Most businesses make money while they sleep because they sell products or services that generate recurring revenue. However, most professional service firms, such as advertising agencies, only make money when they log hours on a time sheet.

Or do they?

There are different ways to profit, especially if you are a marketing agency. More often than not, marketing agencies need a list of leads they can filter, reach out to, and eventually become customers. But what happens to leads that were filtered and didn’t make the cut? This is where additional profit comes in. There are different ways to profit from leads and clients an agency turns away from.

How do you Profit from Leads and Clients?

For this article, we will share three (3) ways to profit from leads and clients that did not pass our requirements. The result differs in how you apply them to your business from ours. But these methods work for us.

Referral

Leads are the most profitable type of online revenue.

The truth is that there is a clear winner who cannot be matched by any other method. Referrals are the clear winner. Referral sales require almost no financial investment, but they generate many precious warm leads.

This is known as a referral partnership.

A referral partner is a person or company who willingly recommends your brand to people they know. In this case – YOU.

In exchange for compensation, a referral partner will recommend its partner’s products or services to people or leads with whom they have established relationships. Mostly these leads are looking for a specific product or services they can work with.

Channel partnerships include referral partnerships. While the structure of referral partnerships may appear similar to that of a customer referral program, they are more formal.

Like most channel partnerships, referral partnerships begin with a formalized and detailed agreement with another person or business. This individual or company agrees to promote your products or services to potential customers.

Another way to profit from this is to charge a 20% lifetime commission for every lead you refer to the referral partner. This way, you can ensure profit even if you lose that particular lead.

Why does referral partnership work?

Referral partnerships differ from other types of channel partnerships in two ways. These distinctions bring a slew of distinct advantages.

To begin, referral partners only refer people or businesses with whom they have a personal relationship.

When it comes to closing sales, this pre-existing relationship is highly effective. The referred party believes the referral partner’s recommendation, so they are more likely to investigate your product or service and, eventually, make a purchase.

Referral partnerships also tend to bring in higher-quality leads who are more likely to stay with you for extended periods. As a result, customer retention improves, and average customer lifetime value rises.

Even though referral partners’ lead pool is noticeably smaller (because they’re only recommending you to people they know), the quality of leads and trust factor compensates for this.

Second, referral partners are already familiar with your product or service and are existing customers who have become strong advocates.

They understand your brand’s strengths and can authentically communicate these selling points to a referral.

Furthermore, because your referral partners are already some of your ideal customers, this may increase their chances of identifying other potential ideal customers to refer.

These two factors, existing relationships, and product experience, result in a more efficient sales cycle for your company. Referred leads close faster, resulting in lower marketing costs and a higher ROI. Referral partners handle the majority of your marketing for you!

Selling Lead to Another Agency

Anyone who owns a business understands the importance of lead generation. Creating leads is essential for profit and success.

It’s why so much money is spent each year on obtaining high-quality leads and why anyone should prioritize a lead generation strategy.

Selling leads can be very profitable whether a company has an excess of leads or is simply looking for additional revenue.

Understanding how to sell leads helps you achieve your business goals but also helps customers find what they’re looking for.

Why should you sell your extra leads?

Lead selling has many advantages that make it an excellent way to profit, including

• Low initial investment.
• You are not required to create a product.
• You are not required to provide a service.
• To get started, you don’t need investors or a bank loan.
• There are no shipping, storage, or inventory fees to be concerned about.
• You can work from anywhere using any internet-connected device.
• Some lead generation methods allow you to generate passive income.

Subcontracting a Lead to Another Agency

Subcontracting is assigning or outsourcing a portion of a contract’s obligations and tasks to a third party known as a subcontractor.

Subcontracting is especially common in industries with complex projects, such as construction and information technology. Subcontractors are hired by the general contractor, who retains overall responsibility for project completion and execution within the parameters and deadlines specified. This can put subcontractors at risk for noncompliance.

If you are a marketing agency with leads that require services that you offer on a large scale, and you cannot handle it but wouldn’t want to lose the client, then subcontracting is an excellent option.

Why choose subcontracting?

• Subs can help with large projects.
• It is cost-efficient and risk-averse.
• Subs provide expertise
• No Long term commitment
• Subs have specialized knowledge
• Fewer legal obligations

Subcontracting is not new; many agencies subcontract their leads if they know they are not equipped or lack the expertise the client requires. Through this method, not only does the agency profit, but the subcontractor as well. At the same time, they are maintaining the relationship with the client.

Wrap-Up

There may be leads and clients whose requirements still need to be met by the agency, but they can wait to let go of those leads. There are different ways how you can profit from leads. Just like what Ruskin Consulting uses, we can still profit from our leads and clients that others already consider” lost.”