This post covers how to effectively build a team to scale your lead generation efforts exponentially.

Lead-generating employees are folks you train to acquire leads for your business.

They use the same methods you initially used, such as running ads, creating content, and conducting outreach.

More lead-generating employees mean more leads and less personal workload for you.

Why Employees Make You Wealthy

Consider two scenarios:

  1. A business owner works 80 hours a week, handling everything themselves, and generates $2 million in revenue.
  2. Another business owner works 10-20 hours a week, delegates tasks, and also generates $2 million in revenue but has $10 million+ in business equity.

The second business owner is significantly wealthier because their business doesn't rely on them.

Employees add value by enabling the business to operate and grow independently, making it more attractive to potential buyers.

Common Misconceptions About Employees

Many entrepreneurs believe:

  • "If you want it done right, do it yourself."
  • "No one can do it like I do."
  • "I'm irreplaceable."

These beliefs are limiting. Instead, adopt these mindsets:

  • "If you want it done right, get someone to spend all their time doing it."
  • "If I can do it, someone else can do it better."
  • "Everyone is replaceable, especially me."

These beliefs will help you build a scalable and valuable business.

How to Get Employee Leads

To scale your business, you need a steady stream of employee leads (prospective employees).

The process mirrors how you get customer leads:

In the illustration below:

  • External - a method for building a pipeline of potential customers (we covered this extensively in previous posts)
  • ‍Internal - a method for building a pipeline of potential employees.
    • Core 4:
      • Warm Outreach: Ask your network for referrals.
      • Cold Outreach: Use headhunting and recruiting methods.
      • Posting Content: Share job openings on your business and personal pages.
      • Paid Ads: HR Promotes job postings to attract potential candidates.
    • Lead Getters:
      • Employee Referrals
      • Community Owners
      • In-house Recruiters
      • Staffing Firms & Head Hunters

Once you have employees, train them to generate leads for you.

Here’s a 3-Step Process:

1. Document: You create a checklist or video of the lead generation tasks.
2. Demonstrate: You show the tasks to your employees.
3. Duplicate: Have the employees perform the tasks while you observe and provide feedback.

And that cycle is what you do, until the employee can give themselves feedback, and then they mastered the skill.

Pro Tip: Give Short Windows For People To Prove Themselves.

Most entry level advertising jobs aren’t complex.

It takes grit more than skill.

And this meta skill of grit/endurance––of being willing to continue to do something despite of failure, normally takes longer to train than the actual skill itself.

So if you trained someone properly and they’re still below expectations 3 weeks in, and they show they don't have grit––cut them.

It's important because it keeps that standards and the culture of the team high.

No one feels like they're freeloading.

Calculating Returns on Employee Investments

Break it down for your employees.

Be fully transparent with them:

Total Payroll / Total Engaged Leads = Cost per engaged lead.

  • Ex: $100,000 / 1000 leads = $100 per engaged lead

If one out of ten of the engaged leads become customers then our CAC is $1000

  • ($100 per engaged lead) x (10 engaged leads per customer) = $1000 CAC

If each customer has an LTGP of $4000 then you have an LTGP : CAC of 4:1

  • ($4000 LTGP) / ($1000 CAC) = 4:1

We typically want the ratio to be at least 3:1

Most people want to win.

If you show them the 'scoreboard', they'll do as much as they can to make sure it happens.

Diagnosing Issues

If your CAC is more than 3x industry average then you have a sales problem or an advertising problem.

We diagnose this with a single question:

Do my engaged leads have the problem I solve and the money to spend?

  • If no, then they're not qualified—that's an advertising problem.
  • If yes, then they're qualified and:
    • They're buying but you don't have enough of them—advertising problem.
    • They're qualified but not buying—sales problem.

Keep in mind, if your CAC is within 1x-3x of the industry standard, then you might have a business model issue.

You Can Buy Talent or Build Talent

You can either buy talent (recruit experienced individuals) or build talent (train new employees).

If you buy the talent, it costs more because they have the skill, and the speed to money is faster.

As the business scales, and the level of expertise required increases on the management side, we tend to buy more talent than we build it in-house.

Also, if you find an A player talent (who has 5X the output of a normal employee) and you pay that person 25% above the market rate, that's one of the greatest arbitrage value-creation opportunities you can have.