Hey, Scott from The Sales Mastermind here. Today’s edition only takes 3 minutes.
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The best sellers thrive in the "Hero to Zero" dynamic of a new month, quarter, or year. Every time, there is a new chance to be the top dog.
However, founders who sell often hate having to start at zero.
What if there was a sustainable path for founders? Keep reading and see.
Today's topics:
- The Lindy Effect
- Sustainable Lead Generation
- Rule of Thumb
- Examples
The Lindy Effect
Nassim Taleb explains the Lindy Effect in his book Antifragile:
"The robustness of an item is proportional to its life."
And his example:
"If a book has been in print for forty years, I can expect it to be in print for another forty years... if it survives another decade, then it will be expected to be in print another fifty years."
Using music as another example. The Lindy Effect means we can assume people will still be listening to:
- Taylor Swift's 2014 song "Shake It Off" in another eight years
- The Beatles' 1969 song "Here Comes the Sun" in another 55 years
- Beethoven's 1824 "Symphony No. 9" in another 200 years
Sustainable Lead Generation
Outbound activities like cold calling, cold email, and cold LinkedIn take only a little time to start and always work. However, when you stop, the leads stop.
Sustainable lead generation is like a flywheel. It can be exponentially more challenging to get going, but once moving, it requires dramatically less effort to keep producing leads.
If we apply the Lindy Effect to sustainable lead generation, the best approach is to find things that have worked for years (even decades) and replicate them for us.
Where to Focus
The sooner you start sustainable lead generation, the faster your flywheel will get up to speed. But it takes time, effort, and energy away from cold leads, which all have an immediate effect.
If you need cash today to survive, focus on cold leads. If you can invest a little time, focus it on sustainable leads. Your time horizon for new revenue determines how to split your effort:
- I need money YESTERDAY - 100% cold, 0% sustainable
- I need revenue this quarter - 90% cold, 10% sustainable
- We're planning for next quarter - 80% cold, 20% sustainable
- My sales team needs a mix - 20% cold, 80% sustainable
- Sustainable leads are all we care about - 0% cold, 100% sustainable
Examples of Sustainable Lead Generation
Podcast Guesting
- What it isGoing on someone else podcast.
- ProsSomeone else does most of the work. It's low commitment per episode.
- ConsDifficulty tracking individual effort to specific results. Expensive in time (or money) to get consistent bookings.
- RememberHave a specific, targeted bonus or call to action for the listeners.
Content Marketing for SEO benefits
- What it isCreating content, such as blogs, vlogs, podcasts, newsletters, etc., with the intention of people finding you by searching online.
- ProsSimple to get started - just start writing. Infinitely scalable once you get traction.
- ConsTakes 9-18 months to see direct revenue. Search engines are constantly changing their algorithms.
- RememberPlay the long game with content. It is not a quick fix.
Partners and Referrals
- What it isAsk people with access to your intended audience to recommend, refer, and otherwise prompt your product/service.
- ProsOne partner can dramatically accelerate your business. A diversified list of partners can make this method infinitely sustainable and scalable.
- ConsBuilding trust with a referrer can take a long time. One burnt relationship can have an outsized effect.
- RememberAnyone with an audience gets regular offers for "partnership." Stand out by being absolutely clear on the ask (what you want) and the offer (what they get).
Are any of the tactics resonating with you? Have you had success with any other sustainable lead-generation strategies?
I'd love to hear about them. Hit reply and let me know :)
Until next week,
Scott Cowley
PS Looking for the backlog? You can find it here.
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