How to Find New Customers and Increase Sales (11 Best Strategies)

You can attract new customers and make your sales graph go up in two ways:

• Either spend a ridiculous amount of time and resources to try all the methods.
• Or use the right strategies to get the same results on budget.

If you ask me, the second option makes more sense. 

But the problem is, what are the right methods to get new customers?

Don’t worry, I’ll help you!

I have been experimenting with almost every strategy and channel to bring business to brands for over a decade.

And in this blog, I’ll share my working methods to bring in new customers and increase your sales.

So, let’s start!

11 Ways to Find New Customers Generate More Sales

I hope you have your ICP and Buyer persona ready.

As it will help you focus your lead-generation efforts on the right audience.

A targeted approach will help you save time and resources compared to a broad and unfocused strategy.

Plus, it makes it easier for you to choose the right strategy. 

Speaking of which, here are the 11 ways you can find new customers:

1. Send Highly Personalized Cold Emails
2. Use Social Media to Connect With the Decision-Makers
3. Encourage Referrals From Happy Customers
4. Create Valuable Content to Attract and Educate Potential Buyers
5. Run Targeted Paid Ads to Reach the Right Audience Instantly
6. Make Strategic Cold Calls to Engage Potential Customers Directly
7. Attend Industry Events to Directly Meet Prospects
8. Partner With Complementary Businesses to Expand Your Reach
9. Collaborate With Influences
10. Register Your Business in an Online Directory
11. Offer a Free Demo or Special Offers for New Customers

Plus, a Bonus Tip on How to Use AI to Find New Customers

1. Send Highly Personalized Cold Emails

I highly recommend this method for any business. A well-executed cold email campaign can generate an ROI of up to 4400% compared to any other channel!

What is cold email outreach?

It is a cold outreach strategy where you send highly personalized emails to your prospective customers with whom you have had no prior contact.

The Goal?

Establish and build a trusted relationship with your prospects and eventually grow it to the point where you have them as customers.

Now, here are some things you need to keep in mind to run a successful email campaign (apart from ICP and Buyer Persoana):

• Have a catchy subject line
• Keep it short and conversational
• Prioritize building the connection first rather than selling.
• Don’t use spammy language
• Make sure to send follow-up emails

Also read:  Best Cold Email Templates to Get Responses

All in all, cold emailing is a proactive approach.

You are reaching out to your next potential customer and showing them how you can improve their business.

Now, the next obvious question is, “How many people can I reach?”

Well, Cold emailing is highly, highly scalable. You can even send 10,000 emails in a day!

It can easily help you add more leads to your sales pipeline.

But if you are planning to do it manually, there’s a catch…

Think about it: how much time and effort you’ll have to spend to write personalized emails, send them, and manage replies….

Phew! It will be too hectic.

The solution? – Automate the entire process with good cold email software.

With the right software, you can personalize, automate, and scale your email outreach easily.

2. Use Social Media to Connect With the Decision-Makers

When compared to cold emails, social media offers a more informal and engaging way to build relationships with decision-makers.

It allows you to humanize your brand and establish trust in a less intrusive and more conversational way.

Just look at the below image, and you’ll know how many new customers you can make from social media 🔽

While sending messages, make sure to keep them respectful and conversational. Also, there’s no need to be too pushy or salesy. 

Win their trust by letting them know what value you can offer. 

You just have to be respectful, and if your connection request is approved, you can start the conversation right away.

For B2B, I always suggest LinkedIn, as it is THE Social Media Platform for professionals.

You can use the LinkedIn Sales Navigator to find your prospects and connect with them through personalized messages.

But it can get quite expensive!.

Social media is also a great place to start your personal brand.

It will help in further establishing a connection between your brand and your audience.

However, keep in mind that there’s a limit to how many messages you can send per day on every social media platform. 

Not following their limit might land your account a shadow ban or even a permanent ban!

Regardless, your goal should be to grow their trust in you.

Connecting with them based on mutual goals and interacting with their posts all help to get their attention.

However, if I find relevant people to connect with on LinkedIn, I would use a LinkedIn email finder and connect with them through cold emails. 

It’s cheaper than Sales Navigator and easier for me to track the campaign using cold email software.

3. Ask for  Referrals From Happy Customers

Apart from building a new relationship with the prospects, you can use the existing ones to bring in sales. 

