Picture it! Your leads are steadily coming in. Your marketing system is set up. You’ve put together a perfect lead capturing system for your business. Yet those conversions aren’t where you want them. What’s the problem?
Well, it isn’t just enough to get the leads—you have to nurture them, too. During this nurturing phase it’s important to view them as humans first. Don’t see those dollar signs just yet! Take this opportunity to build trust and cultivate a relationship with these leads. Trust us, use this as a time to build a fanbase for your product or service!
Now, let’s get out the top 5 things you must do to nurture those leads into paying customers or clients.
Sell Like You’re Selling Something to the Rich
Even if your product or service isn’t geared toward the rich, you should act like it is. Your prospects will love this. What does this translate into? Exuding that care and personal touch, especially in follow-ups. (Think of those high-end boutiques that treat their high paying customers like royalty!)
We definitely don’t recommend buying a $1000.00 bottle of champagne for your leads. But there is definitely something about duplicating that same energy while nurturing your own leads.
Top-notch treatment and providing a personal touch costs very little or nothing: stay in contact with them, respond to their DMs or emails, reach out to them, give them some advice, and seek them out on social media to like, comment, and share their posts. It will pay dividends in the long-run!
The Money is in the Follow Up
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is thinking that interest equals conversions i.e. money. The truth is, the real work isn’t capturing leads, but nurturing them during follow-up!
Just like we mentioned before, the sale won’t happen right away. You’ll have to work at it by providing a personalized, real, genuine experience to them until they do convert.
Keep in mind, the money may not come in right away. However, if you work at it, it’ll work for your business. The real magic happens in following up and building trust with your leads.
How long does it take to get a lead to convert? As a business owner you have to be in it for the long haul. This “long haul” could be 2 months, 6 months, maybe even a whole year before you get that lead to convert. Your lead nurturing process shouldn’t be about the whole, but the sum of its parts.
Market to Them Until They Buy or Fly
There’s a reason the follow up process takes multiple attempts (it can take from 7 to 20 touchpoints before you close the sale). You already know the process takes time and follow up is important, but if the lead isn’t budging or interacting after a long time, it’s time to move on
Persistence and patience is important in nurturing that lead. However, so is knowing that the lead isn’t going to end in a sale. If the lead just isn’t interacting with your efforts, it’s best to give up and move on. This is especially true if you’ve already spent a huge amount of time on this lead already.
Remember, persistence is important as you nurture leads, but so is cutting your losses. Don’t put time into anything you know won’t bring you any benefits. As a business owner you have to remember your time is precious.
Use All Your Marketing Tools
When you think of following up, what comes to mind? Phone calls? Maybe even a database for your leads? You’d be shocked to know lead nurturing can be so much more. Your business will need or may have these tools readily available. This could include:
- Newsletters
- Emails
- Email funnels
- Blogs and Articles
- Whitepapers and Downloadable Freebies
- Social Media
- Direct Mail
- SMS Auto-Responder
- Networking
This is why it’s so important to have your marketing strategy and your marketing system established. You have to know what you NEED and what you HAVE at your disposal before you can plan your next steps. The follow up that your audience is most responsive to is of the utmost importance. Once you know what they respond to, it will help you choose the right marketing tool for your lead nurturing efforts.
Delegate (If Needed)
The art of nurturing is just that—an art. Whether you’re the solopreneur or you have a team, when it comes to nurturing your leads, it’s important to have someone do it who knows best practices. It’s something that is very hard to do while juggling other responsibilities in your business.
Nurturing your leads deserve time and care. Without this, leads that could have been sales will slip through the cracks. The main takeaway should be that if you can’t give the time to nurture leads, you must find someone who can do it. This process is so important that it must get the time it deserves.
The Verdict
The art of pushing your leads all the way to conversion is a complicated one. It’s definitely not as obvious as other parts of your marketing system, but it’s an important part to understand in depth. Remember, this step is the most important in cultivating sales. If you aren’t prepared, or if you don’t have your marketing system set up, it could hurt you and your sales goals in the long run.
