Better Call Saul the popular prequel to Breaking Bad, follows an ethically challenged lawyer who tries to do the right thing, but ends up in bad situations. Although Saul may not be a role model for ethical business practices, the show does illustrate some very important lessons in lead generation for entrepreneurs and business owners. I recently read an article from Entrepreneur that makes the case for this very topic, and I had to share my insights on a few of these lead gen lessons.
• Relationships matter. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: Give and you will receive. Networking can’t be one-sided. Saul (born Jimmy McGill), gets this gem of advice from this older brother, “Do good work, and the clients will follow,” advising him to build a network of relationship-based referrals. I couldn’t agree with this more.
• Not all leads are good leads. I’m a big supporter of saying no when something isn’t a good fit. It’s better for you, your business and the customer/client if you are choosy when taking on new business. Unlike Saul/Jimmy, you want to be sure it’s a mutually beneficial partnership that aligns with the vision for the company. I know turning away business isn’t easy, but it can be one of the best decisions you make.
• Know your revenue goals. Have you taken the time to determine how many clients you need to hit your revenue goals for the year? A surprising amount of companies haven’t done this simple exercise to understand what their average deal size is and how that affects their revenue goals. Estimate your conversion rates at each stage of the sales process and work backwards from there to calculate how many new leads you need to meet your goals. As the Entrepreneur article suggests, for Jimmy, doing wills for $140 each isn’t going to get him where he wants.
So, from this seemingly shady businessman, we can take away some very powerful lessons to apply in our own businesses. Do you need help figuring out your next steps? Better call Blair.
By Blair Koch
