important things in inbound marketing. 1. They attract new prospects. 2. They help nurture existing leads. If I were a marketing or sales VP or a small business owner starting inbound marketing, I wouldn’t leave out any of these. But this stuff doesn’t happen overnight. Pick three areas first in which to create momentum, before trying to do them all. Most of these techniques require a time investment instead of a financial investment. Many of these things support each other. So, it’s important to do things in the proper order and to prioritize. Referrals Your best marketing and source of inbound leads are happy customers. When customers recommend your product or service to a peer, they’re establishing that you’re credible and trustworthy. The trust implicit in their relationship with the prospect they’re referring is transferred to you. On the web, you can accelerate the pace of referrals by “entering the conversation,” setting the precedent for receiving referrals by giving referrals (the law of reciprocity: you get more of what you give) and by generally making yourself available to speak with new people whether there’s an immediate, direct connection between their need and your service or not. Free Tools/Trials It’s hard to remember now, but ten years ago, very few software companies offered free trials. Everyone was worried that competitors would learn too much, and that salespeople would lose a lot of leverage with prospects. Salesforce.com changed everything as one of the first companies to offer a full 30-day free trial of its service on its website. It became their #1 lead generation and sales tool! HubSpot’s WebsiteGrader.com is a free SEO and website analysis tool that lets