In this article, I’m going to teach you how to find business leads online. You can search for them or adopt a strategy that allows them to find you. I’ve successfully done both, and in this article, I’ll explore the pros and cons of each approach and show you exactly how to do it.
Finding Business Leads on LinkedIn
Let’s start with LinkedIn, which is a great platform to find business leads. You can start with LinkedIn search. There’s a regular search on the homepage or LinkedIn Sales Navigator, which offers more features and filters. Even if you don’t have access to Sales Navigator, you can still use LinkedIn’s basic search.
I needed to hire new videographers for my team, and LinkedIn was my go-to resource. I typed “Orlando videographer” into the search bar and sifted through a lot of results. Eventually, I found some of the exact people I was searching for. The goal here is to find your target audience and identify prospective leads.
How to Get Your Leads’ Attention
Once you’ve identified prospective leads, you might think about paying to put ads in front of them. However, while this can generate a large number of leads, they tend to be low-quality and low-converting because these leads are “cold.” There’s no existing relationship.
About 10 years ago, I developed a hack that proved highly effective. Here’s what I did: I researched and created groups of 100 people within my target audience. I sent them a promotional message, but didn’t get any responses. I thought, “Maybe I’m not appealing enough.”
So, I tried again. I created a new batch of 100 people and sent them a message that said, “I took a look at your profile and thought I’d make a recommendation. Here’s a helpful video.” Again, no responses.
Determined to get a better result, I prepared another batch of 100 names. Instead of focusing on myself or what I could do to help, I decided to compliment each person. I said, “I looked at your profile and I appreciate the work you’re doing.” What do you think happened? Out of those 100 messages, 65 people replied! Some of them simply said, “Thank you,” but others engaged in meaningful conversations. A few even mentioned checking out my website, YouTube channel, or watching several of my videos.
This approach not only got people’s attention but made them feel genuinely valued, creating a positive interaction that opened the door to further conversations and connections. From that point on, I never looked back—I love sending out messages of compliment.
A Strategy Where Leads Come to You
What about a strategy where leads are actively searching for you? There are plenty of people out there right now who are looking for answers and don’t even know you exist. This often happens on Google and YouTube, where users pose questions that you’re perfectly suited to answer.
The issue is that these potential leads aren’t finding you online. Take a moment to test it—think of one of these questions and type it into Google or YouTube. You probably won’t see your name at the top of the search results.
This is where a simple strategy called the “Leaf Strategy” comes in. I’ve created an entire episode dedicated to YouTube SEO using the Leaf Strategy. It’s a game-changer that’s simple yet highly effective, putting you at the top for your target audience. Be sure to watch that video next!
Conclusion
These two approaches—searching for leads and making it easy for them to find you—offer a powerful way to generate business opportunities. The key is to provide genuine value, focus on your audience, and leverage tools like LinkedIn and YouTube SEO to connect with potential clients.
