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It’s that time of year when business owners evaluate this year’s performance and figure out our goals for next year. One thing I’m reviewing is my lead nurturing strategy. I’ve got my sales tracker open, and I’m looking at which projects came through, which didn’t, and why?
Of the 35 new projects I tracked this year (many with new clients), only six didn’t come through. Four are pending. Of the four that are pending, I am confident that two will pull through. I’ll take an 83% conversion rate.
I’ve never tracked this data before, so I don’t know if this year was better than previous years.
But I think that’s a pretty solid conversion rate. I must be doing something right to nurture them through the sales process to a “yes”. My approach is a mix of marketing, sales, education, and integrity.
My most important lead nurturing strategy: follow up after that initial sales conversation
Last year, a solar panel company was knocking on doors in our neighborhood. Here in Colorado, you see a lot of solar panels (300 days of sunshine a year makes solar a no brainer!).
Anyway, we sat down for the pitch with the salesperson. She had a really compelling case and answered all of our questions.
At some point during her pitch, she said she never follows up with prospects. My mouth dropped open. I really could not believe what she had just said.
Always follow up after the initial sales conversation.
Unless a lead disqualified themselves (by behaving like a jerk or outright saying no), always follow up and stay in touch.
I typically follow up with a proposal. It doesn’t take me long to create them (I use templates), and it ensures I get to have another conversation with a prospect, answer their questions, and pull in some of the other tactics mentioned below.
Automate the process as much as possible
As soon as I send a proposal, I add a new task to Asana (the task management tool) reminding me to follow up on the proposal in a week. This is part of my process, and I never skip this step. (I was taught by a long-time project manager that there is ALWAYS a next step.)
For brand new leads who you haven’t talked to yet, an automated lead nurturing email campaign is the way to go. These campaigns trigger when a lead takes an action, like subscribing to your newsletter, downloading a free tool or ebook from your website, or registering for an event, like a webinar.
Once these campaigns are set up, they run on their own.
Don’t be afraid to talk about money
I send a “client intake” Google form to all leads before our sales conversation. One question I ask is how big their monthly marketing budget.
This question serves a few purposes:
- I know they’re established enough that they set aside money just for marketing.
- They can afford the content marketing they want/need right now.
- If they can’t afford what they’re asking for, I can prepare to offer alternatives.
And by the way, I’m not afraid to start small. I don’t have minimums for a reason. Many of my clients start out small and then the scope and number of projects balloon as we get to know each other.
I’ve been working with one client for a year and a half. They were introduced to me because they needed a welcome email series for one of their audiences. Eighteen months later, we are still working together on a monthly basis, and by year end, I will have made nearly $20,000 from this one client.
Suggest other products or services that are a better fit
Above I said that I will prepare to offer alternatives if a prospect doesn’t have the budget for everything right now. For example, the client might come to me with a laundry list of content marketing needs. I’ll suggest we start with the biggest priority and move on from there. (You can read more about tackling one project at time in my blog post, “No, You Don’t Need to Fix Your Marketing All at Once”.)
I may also offer a different service that I think is a better fit for them based on their goals. I do this regardless of budget. If you want to reach more people quickly, I will point you to email and podcasts and away from social media.
Keep going until you get a no
A few months ago, a former client responded to my monthly newsletter. She had reimagined her nonprofit and was accepting proposals for a big brand messaging strategy. My newsletter prompted her to reach out (score one for email marketing!).
She sent me the creative brief, I sent a proposal, and I got very positive feedback.
But the decision on who to work with wasn’t her own; her board was part of the decision-making process. They went with another agency that had more experience with their particular audience.
Was that a “no”?
You might think that was the end of it, but I thought otherwise. When my former client delivered the news, I responded that once the brand messaging strategy was done, we should talk about blogging, email marketing, and social media marketing. She thought this was a GREAT idea, and we are talking at the beginning of the new year.
Not once did she say she didn’t want to work with me. Until you hear a definitive “no,” keep going!
Reach out to prospects who didn’t convert yet
We all know it is much easier to market to people, like past clients, who already know and trust you. The conversion rate is way higher, too.
Well, I put a twist on it this fall and started reaching out to prospects from the past two years who hadn’t converted yet. Most of them had received proposals, so we already had at least one conversation under our belts.
They hadn’t said yes for budgetary reasons and/or company/department upheaval. So, again, none had said “no.”
So far, I have emailed eight prospects. Three responded, and I am already working with one of them. Two others asked me to reach out to discuss projects between now and January.
How do you nurture leads?
This is just my approach to a lead nurturing strategy. I’d love to hear yours – and what kind of success rate you’ve enjoyed.
Related: Even the Finest Luxury Brands Suffer From Weak Advertising