Devoted to lead generation, lead generators, and successful lead gen campaigns

Part two of Bob Bly's article on deceptive tactics in an effort to get sales leads:

Another example ...

Sy Sperling, founder of the Hair Club for Men, used a booklet called "The Consumer's Guide to Hair Replacement" as his bait piece. It worked because the topic - a comparison of the various hair-replacement options available to consumers - was both educational and related to the Hair Club's product (a type of hair weave).

The company generated thousands of leads every month - and closed enough of them to generate $60 million in annual sales.

One final tip: When you give away free information, make sure what you give away not only provides valuable free content but also moves the prospect closer to making a purchase.

"Once," said Sperling, "we decided to give away a book on hair loss instead of our own consumer's guide. This was a book published by a regular book publisher. The phone rang off the hook, and we thought the campaign was going to be a huge success.

"But we didn't convert many of those leads to sales. The campaign was a disaster and cost us a fortune.

"People were eager to get a free book just for the sake of getting a free book, but were not necessarily interested in hair replacement. The book, unlike our consumer's guide, did not sell Hair Club or our product enough to generate sufficient interest."