Jacob Fann of Fanntastic Media: 5 Proven Strategies for Increasing Lead Generation

Build a funnel through social media — create great, relevant content on your own to put online. This will generate website visitors and leads from new and existing customers.

Generating quality leads is crucial for businesses in today’s competitive landscape, and finding innovative and effective ways to attract potential customers has become a top priority. In this interview series, we are talking with marketing experts, industry professionals, and thought leaders who can share insights and stories from their experience about the best strategies for effective lead generation. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jacob Fann.

Jacob Fann was raised in a family of business owners, learning the ropes from his father who owns his own business and his grandfather who is well-known in Arizona for opening the first dealership in the state, Fann Toyota. In 2016, Jacob officially founded his own business, Fanntastic Media, where he focuses on strategy to help businesses of all sizes grow using a medley of tactics and strategies. Some of his expertise lies in organic lead generation, social media management and campaign creation, brand creation, SEO and more.

Thank you for doing this with us! Before we begin, our readers would like to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to this career path?

Ithonestly happened so organically. I started in real estate, but had always had a business background because of family. Through real estate, I was finding more and more small businesses that were struggling and one day took a leap of faith to ask if I could help through social and digital media marketing.

Once I started the process and saw the growth of the small business that gave me a shot, I had a sort of light bulb moment and just knew I was supposed to be in the field.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that has occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or takeaway you took from that story?

I once received a call from a man who owned a window covering company who was looking to generate more client leads. He told me that he could pay me $300 to have me on retainer for 30 days. His expectation was if I could make him over $300 within 30 days, he would keep me on retainer. Of course, I took this as a massive challenge and quickly realized that paid ads wouldn’t be my best bet here. Before the 30 days were up, I was able to organically provide hundreds of leads to the company and over $300 in sales.

My biggest takeaway from this was learning that sometimes you have to approach generating leads differently. You have to be willing to disrupt the market and provide something that no other agency does.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Right now, our main focus is on expanding our local clientele and small business clientele. We like to explain to many potential clients that we are an elite agency that offers the feel of a freelancer, but the cost and bandwidth of a large agency.

We are also working on expanding the type of clients we work with including a big push in the insurance agency. Additionally, we are constantly expanding our knowledge and creativity in the general lead generation space. We strive to provide the highest quality and quantity of leads through unique means that won’t be found elsewhere.

For the benefit of our readers, can you tell us a bit about your experience with Lead Generation? Can you share an anecdote or two that illustrates your experience in this area?

A huge thing I have learned is that every business is different and different strategies are going to work for different businesses. While some may strive through running paid ads, others may encounter issues with seasoning an ad account through different platforms. This is why my team and I have discovered that you really don’t need to run paid ads to generate leads — you can do it organically.

The best example I can give is, if you are a mom-and-pop gym and you are paying got click ads online, you aren’t going to reach as big of an audience as you want with the money you can put towards ads. You are competing with big brand gym names and those are always going to render the audience solely due to how much money is placed behind them. Instead, it would be better for this small business gym to generate leads and clients organically using Facebook groups and content creation.

How do you determine which channels to invest in for lead generation, and which ones have been most successful for you?

As I mentioned earlier, it’s not a one-size fits all strategy. Every business is different and even businesses in the same category will need to use different channels. That said, generally speaking, right now the best way to generate leads is through Facebook groups. It’s not only the fastest, but also the cheapest option for lead generation.

How do you balance lead quantity with lead quality? What metrics do you use to measure the quality of your leads, and how do you ensure sales and marketing are aligned?

Balancing lead quantity and quality truly depends on the client. Some clients only care about quantity because they want to talk to as many people as possible. However, some companies want fewer leads which will lead to more secure closed deals. An example would be that an insurance company is going to want to talk to ten people and they may close three leads, which is great. Meanwhile, a kitchen remodeling company may not need as many leads to make the same amount of money.

Regarding measuring success and quality, it really is all up to the client. However, my team and I work diligently to track everything on our end. We have a shared lead sheet where we document everything from how we came across a lead, to what was discussed when we reached out. We also regularly check in with our clients to get updates on the potential leads to gain a better understanding of whom they are generating successfully.

What are the biggest challenges you see companies facing when it comes to lead generation, and how do you suggest they overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges I have seen is how companies are managing and following up with their leads. While everyone has a different process, we’ve found that it’s immensely important to not only document your conversations, but also follow up.

We’ve learned through experience to have the mindset that anyone who provides their phone number is interested, so it is important to call as soon as possible. You may not always get an answer, but leave a text rather than a voicemail. Additionally, take note of everything you do and discuss with each lead. And remember, you still have to sell a lead, they may be interested, but you have to slide them into home.

What role do marketing automation and CRM systems play in your lead generation strategy, and how do you use technology or AI to streamline the process?

I am a huge advocate for CRM systems. They tend to be a great help to companies, especially for tracking potential leads.

When it comes to using AI technologies, it can have positives, however, I’d recommend never losing the feel of calling your clients. You never want to lose that personal touch. My team has found that people don’t want to work with big corporations, they want to work with someone they feel connected to.

Can you share an example of a successful lead generation campaign you’ve led? What made it so effective?

Most recently, we were given a $1,500 retainer with the goal to make a $27,000 profit within 30 days. We utilized Facebook groups because the client needed fewer leads with more promise. We were able to successfully meet our client’s goal and I think a lot of this was attributed to how organized and diligent both teams were.

It’s important to remember that the relationship between your company and your client is a partnership. My team worked hard on sending leads, checking in with the client and tracking our progress. Meanwhile, our client was equally involved, always tracking what they did to secure leads and update us on movement in a timely manner.

Here is the main question of our interview. What are your 5 proven strategies for increasing lead generation?

1 . Utilize Facebook groups to reach targeted neighbors — these work especially well for companies that work in the home space

2 . Build a funnel through social media — create great, relevant content on your own to put online. This will generate website visitors and leads from new and existing customers.

3 . Paid ads are still important — whether through paper, radio, online, paid ads do have an important place in increasing leads, especially if you own an e-commerce business.

4 . Build a referral base — build partnerships through relationships, referral programs, etc.

5 . Email marketing — email marketing is an excellent way to generate leads as it is organic and not only reminds existing or previous clients of your work, but also can push potential clients to take the leap.

What trends do you see emerging in this space that businesses should be paying attention to?

Using social media to authentically showcase your business can be a huge factor in increasing leads. Many companies feel they need to be professional online or create content about what they want to portray about their business. Rather than using this strategy, companies have an opportunity to create what your audience would want to see.

Additionally, businesses should consider sharing your professional wins or announcements on personal social pages. Cross-promotion is good and your customers want to know you personally. Plus, it’s easier to generate leads through friends first. A friend is going to be the first person to send recommendations your way.

We are nearly done. You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I’d love to inspire people to think about money less. So many people are money-motivated and while that isn’t a bad thing, I think for the sake of the world, people should do things because they are passionate about the subject, not because of the money to be made.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Visit our website at www.fanntasticmediallc.com or find us on Facebook and Instagram at @fanntasticmedia

Thank you for the interview. We wish you only continued success!