They say that water is hard to come by in the desert…

You wouldn’t know that by the 3 inch deep river I had flowing through my driveway the other day. It’s the second time this month. Water EVERYWHERE (including the drips from my lights in the kitchen).

Here in Arizona, we’re in the middle of the Monsoon season.

That’s when we see proof that, under the right conditions, it CAN rain in the desert. And often times, it can rain a LOT.

With the economy the way it is, you could say we’re in a little bit of a desert of our own.

After all, money’s tight (or at least that’s what the media is telling everyone), “things are tough,” the markets are in turmoil.

Sales are down… lead generation is down…

So what is a business owner supposed to do?

If you know how to create the right mix of conditions, you can make it rain ANYWAY.

And making it rain starts with generating LEADS.

(Good copywriters know how to do this…)

Here are four possible ways to boost your own lead generation efforts:

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Reposition Yourself as a Quick Fix for Pain
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A year ago, maybe you marketed your products and services as solutions to problems, or as a way to help your clients and customers improve their lives.

That used to work just fine.

But right now, when things are “tough,” investing in solutions sinks on the priority list.

But there’s STILL one thing that almost everyone will pay to fix. And that is PAIN.

So you’ve got to position what you’re offering as a way to relieve pain.

And when you’re generating leads, the quicker you can realistically promise relief the better.

People will ALWAYS pay to relieve pain.

So ask yourself, “How can I transform my lead generation from a SELLING activity to a PAIN RELIEVING activity?”

The key here is to remember that you’ve got to identify the REAL pain in your market, the stuff that’s hiding under the surface.

So if you’re marketing to CEOs of 5 million dollar corporations, the obvious pain might be a big dip in profits. But the underlying pain might be a whole lot different.

What does a big dip in profits MEAN to a CEO? Answer that question and you’ll be inching towards the real pain.

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Take Advantage of the Secret You Know
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In marketing, the better you know the real hopes, fears and desires of your market, the better you’ll do.

It makes sense doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, that’s why so many promotions end up tanking… Whoever puts them together misjudges what is going on inside the minds of the market.

Instead of creating a system that can be tweaked and improved over time, they create a promotion that’s little more than a crapshoot.

But when there’s turmoil, that gives you an edge.

Because you have a much better idea about what everyone is thinking about.

That’s HUGE when it comes to generating leads for your business.

All you need to do is put your newfound knowledge into action. Connect to what’s already going on in the minds of your market.

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If You Sell It, Give It Away
First… THEN Sell It Again
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Frankly, I have no idea why this works. But it does.

In fact, I know of one consultant who does just this… quite successfully.

He gives away much of his best advice through his books and other writings.

And when his clients pay his six-figure consulting fee, what type of counsel does he provide?

Much of the VERY SAME information.

Of course the advice is tailored to their specific needs, but the principles are the same.

To bump up YOUR lead generation, consider giving some of your best stuff away… on the house.

The trick is to get the positioning right so that you can LEVERAGE the value you are providing instead of creating the perception of being an oracle of f*ree advice.

If you’re selling hard goods, you’ll have to think about how to apply this one. This strategy will still work, you just have to be creative.

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When In Doubt, Make Someone ELSE Look Good
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One of the most effective ways to generate MORE highly qualified leads is to take advantage of the leads someone else has already created.

What businesses around you have already INVESTED the time, money and effort to create leads that might also be interested in your products or services?

What could you offer to those leads (through the company they already have a relationship with) to enhance the image of the company that generated them?

The trick here is to position your offer so that it does actually deliver a HIGH amount of value to both the business and the leads they’ve generated.

You’ll make them look good AND create your own leads at the same time.

To make sure you get the right copywriter for your next project, it’s a good idea to have some understanding of what makes a copywriter a good one.

And the easiest way to do that is to read Claude Hopkins’, “Scientific Advertising.”

It’s probably the most famous (and profitable) book about advertising and writing copy that has ever been written.

In fact, famous advertising and copywriting genius, David Ogilvy, had this to say about Hopkins’ book:

“Nobody, at any level, should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times. It changed the course of my life.”

Click on the image of the book to download your free copy right now.