Lead Nurturing

The term “lead nurturing” implies that leads, in particular - Internet sales prospects, require more attention than simply providing product information and trying to close the sale. Nurturing is about developing the relationship with your future customer - providing information that gives value and sustains the development of the relationship. But how do you go about properly nurturing your Internet leads and otherwise keeping your prospects engaged? While the specifics of the information you provide and how frequently you communicate will vary depending on your audience, what is important is having a well-defined communication process in place, gauging its effectiveness as you go along, and adjusting when necessary. The following are tips for the proper care and nurturing of your Internet leads.

Why Lead Nurturing At All?

Business consultant M. H. “Mac” McIntosh, an expert on B2B sales leads, explains that it’s only natural (and smart) for sales people to go after the low hanging fruit – those prospects that look ready-to-buy right now. However there’s an inherent problem with this practice, which is - too many good prospects get ignored. According to McIntosh, nearly three-quarters of sales opportunities are missed because a large majority of leads may be seriously looking to buy, but just not immediately. These are prospects who are gathering more information in order to make a decision.Ignore them today, and they’ll most likely buy from your competitor tomorrow because you’re competitor is not ignoring them today – your competitor is giving them the information (i.e. the nurturing) – they need to make a decision.

One of the best things to keep in mind about B2B Internet leads is that prospects don’t just submit them for fun. Let’s face it - there are a lot more fun things to do on the Internet than to submit a lead for a business product. Thus, sales reps need to take Internet leads seriously. This is a person who has waved their hand and said, “I’m interested in purchasing this product.” Internet leads should be considered not only for fast sales, but also for their long-term value.

Key Steps in Nurturing Your Leads

Nurturing your leads does not have to take away from the active selling you’re dong with today’s ready-to-buy prospects. Having a solid follow-up process in place is the key to being efficient.

Step 1 – Immediate Follow Up: The Introductory Personal Email and Phone Call

The first step in nurturing your leads begins with your immediate response once you receive the lead. This response should include three mediums: an auto responder (automatically-triggered) email, a personal introduction email from you (or the sales rep who will be working with them), and a personal phone call or voice mail. This is your first step in building rapport with your prospect.Some people will ask - if your company sends an auto responder to prospects who submit a lead, do you really have to send a personal introduction email? The answer in 99.9% of cases is - yes. Even if your company has a sophisticated system that dynamically enters your prospect’s name and product preferences along with your contact information into the auto responder, nothing beats a personal email, followed up by phone call, to start building rapport.

Internet users today expect auto responders, but they don’t always expect a well-written personal email with their sales rep’s contact information, including a cell phone number, followed by a phone call, that addresses their needs. The personal touch always goes a long way. For a sample intro email to a new prospect, see the complementary article “Email Responses that Get Results” in Wheelhouse Vendor Resources.

And for tactical tips on making winning phone calls to your prospects, check out the article “7 Best Practices for Excellent Prospecting Phone Calls.”

Step 2 – If No Response, 2 Days Later: Email and Phone Call

If you don’t hear from your prospect right away or don’t get them on the phone, follow up in a couple of days. Sure, this is Sales 101, but it’s surprising how many sales people jump to the conclusion that the prospect is not interested if they don’t respond right away. Assume they’re interested until they tell you they’re not. Also, assume they’re busy just as you are, and your follow-up is making their job easier.

The key to a strong follow-up, no matter where you are in your lead nurturing process, is to be consistent and relevant. View your leads as future customers; not just prospects. Never call just to say “hi” or simply “touch base.” Always contact your prospect with the intention to provide value and with a valid reason for the call.

For a Step 2 follow-up, you could mention a special or promotion you have going, or a certain product feature they may not know about that you want to make sure they understand. The key is to add value – something new and additional to what you provided in your initial response.

Step 3 – Subsequent Follow Ups – Phone and/or Email

As you continue to nurture your lead, communicate using the channel you find the most effective with your prospect, and if you’re not sure, switch it off and on – using both phone and email to keep things fresh. Email constitutes bulk “drip marketing” emails, such as a newsletter, and personal emails

Try following up one week later, then a few days later, and then a week later again.

Include a Senior Manager or Technology Expert in Your Exchange

Another way to keep things fresh is to have an additional person from your organization contact your prospect in conjunction with you. This could be your manager or a colleague who is an expert on the technology of the product you’re selling. The reason for this is that you express to your prospect that they are important enough to your organization that a team of people are working on delivering value and providing solutions to their needs.

If you’ve had an exchange with your prospect, provide information based on a previous conversation. And always answer any questions they’ve asked, and provide even more information and more benefits than they expect.

Ongoing – Continue to Offer Additional Value

The most successful sales people agree: never give up on your leads. Keep working them until they tell you they are no longer in the market. The key is to continue to provide value and to continue to be courteous and polite.

Examples of value bundles you can provide:

Information on new product offerings, new features, or product updates.
Promotions, discounts, or other specials.
Testimonials from existing customers, or best practices and results they’ve experienced – even if you just talk in hypotheticals, i.e.: “One of my customers found that the x feature really helped them to…”
Interesting stats, studies, white papers, and case studies that relate to your prospect’s business and which will help them be more successful.

Treat Your Prospects Like They Are Already Valued, Long Term Customers

The key to successful lead nurturing is to take the relationship you have with your prospect beyond the “I’m trying to sell you something” stage to one where you are already treating them like a valued, long term customer. The best way to build a relationship is to be a consultant to your prospect and to let them know you are there to help them get results and to be successful. Then, just when they’re ready to buy, you’ll be the person they want to do business with.