As a business consultant, something I often hear from both small and large companies is “We need more leads.” After careful evaluation, what I typically find is that these companies are actually leaving leads on the table and are unaware of it.
We can get so into our day-to-day routine that even the most obvious tasks that generate leads are overlooked. So, how can you ensure that you are filtering leads through a funnel and not leaving dollars on the table from the lack of follow up? Great question! Today I’m going to give you some answers.
Where do you start? You have to first identify where leads are being generated. You can do this by evaluating every area of your business.
Small Business Evaluation
If you are a small business evaluate the following:
- Website Leads
- Social Media Leads
- Inactive Customers
- Phone Call Leads
- Business Network Leads
Take a few moments and think of every place that triggers inquiry. What plan do you have in place to follow up with these leads even after initial inquiry? Remember, most consumers need to have you in front of them up to seven times before they make a decision.
Large Corporation Evaluation
If you are a larger corporation there can sometimes be more cracks in the lead funnel process just because of the size of your organization. As a large corporation you should evaluate the following:
- Website Leads
- Call Center Leads
- Inactive Customers
- Phone Call Leads
- Business Network Leads
Do the same thing as I’ve asked the small business to do, take a few moments and think of every place that triggers inquiry. After the inquiry comes in, what happens? Is the contact information stored into a database to be followed up on, or is it simply pushed aside to never receive follow-up communication?
Leads Are Slipping Through the Cracks
If you are like most businesses you will probably be surprised at how many leads are slipping through the cracks, but that’s OK. I’m going to show you how to put a stop to that today.
To ensure that leads are not slipping through the cracks and are being worked and followed up on, you must have a system in place. Remember that these leads are warm leads; they are consumers that have shown an interest in your business, but they often need more than “one touch” in order to take action.
Putting a Process in Place
Now that you’ve identified where the lead slippage is, let’s put a stop to it by putting a lead nurturing process in place. Through this process we will cultivate the leads by learning more about people’s needs and providing them with the information that they need to make a buying decision.
Through this process, we will work to segment the consumer and create a progressive profile of them that identifies their needs. In order for our process to be successful, it must do the following.
Understand Your Consumer
Who are they? What are they looking for? What’s important to them? What problem are they trying to solve?
Understand Their Motivation
What do they need in order to make a buying decision?
Identify the Consumer Experience
Start with the end in mind and create a blueprint that helps them get to that decision.
Map and Define Your Lead Nurturing Program
Determine your goal, then create contact touch points, messaging, and offers.
Automate the Process Where You Can
Once you’ve mapped out the program, make sure that you identify where you can automate the process. This will help in ensuring that the program flows smoothly and will decrease the amount of time it takes to maintain it.
Steps to Creating Your Own Process
Below I have mapped out a sample lead nurturing flow that can help you in getting started with creating your own process.
Step 1: Identify Where Leads Are Being Generated
This process should be fairly easy, since earlier we already identified where leads are being generated.
Step 2: Determine a Campaign Goal
What is the goal of the campaign that you’ve identified? You will use this to measure your campaign effectiveness.
Step 3: Identify a Lead Nurturing Platform That Will Help You in Setting up Auto Responses and Emails
Suggested platforms include:
Beginner
- Campaigner
- Nurture
- Genius
- InfusionSoft
- LoopFuse
Enterprise Level
- Marketo
- Eloqua
- Pardot
Step 4: Write Your Messaging
Writing your messaging will take a bit of time as this is where you are going to use your blueprint. During this step you will craft automatically generated emails that are set to send on an interval basis, telephone scripts, webpages, as well as content that you want to send the prospect in order to encourage engagement.
When crafting emails I like to use HubSpot’s email model and include the following:
- Sender Name
- Reply to Email
- Subject Lines
- Email Headline
- Email Body (Don’t get wordy here – 150 word or less please)
- Unique Tracking URL (This will help you measure success based on how many people click on that URL to visit a webpage with more information)
- Signature
Step 5: Test Your Campaign
Use this step to test your campaign. You want to test the following:
- Sequence of your lead nurturing program.
- Emails (Are they written well? Do the links work?)
- Webpages (Are they written well? Is there a call to action?)
- Telephone Scripts (Are they clear and easy for people to understand? Is there a call to action?)
Step 6: Train Your Sales Team and Staff on the Process and Sequence of Events
Make sure everyone is on the same page and understands the process. Also ask for them to give you feedback on the response they are receiving so you can modify the process as necessary.
Step 7: Launch your Lead Nurturing Campaign
Next in the process is to begin entering leads into the platform you have decided on to start the lead nurturing process.
Step 8: Monitor, Track, and Tweak
Monitor, track, and make changes when necessary. As time goes on, you’ll be able to fine tune the process and tweak it to increase effectiveness and performance.
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