Monthly Archives: June 2018

Lead nurturing is not a waste of time, here is why…

Cast your mind back to that magical time when you first met your partner or someone you had a loving relationship with. Now, relationships are not all about commitment but it is normally an important part of it. With that in mind, do you think you would have talked to your partner about getting married or having children on your first date? If you did, could you blame them for running to the hills?

I am sure most of you would have stayed well off the subject before you had established a relationship and got to know your partner better. So, why is it that in business so many people expect relationships to be formed within a few phone calls? I know some people think work and personal life are best kept separated, but to follow the words of my old manager at Yell, ‘a relationship is a relationship is a relationship…’

Many companies I come across divide into three categories:

  1. They don’t do any marketing or lead generation of any form and get all their work from existing business and referrals
  2. They tick boxes, do a bit of this and a bit of that but generally don’t keep to any lead generation activities for long
  3. They have a sales person, or a sales team and they delegate all things to do with leads to them

I am not about to criticise any of the above as I believe companies should do what works best for them but I think it’s important to remember that lead nurturing does not normally fall into any of the above. In other words, it is rarely done properly or at all. There are three key reasons to this:

  1. Many of us fear rejection or are worried that we may appear desperate. We therefore consider keeping in touch with prospects and leads, degrading and unpleasant.
  2. Sometimes people think that if someone is going to make a positive decision, they have to do it quickly, so if they have not done so, they are not buying.
  3. We are all very busy, so there are always more important and urgent things to do on our ‘to do’ list

Lead nurturing is indeed one of those essential but non-urgent activities that we don’t do enough of and it is a real shame. Here are a few reasons why:

  • According to DISC profile, only 15% of people make decisions quickly, which means that keeping in touch is definitely worth it
  • Many people like to see you working for their business and really appreciate your reminders and calls
  • The bigger the deal and the organisation, the longer it takes to make a decision so getting to know everyone involved and understanding the process is definitely beneficial

So, next time you come across a lead and they don’t buy from you within 60 seconds, don’t give up, keep in touch and make sure you are clear on their buying process. This way you can support it in the most appropriate way for them and you are much more likely to convert the sale.

In addition, if you have no time to do this yourself, outsource it and have someone else do the donkey work.  Here is how we can help.

 

Lead nurturing – what is it and where does it fit in your sales process?

The American philosopher Deepak Chopra once said: ‘It takes a little bit of mindfulness and a little bit of attention to others to be a good listener, which helps cultivate emotional nurturing and engagement…’  Without wishing to go too deep, I think it’s a great quote which demonstrates relationship creation very well.

I know many of you will be wondering what all of this has to do with lead generation. Well, as generating leads is a key part of sales, building relationships is part and parcel of it. In our business we meet many clients who would like to find a shortcut which will bypass all of the relationship stuff and get them straight to a sale. I am sorry to say that in all the years I have been selling, I am yet to find this type of shortcut. I am afraid that if you want to develop new business, you need to put in the time for creating a relationship first. This is particularly true when it comes to B2B high value sales.

So now that we have all agreed that relationship creation is essential to a successful sale, let’s spend some time talking about lead nurturing;

  1. What is it then? It’s an overall term covering the numerous times you will need to follow up in order to turn a suspect into a prospect and then a client
  2. Why is it important? I have written before about buying styles and how they affect decision making. It transpires that only 15% of the population can make decisions fast, which means that you have to follow up a lot before you get an answer. If you are doing it right, you will be nurturing the relationship in the process, thus making a sale more likely.
  3. Where does it fit in your sales process? A business colleague of mine once told me that in his opinion, in between an enquiry coming in and a sale being made, a whole desert exists… I could not agree more, so, lead nurturing fits all the way through from when the lead is generated, to when a sale is made.
  4. Who should be charged with nurturing leads? Normally this is done by your sales function, be it you or your team. In my opinion, long term lead nurturing is better off being assigned to a skilled telemarketing team either in-house or outsourced. This will free up sales to deal with hot opportunities whilst ensuring that leads are not forgotten.

I hope you found this helpful. If you are one of those people who understand better through pictures, check out this infographic. You can also check out our lead nurturing service here. Do get in touch if you wish to discuss this further.