How to get leads for a digital marketing agency when referrals slow down

How do you get leads for a digital marketing agency when referrals slow down?

Start with your warmest contacts, then add one new source and stick with it. A lead is a business that might hire you, and the people who already know your name are the warmest place to start.

Here's a short plan for the month, in order:

1. Check in with current clients. Ask how things are going and what's coming up for them. A talk like this can turn up new work, or the name of someone they know.
2. Reach out to past clients. Send a short, personal note to clients you haven't worked with in a while. Share something useful, such as a result you got for a similar business.
3. Ask your contacts for introductions. Tell friends, peers and old coworkers the exact kind of business you want to meet. A clear ask is easier to act on than "let me know if you hear of anything."
4. Talk to partner firms. Bookkeepers, web hosts and printers serve the same owners you want. Offer to trade introductions.
5. Pick one new lead source. In our view, you master one lead source before you add more. Choose the one your ideal clients already use.
6. Set a weekly count. Track how many talks you start each week, and how many turn into a sales call.

Give the plan the whole month before you judge it. A single quiet week doesn't tell you much.

A slowdown in referrals is also a sign to ask for them in a more planned way. For a referral program, see how to set up a referral program.

What can you do this week to generate leads for a digital marketing agency?

This week, you can write to a short list of people who know you, share one helpful post and follow up on every open talk. None of it needs a new tool or a big budget.

A checklist for this week:

• Make a short list of past clients and contacts to write to.
• Send each one a short, personal note with one useful idea for their business.
• Follow the email rules where you and your readers live.
• Post one answer to a question your clients often ask you on calls.
• Follow up with every lead from the past month who went quiet.
• Ask one happy client if they'd be open to an introduction.
• Block a set time on your calendar each day for this work.
• Write down which actions led to a reply.

At the end of the week, look at what you wrote down. Keep doing the actions that got replies, and drop the ones that didn't. That short list becomes next week's plan.

These quick actions sit on top of a bigger system of channels and steps. For the channels and the four steps, see lead generation for a marketing agency.