Many business coaches still hold the mistaken belief that the only way to generate leads is through referrals and networking. And while these two tactics are indeed solid options, and while I will discuss one at the very end of this article, they should not be your “sole” focus. This article shares 5 additional tactics that are proven to generate a significant flow of qualified leads for many top business coaches.

Before I delve into these tactics, it’s important to note that no tactic will work without first creating a disruptive market-dominating message. This forms the foundation for how you wish to be perceived and will amplify the results from the following lead-generation efforts. Your market dominating message needs to focus on the single-minded benefit that separates you from your competitors. It cannot be a nuance, but a real, demonstrable difference that your prospects value; one that immediately generates interest and a preference to want to work with you.

If you cannot currently identify that benefit, then consider what changes you need to make to your business to create a benefit that is believable and that you can consistently deliver. Remember, people won’t hire you (heck, they won’t even want to meet with you) if they don’t understand why they should pay attention to you. And they will notice you only if you have a strong, compelling, differentiating value proposition. The way to ensure that your message is differentiating is to explain your edge and advantage in this type of format… “Unlike other business coaches…”. I focus my coaching practice on being a “rainmaker specialist.” So I say “Unlike general business coaches who try to be all things to all people, I specialize in all aspects of lead generation and new business development. In other words, rainmaking.”

Another way to think about creating a market dominating message is to think about it as a one-two punch. First, focus on the problem the prospect has that they don’t want. Then second, focus on the solution they want that they don’t have. A great example of this approach is M&Ms; a brand I competed against in the 1980’s as an advertising executive at Ogilvy NY on Hershey’s chocolate bar. Their message of “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands” could have easily been stated as “Unlike a Hershey’s chocolate bar that’s messy to eat, M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hands.”

Spend the time and mental energy creating your own market dominating message. It will amplify the results of the following marketing tactics.

• LinkedIn: Post Updates and Respond to Posts and Questions

A great way to get noticed on LinkedIn is to post updates to your LinkedIn page and respond to prospect’s posts and questions. Start by following your prospects. Spend 15 minutes several times a week looking up your prospects. Find out whether they have a company page. If they do, follow and monitor it. When they post, make it your business to comment on it. Add value with your comments. NEVER SELL.

Join groups. LinkedIn lets you connect with people who are in groups with you. Use this as a targeted way to add value to others. Share insights and build out your network with prospects. Invest 15 minutes each day on this.

Also, use LinkedIn to celebrate the accomplishments of others. When you come across a news story or post that offers good news about your prospect, share the news as a status update. Recognize the person with a “@” reply. That will ensure they receive notification of the mention.

Post an update. Spend time each day posting an “Update” to your LinkedIn network. Use the daily update to share a link to an article or a video that’s relevant to your prospects and clients. Or use the “Pulse” (used to be known as “LinkedIn Today”) feature on your LinkedIn dashboard. Each time you post an update you get displayed on the feed of all the people with whom you are connected. But never sell when you post updates. Add value and share expertise instead.

• Article, Blog and Book Publishing

Being a published author is a great way to become a thought-leader, celebrity and sought-after expert. This can take the form of a penned article (like this) or a self-published book. I recently published a book entitled “Who Moved My Profits.” But at a minimum, it can take the form of a consistent and thoughtful blog. Your prospects want to work with experts in their field. When you publish your thinking, it automatically elevates it, and in turn, you.

Even with exceptional marketing, people still look for additional clues and signals of authority and credibility. Publishing a book, article or blog shows you’ve gone the extra mile to showcase something you’ve thought through and know a great deal about.

Publishing your insights can also help you establish trust and rapport with prospects. It helps you generate pre-qualified prospects that are more likely to value and trust your guidance and seek it out.

• Video Marketing (YouTube): Two-Minute Tips

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a video worth? Let’s just say… a lot! A report from Vidyard, shows that 74% of B2B marketers say video converts better than any other type of content.

These videos don’t need to be major productions. They can be simple laptop camera and audio generated videos that last between 90 seconds to two minutes. I’m embarking on an effort to post a Two-Minute Tip of the Day.

But to turn your video into a lead generation engine, you must add a call-to-action to your videos. If you don’t conclude your video with a call-to-action, you’re leaving it up to your visitors to seek out more information about you and your service. That’s not a smart idea.

Making your prospect take extra steps to convert is likely to kill your conversion rate. Use YouTube annotations or cards to create highly specific CTAs during key moments of your video. Perhaps the easiest way to increase the odds your visitor converts on a video offer is to include a URL or a phone number where your prospect can find out more.

• Speaking: Host Beneficiary

What the heck is a host beneficiary? Quite simply, it’s when another company or organization invites you in to speak to their group at their place of business. In other words, they host or sponsor you. This can be the result of being a published author as noted above, or because you’ve established a relationship with one of the organization’s leaders. Either way, it’s important for you to create a talk that’s relevant to a large number of prospects; a talk that provides significant value to the attendees and positions you as a thought-leader and expert in your field. Then create an email / flyer you can send to prospective organizations informing them of your background, expertise, the title of your talk, who it’s for and what attendees will get out of it.

5. Irresistible Lead Magnet (used on Website, Landing Page, Online Advertising and at the end of all the above tactics)

Over 80% of prospects will check out your website before contacting you. Yet most professional services websites are not designed to generate leads. As a matter of fact, many are almost “anti-lead generators.” Dull, boring, jargon-filled websites abound in the professional services arena — they’re completely passive and offer no value. If visitors don’t understand what you do or what problems you can solve for them, they’ll go elsewhere. Contrast this with a lead generating website that’s designed to make it easy for prospects to understand your value proposition, download valuable information and begin a relationship with you. When done properly, the impact on lead generation can be dramatic.

Research shows that only 1% to 3% of prospects who visit your website for the first time are ready to hire you. Most websites ignore the remaining 97% to 99%. They spend all their effort on pushing prospects to call them or to schedule a free consultation. Prospects know what this call or consultation will entail… a sales pitch. The vast majority of your prospects are not ready at this point to go to this stage with you. They want to date first. They want to learn more about you and what you have to offer.

Give them this chance by offering an irresistible lead magnet; some high-value information that they must have and are willing to give up their name and email address to obtain it. Once you have their email, you can continue to email them high value content to build likeability, credibility and trust. My lead magnet is entitled “Game Changer: The Secret to Getting Others to Take Action Now.”

5½. Power Partners:

I would be remiss if I didn’t include referrals in this article. After all, referrals often account for the majority of leads in certain categories of professional services.

To dramatically improve your chances of getting high quality referrals, you must identify individuals who consult with your target audience on higher level issues. Consider partnering with prominent firms or associations and help one another reach respective business goals… and leverage these relationships to generate leads as well. Court them. Meet with them often. Get to know them well and send them as many referrals as you possibly can. They’re often asked for recommendations in areas that they may not have capabilities to implement themselves. Make sure you have a solid relationship with them so they recommend you. Find them. Establish a relationship. Gain their respect. And let them know what they should listen for so they can recommend and refer you.

Lastly, consider hosting a joint event together, either offline or online, or produce a premium piece of content together and share content with each other’s audiences.

I guarantee that if you execute these tactics in 2018, it will be your best year ever as a coach. And as always… take care, take action and be relentless.