Is getting Free Leads a real thing?

wchristner

I am a small business startup  that specializes in remote support. I currently live in an RV with my family and am work camping for now. I have been doing some research and know who my target market is. The hard part is getting the email address and phone numbers for local businesses. for example I am compiling a list of Hotels that could benefit from my service or may need a wireless infrastructure upgrade. I am attempting to find at least the hotel's general manager's email so I can send them a notice of my services and how to connect with me. working online is taking too much time so I figure there must be an easier way. Are the advertised get leads free (actually get like 50 leads and pay for the other 100) worth it? Has anyone seen this and gotten a good ROI?

thanks

Ryan O'Bleness

Glad to see you've got your business up and running, @wchristner. 

wchristner

Thanks, we are in the initial marketing phase now. getting the word out.

borntorule

I do not recommend you to pay for leads, while most of them can be simply fake ones. To my mind personal conversation is better. Thus, I recommend you to go through hotels and talk to managers personally. As for getting e-mails, there are many services which have contacts of different people and can simply sell you a database.

Charles Lucas

Hey @wchristner in regards to your questions, like was noted above I generally would not suggest to pay for leads as you really do not know what you are getting.

If you are pitching your service in a local market face to face would be better then just emailing or cold calling. But even still it is hard in that type of situation to not come across as the "salesman".

With any business it is always easier to convert clients when they come to you first (obviously). So what I would focus on is ways to get potential clients to see your value and come to you.

Now in a local market this can be a bit tricky as options are limited since there is a not as many avenues for your potential clients to come across seeing your service and the value in it. Hotel managers for example are generally not just browsing online looking for IT help for their hotel. But you do still have some options.

I reviewed your website and it looks like your service is offering an alternative answer to companies actually employing IT professionals or teams, which can save them a ton of money. That is the value for your service and the main thing I would be promoting. I am not sure of the size of your city/town or the market area you are covering but even in smaller towns there is still so many small businesses that have a need for IT. For example even small insurance companies could have an IT guy that they are employing.

Instead of focusing on just looking for leads and approaching them, I would focus on finding ways to get the value of your service out there to your local market. This in turn is going to lead to them coming to you. Just for example one thing I would do, and again not sure of the size of your town/city, but get an interview (not just an ad) with a local newspaper or radio station about the story of your new startup and how it is the answer to saving local businesses money.

Hope some of the above information can help.

Matt_Shields

@wchristner In my experience, Linkedin works best in finding key business decision makers; most of the available listing out there are either outdated or some general contact information that doesn't lead you straight to who can decide whether to do business with you or not (managers, directors, founders, etc). All you have to do is connect (given, you've already set up a profile). If you're a bit busy, you may outsource the task of finding people to connect with on Linkedin. Sites like Upwork.com, Freelancer.com are some of the biggest where you can look for a Virtual Assistant to help you.

I do agree with @borntorule about paying leads that are advertised out there; sometimes, the price is too good to be true (another red flag to watch for).

Steffi Dsouza

I also will not suggest to go for paid lead that might be useful or even not.
Here are some basic way to generate network marketing leads that want to know about your product and/or First Things First: Before You Market for Leads,The best way to get their name and email is to offer something for free.

jimmy johnson

Your business is in starting phase, so, their is no need to jump on this quick decision to pay for your lead, research more ask your contact regarding do the know any hotel general manager, or simply submit your business portfolio on various portfolio website, My advice is to grow your business step by step and make more contacts!

Supymekoo

You need to learn more about it. If you ask such questions you are not specialized in leads generation. In this phase for you will be better to get your own conversation if you know it