Didn’t get it? Let me explain…

You can ask your satisfied customers to give you referrals, which is basically asking them to do word-of-mouth marketing for your product or service.

Since these customers already have connections with others, their words are more trustworthy.

Thus, you will get inquiries from interested prospects.

The leads thus generated are more likely to convert into customers. So it’s worth the effort.

I would even suggest launching a referral program where you can offer discounts, gift cards, or exclusive perks for every referral your existing customers bring in.

This will be a win-win for you and your customers.

If your customers don’t have referrals, you can still ask them to give you shoutouts on LinkedIn. It can also bring in interested prospects.

4. Create Valuable Content to Attract and Educate Potential Buyers

When you face a problem or want something, what would you do? 

You search for the solution, right? 

The content you thus consume will influence your decision.

Similarly, you can create content around common queries your target audience has — so when they search, they find you.

Content marketing is a very efficient way to attract new customers organically. Offer them value, and you will gain their trust to consider your solution.

Now, creating content can be a time and resource-consuming process. Plus, you will be required to optimize your content based on the changes in the latest trends and competition. 

But if you are ready to invest in it, content marketing is a worthy option. 

5. Run Targeted Paid Ads to Reach the Right Audience Instantly

Paid advertising is one of the fastest ways to get your business in front of the right audience.

It offers precise targeting options and also lets you tailor campaigns to specific demographics, interests, behaviors, and even stages of the buyer’s journey. 

However, not all ads are created equal.

Depending on your goals, you can choose from different types of paid ad campaigns to maximize your results.

Types of Paid Ads You Can Run:

• Search Ads (Google Ads, Bing Ads)
• Social Media Ads (e.g., Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads)
• Sponsored Content (Blogs and Videos)
• Retargeting Ads
• Video Ads (ads on video platforms like YouTube, TikTok, etc)

To get the most out of your paid ad campaigns, align them with your business objectives. 

If you want to get your brand’s reach to a broad audience, optimize your campaign based on metrics such as Impressions, reach, and engagement rates.

To generate leads, you can offer free eBooks, webinars, or consultations in exchange for email sign-ups. 

Here, you should track the Cost Per Lead (CPL) and conversion rate to optimize your campaign.

Apart from that, there are also conversion-focused campaigns, where you can use strong CTAs like Buy Now, Sign Up Today, or Get a Free Trial.

To make your ad campaigns successful, test different criteria, craft compelling ad copies, and use eye-catching visuals.

Also, always start small and scale (while optimizing) based on the success of your campaigns.

6. Make Strategic Cold Calls to Engage Potential Customers Directly

Cold calling has been around for a long time, and while some may think it’s not as good as it used to be.

But I beg to differ. The truth is— with the right script, cold calling can still do wonders.

It is one of the few strategies where you will be able to interact with your leads and influence their sales decisions.

You will get immediate feedback and can establish a connection faster when compared to other cold outreach methods.

However, I know you might have raised your eyebrows when I pitched about cold calling, and the reasons are valid.

Cold calling is often considered intrusive, time-consuming, and very hard to scale.

You will be required to plan all the outcomes and have a well-prepared script. 

When compared to cold emailing, cold calling’s use case might fall short. So, to help you, I have compared both below 👇

7. Attend Industry Events to Directly Meet Prospects

I would say this is the best way to meet your prospects as you can showcase your product or service and then show what value it provides – live!

Events are one unique channel through which interested leads will approach your booth and give you the contact information to reach out.

Attending expos or such events will give you instant feedback on your offerings, which will help you improve them down the line.

Yes, the initial cost to set up these expos is high, but based on the ROI, it’s totally worth it.

Once the event is over, follow up with the leads you receive from the expos, as there’s a high chance that most of them will be converted to customers.

8. Partner With Complementary Businesses to Expand Your Reach

You have one solution to one of your prospects’ requirements. 

How about you offer more than one solution?

That will easily increase your chances of getting high-ticket clients.

Rather than developing multiple solutions, you can just collaborate with others to offer better value to your prospects.

Let’s take the example of a graphic design agency:

Apart from offering graphic design services, they can also collaborate with copywriters, video editors, or photographers and thus offer a better bundle deal for clients.

Plus, it brings in more revenue, which I don’t think anyone will say no to 😉

9. Collaborate With Influences

One of the emerging B2B marketing trends in 2024 and 2025 is collaborating with influencers.

