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:
- They don’t do any marketing or lead generation of any form and get all their work from existing business and referrals
- 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
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.