30-Day Lead Generation Plan

How to use this tool. This is for owners who want a steady flow of qualified enquiries but have no written plan for getting them. Set aside 60 to 90 minutes with your sales numbers to hand. You will finish with a target number of leads, two or three chosen channels, a week-by-week activity plan and a review date.

Why it matters

Most small businesses generate leads in bursts. A quiet month triggers a flurry of activity, work comes in, the owner gets busy delivering, and the pipeline dries up six weeks later. A 30-day plan breaks that cycle because it replaces "we should do more marketing" with specific numbers, specific activities and a date to check the result.

Thirty days is long enough to see whether activities produce enquiries, and short enough to change course. It will not fix a weak offer or poor follow-up, but it will show you quickly where the problem is.

The method: six stages

1. Decide. Choose who you are going after and what you are offering them.
2. Audit. Find out where your leads and wins actually come from today.
3. Choose. Pick two or three channels, not eight.
4. Calculate. Work backwards from the revenue you want to the activity you need.
5. Schedule. Put the activities into a weekly rhythm with owners.
6. Review. Decide what to keep, fix or stop.

Stage 1: Decide your target and offer

Answer these in one or two sentences each.

• Which type of customer would you like ten more of? (Industry, size, location, type of job.)
• What problem are they usually trying to solve when they call you?
• What is the simplest first job or offer you could put in front of them? (A site inspection, a fixed-price assessment, a maintenance check, a scoped first stage.)
• Why would they choose you over the next business? Name one provable reason, not "quality and service".

Write your answer as a single sentence you can say out loud:

We help [type of customer] in [area] to [solve this problem] by [your offer], and we are different because [provable reason].

Stage 2: Audit where leads come from today

Use your quotes, invoices or CRM or spreadsheet for the last 90 days. If you do not have the data, estimate and mark it as an estimate. Not knowing is a finding in itself.

Prompts:

• Which source produced the best customers, not just the most?
• Which source do you spend the most on relative to what it returns?
• Which source have you never properly tried?

Stage 3: Choose two or three channels

Score each channel from 1 (poor) to 5 (strong) on three questions. Be honest about the effort you can sustain while still running jobs.

Pick the top two or three. As a rule of thumb, include at least one fast channel (past customers or referrals) and one that builds over time (partnerships, your online listing). Park everything else for now.

My chosen channels: 1. ______ 2. ______ 3. ______

Stage 4: Calculate your numbers

Work backwards. Use your own conversion figures from Stage 2, or estimates you will refine after 30 days.

If your leads-needed figure looks impossible, change one input: raise your average job value, improve your quote follow-up, or extend the timeframe. Do not simply hope.

Stage 5: Schedule the 30 days

Give each week a focus, and cap the daily time. Thirty to 45 minutes a day, done consistently, beats a heroic Friday.

Scripts you can use

Past customer message. Send only to customers who have dealt with you and whom you can reasonably contact.

Hi [name], it's [your name] from [business]. We finished [job] for you [timeframe] ago and I wanted to check that everything is still working well. We have a little capacity coming up in [month]. If you have anything on your list, I'm happy to look at it. If not, no problem at all.

Referral request. Say it in person or on the phone, straight after a job goes well.

I'm glad you're happy with the result. Most of our work comes from people like you. Is there anyone you know, such as another [type of business], who has a similar project coming up? I'd be grateful for an introduction.

Direct outreach email. Under the Spam Act 2003, commercial emails and SMS need consent (express or properly inferred), must clearly identify your business, and must include a working unsubscribe. Remove anyone who opts out promptly. For cold phone calls to individuals, check the Do Not Call Register first. Handle contact details in line with the Privacy Act, and take advice if you are unsure.

Subject: [Specific problem] at [type of site]

Hi [name], I'm [your name] at [business]. We work with [target customer] in [area] on [problem], and recently [one-line proof, such as a result or a similar client type]. Would a short conversation next week be useful?

[Business name, ABN, how to contact you]. If you'd prefer not to hear from us, reply with "unsubscribe" or use the link below.

Follow-up after a quote.

Hi [name], I wanted to check whether the quote for [job] answers your questions. If there's anything you'd like adjusted, such as scope or timing, I'm happy to talk it through.

Launch checklist

• Target customer sentence written
• Lead source audit completed (estimates marked)
• Two or three channels chosen
• Monthly lead target and weekly target set
• Contact list of at least 30 past customers and prospects built
• Consent and unsubscribe approach checked for any email or SMS
• Referral request and follow-up scripts adapted to your voice
• Daily activity time blocked in the diary
• A simple weekly tally set up (leads, quotes, wins)
• Review date booked for day 30

Worked example (fictional)

Swan Ridge Electrical is a six-person Perth commercial electrical contractor. The owner, Dana, wants more maintenance and fit-out work from small property managers.

• Audit: Of about 25 enquiries in 90 days, most came from repeat customers and two referrals. The website produced few. Paid ads cost money and delivered mostly residential enquiries, so she marked them "stop".
• Target and offer: Property managers with small commercial portfolios in the northern suburbs, offered a fixed-price electrical safety and maintenance inspection.
• Channels: Past customers, direct outreach to property managers, and referral requests.
• Numbers (estimates): Revenue goal $34,000 at an average job of $8,500 means 4 jobs. With a one-in-three quote win rate, that is 12 quotes. With 60 per cent of enquiries reaching quote stage, she needs 20 leads, or 5 per week.
• Plan: Week 1, contact 30 past customers and set up the inspection offer page. Week 2, send 40 considered outreach emails and make follow-up calls. Week 3, ask for referrals after every job and meet two related trades. Week 4, chase all open quotes and review.

How to read your results

At day 30, compare actual figures with your targets, channel by channel.

• Leads on target but few quotes: your targeting or qualification needs work.
• Quotes on target but few wins: look at price presentation, speed of response and follow-up.
• Leads below target but activity completed: the channel or message is weak. Change the message first, then the channel.
• Activity not completed: the plan was too big. Cut it, do not drop it.

Good looks like a repeatable weekly routine, one channel clearly outperforming the others, and a clearer view of your real conversion rates. A single month will not be statistically perfect, so treat the figures as a guide.

Common mistakes

• Choosing too many channels. Three done properly beat seven done occasionally.
• Talking about yourself, not the customer's problem. Lead with their situation.
• Ignoring existing customers. They are usually the cheapest source of work.
• Skipping follow-up. Many quotes are lost through silence, not price.
• Not tracking. If you cannot count leads, you cannot improve.
• Cutting corners on consent. Spam Act breaches damage your reputation as well as creating risk.
• Stopping at day 20 because results seem slow. Review on day 30 as planned.

Put it to work this week

1. Write your target customer sentence and the first-job offer today.
2. Complete the lead source audit and mark each source keep, fix or stop.
3. Choose your channels, set the weekly lead target and block 30 to 45 minutes daily in your diary.
4. Send your first ten past-customer messages and make your first three referral requests by Friday.
5. Book your day-30 review in the diary now, with the results table printed or open.

Where Lotus helps

Lotus Strategic Services helps Australian small and medium businesses turn plans like this into a reliable pipeline, with sharper target markets, clearer offers and tracking that shows what is working. We can review your numbers with you, pressure-test your channels and help you build the next 90 days. Book a free 30-minute discovery call at lotusstrategic.com.au.