Now, we all follow industry experts or influencers to learn about the latest trends or to hear their opinions, right?

So what about you collaborating with them? They have a strong audience that trusts these influencers, and you can promote your solution there.

The influencer market is growing, so using it for your sales growth is the right choice.

You can ask them to review your offering, create tutorials, share testimonials, or do paid collaboration.

Audiences who are interested will then visit your site or contact you for further information.

10. Register Your Business in an Online Directory

Have you ever used an online directory? If not, you should definitely try it. 

These directories make finding the business you need easy based on your requirements.

People who are very serious about their business often use business directories to search for businesses and have a high chance of conversion.

If you’re searching for a lead generation agency, you can check out Clutch, GoodFirms, UpCity, and Saleshandy’s Agency Directory.

On the other hand, if you’re a lead generation agency and want to register yourself in a directory, you should register in Saleshandy’s Agency Partners.

Also, keep in mind that these directories often rank in search results. So, if you don’t register your business, you will be missing out on our high-ticket, long-term clients.

11. Offer a Free Demo or Special Offers for New Customers

Who would say no to a free demo?

If you are successful enough to generate interest in leads to know more about your business, then don’t let them drop off at the last moment.

Offer them free trials so that even they know if your solution is the best for them.

Along with that, offering special discounts or coupons can further influence their decision to consider your offering.

Bonus Tip: How to Use AI to Find New Customers

AI is the trend now, and it’s rightfully so. It can do many things, but how can you use it for your maximum benefit?

I’ll tell you…

You can use the help of AI tools for lead generation, sorting them, and even doing replies and follow-ups.

Let me take the example of sending a cold email using Saleshandy.

Based on the replies, Saleshandy’s in-built AI sorts them, making it easy for me to focus on those who showed interest. 

In addition, you can use AI-powered chatbots on your website to address common customer queries 24/7, nurture your leads, and even guide visitors through the sales funnel. 

These bots can qualify leads by asking relevant questions and collecting valuable data about their needs and preferences.

But that’s not all!

You can use AI to analyze customer behavior, predict future trends, and optimize your marketing campaigns for better results. 

With the help of AI insights, you will be able to generate hyper-personalized experiences that resonate with your audience and drive conversions.

So yeah, AI isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a game-changer for businesses that know how to use it well.

Grow Your Customer Base and Increase Sales With Handy Methods

So yeah, I have shown you all the strategies that I have used and have had success with.

You can select the one which suits your requirements. But if you asked me to recommend one, I’d say start with cold emailing.

That’s what got me huge success and deals and helped me grow many brands from bootstrapped to success.

For me, customer acquisition truly is an art. It requires careful planning things, strategic thinking and requires you to use your creativity. 

Whether you’re crafting personalized emails, networking at events, or leveraging AI tools, the key is to focus on delivering value and building trust.

Apart from bringing in new customers, also make sure not to lose them. 

You just have to give them the best experience when it comes to product and service. They will then continue with you for a long time.

Now, I wish you all the best and be sure to let me know how these strategies helped you!

How to Find New Customers and Increase Sales: FAQs

1. How do you get high-value customers?

In order to get high-value customers, you need to start with your lead generation. Focus on finding the leads, to whom you can offer the best value from your offerings. Understand their requirements or needs.

Afterward, place your product or service as the solution to these requirements and take a proactive approach. You can try cold emailing or cold calling for this. While they might not convert at the first outreach, you should still try different approaches to make them your customers.

2. How do I make my customer acquisition strategies more focused?

To make your customer acquisition strategies more focused, start by identifying and segmenting your ideal customer profiles (ICPs). Prioritize the segments with the highest potential for growth or alignment with your offering.

Then, tailor your messaging, content, and outreach channels like cold emailing can cold calling to meet the specific pain points and needs of each segment. This personalized approach increases relevance and engagement, driving better results while optimizing resources. Regularly assess segment performance to refine and adjust your strategies accordingly.

3. Which is the best lead generation strategy for startups?

Well, it depends on the startups. Because the strategy is different for each of the customer segments. However, if you ask me, I would suggest combining content creation with cold outreach.

By producing valuable, relevant content (like blogs, whitepapers, and case studies), startups can attract organic traffic and build trust. Complement this with targeted cold emailing to reach specific prospects directly. Cold emailing allows you to engage with leads in a personalized way, increasing the chances of conversion.