about a young girl who got paralyzed from the waist down from a car accident and showed up to the race that morning so that she could walk the final mile with the rest of the competitors.
It was a beautiful moment.
But my point is to tell more stories. Humans have been telling stories since the dawn of time. It's how we spread information and connect with one another. In the words of Steve Jobs, "The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller." I couldn't agree more.
Fundamental #2 of lead generation... be a great storyteller.
Stories generate leads.
3/ Generosity
How much you get is directly proportionate to how much you can give. It took me a LONG time to learn this one.
There are three kinds of people: givers, takers, and matchers. (This idea comes from Adam Grant 's book Give and Take.).
Takers = Ask more than they give.
Matchers = I give when I get.
Givers = Give more than they receive.
Most people are matchers. That was me for a long time.
Until I learned a universal truth of the world... You ALWAYS receive 10x what you give.
My favorite example of this is Costco. Why do you think they give you samples? Is it out of the kindness of their heart? Maybe, but more realistically, it's because they know that when you GET something, you feel indebted to them, which means you buy more than you would otherwise.
This isn't manipulative. This is human nature. It's called reciprocity.
It's why humans have become the dominant species on the planet: our ability to work together and to continue to lift each other up by giving more than we take.
If we lived back in tribal days and were a taker. You might get ahead in the short term, but you would most definitely lose in the long term. Possibly with your life.
Modern society hasn't changed much, especially with our ability to spread information on a mass scale. When someone is a taker, the world will eventually find out, which could destroy their reputation.
However, if you are a giver, the world will also find out, and you will be praised and recognized for it.
Fundamental #3 of lead generation... be a giver.
I'm not saying to NEVER charge for your work. But play the long game, not the short game.
A freebie now could (and will likely) lead to a high-paying customer or referral down the road.
4/ Lead Capturing
This is the step I see most people get stuck on. They know their ideal client, they create amazing content for them, and they provide a lot of value, but then they don't have any way to capture the lead.
Sometimes, it's as simple as just asking.
"Hey, could I have your name and phone number? I'd love to see if I can help you out with X problem."
Or
"Hey, I have a newsletter that talks about this exact topic. Would you mind if I added you to the list?"
Or
"Hey, do you know of anyone who would benefit from my services?"
领英推荐
It totally works, but when it doesn't, that's where lead magnets enter the picture. A lead magnet is something you GIVE to someone in exchange for their information. Here are some examples:
My favorite of all, though, is a quiz or assessment. People love learning about themselves, so if you can create a quiz that asks them a few questions and provides a result that helps them self-discover, you'll have a lead-capturing machine.
The trick here is to create a lead magnet that helps someone solve a very small, specific problem that ultimately leads to a bigger one.
Since I build websites, my quiz is a website audit.
However, if you are a chiropractor and help people fix their spinal alignment, a good quiz would be a spinal assessment that tells them how healthy their spine is. Then, your services become the solution to their unhealthy spine.
Or if you are a physical therapist who helps rehab runners. You could offer a quiz to uncover hidden weaknesses that could sabotage their runs and increase their risk of injury.
Fundamental #4 of lead generation... create a mechanism for capturing your attention.
Capturing someone's attention is the bridge between someone learning that you exist and becoming a potential customer.
Just make sure that it solves a very small problem so that you services can be the solution the the bigger problem.
5/ Nurturing
Prospecting is like dating. Nobody wants to get married on the first date.
Think about how you FEEL when someone comes on too strong. Especially when you KNOW that they want something from you.
Repelled? Turned off? Annoyed?
Probably all of the above. Yet, that's exactly how we treat our leads. We treat them like a piece of meat that we are hungry to eat.
I realized this when I started going to networking events. It felt like everyone I met wanted to give me their business card... I hate business cards.
I've been in business for 4 years and have never once bought my own business card or called someone from their business card... and I seem to be doing fine.
I think the reason I'm so repelled by them is because they say, "Hey, look at me! Buy my thing! I'm important!"
This type of marketing doesn't work anymore—not well, anyway. We live in a new world of marketing. One in which we want to have a relationship with our brands.
How do you build a relationship with a brand? The same way you build a relationship with anyone.
You nurture it. You take care of it. You respect it. You spend time with it.
People "vote" with their dollars more now than ever before. They want to know that their money is going to the right place. The best way to ensure YOU are the right place is to show them how human you are.
Everyone talks about B2C or B2B. I don't believe in either. I believe in P2P (Person to Person).
Fundamental #5 of lead generation... build a relationship with your customers.
The best part about building a relationship with your customers is that they stay (retention) and tell their friends about you (referrals).
Don't be the business card slinger. Be the relationship builder.
6/ Focus
Focus is more than just a word. It's an acronym.
Follow One Course Until Success.
When you first strap on your lead generation shoes and start walking down that road, you will likely try many things (just like I did).
Cold outreach, sending letters, going to networking events, putting ads in magazines... this list could be endless. There are a million ways to market yourself, which is both good and bad.
It's good because you can get creative with it, which can be a lot of fun.
It's bad because you can very quickly spread yourself too thin.
I was on the ladder for a long time, especially when I was working as an occupational therapist. I saw patients, documented notes, had team meetings, responded to emails, took continuing education courses, and was still trying to find time to market myself.
It was a recipe for burnout and frustration... the solution?
Do less to do better.
Fundamental #6 of lead generation... focus on one strategy at a time.
Again, there are a million ways to generate leads. Which is both liberating and overwhelming. Avoid burnout by sticking to one path until success.
You can do it all, just not all at once.
7/ Keep Going
Want to guarantee that you won't succeed? Give up.
Lead generation is hard. I will be the first to admit that. As I mentioned, I have been doing it for years and still feel I have much to learn.
But if I had to wrap up my key to success into a tight little bow... it would be the fact that I kept going... even when I didn't feel like it.
At the core of my lead generation is my podcast show Health Hustle - Digital Marketing for Health Brands . I have been publishing a weekly (sometimes twice a week) podcast show for 3 years and haven't missed a week yet.
There have been countless times when I wanted to quit, give up, skip a week, or just downright didn't feel like recording an episode. Especially when my download numbers would decrease.
But I haven't quit, and I have the fans and leads to show for it.
Regardless of what strategy you decide to go with.
Use the rule of 100. I learned this from Noah Kagan . The idea is to only commit to something if you can commit to doing 100 of them.
100 posts, 100 videos, 100 letters, 100 events, 100 episodes.
Fundamental #7 of lead generation... pick a strategy you can commit to.
Everything worth having takes time, and lead generation is no different. Don't go for quick-fix solutions. If we've learned anything about healthcare in the last twenty years, it's that the quick fix does not work in the long run.
RECAP
If you are a health-related brand and need help creating a lead funnel, leave a comment, and I'll reach out.
??
-Corey
Business Development Specialist at Base Hands | Helping businesses expand globally with tailored B2B strategies, lead generation, and partnership building
1 个月Corey, thanks for sharing!
Solid fundamentals. People resonate with stories over pure data. Kudos