The Savvy Entrepreneur

Filling the pipeline is the first stage in the Universal Marketing Cycle. If you’re not actively filling your pipeline, your business will soon run dry.

So what DOES filing the pipeline really mean?

In the context of marketing a service-based business, filling the pipeline means knowing (and getting known by) enough people whom you can contact (or will contact you) on a regular basis about your business. Your goal is to attract all sorts of people — believe it or not, you need more than just clients to grow your business.

Your pipeline is represented by the names and phone numbers of people and organizations in your contact database (phone book, Outlook Contacts, handheld device, business card holder, spreadsheet, etc.).

You fill your marketing pipeline by attracting many different types of contacts:

• Prospects: Potentials you attract through public speaking, writing, promotional events, publicity or advertising.
• Contacts: People you meet while networking and in the course of every day business life.
• Leads: People you hear about from your contacts or you find through research (like purchasing lists).
• Referrals: People who hear about you through someone else (clients, contacts, friends, suppliers, etc.).

Think of your pipeline as a funnel, where the people flowing through your pipeline fall directly into your follow-up pool — that’s the whole point of filling your pipeline. If you’re not following-up with these people, your business will stagnate and go nowhere fast.

Filling your pipeline is an essential part of growing your business and should be an ongoing process. You must engage regularly in marketing strategies to consistently fill your pipeline over an extended period of time. You should never be so busy that you no longer need to keep filling your pipeline. Continual networking (formal or informal) is a big part of making that happen.

Track your results to see what works best and what doesn’t. As usual, do more of what works and stop what doesn’t.