Let’s Talk Lead Nurturing. Studies have shown that only 17% of new leads are actually sales-ready.   Which has me thinking, what about the other 83% of my clients leads? Well, according to a few different sources there are various reasons why sales teams drop the ball when it comes to acquisition.

Needless to say, whatever issues an organization may have on the sales side, it’s the marketing agency’s responsibility to help establish a sales funnel that focuses on nurturing the companies leads throughout the buying process.

What is lead nurturing?

When I hear “lead nurturing” my mind automatically goes to people at corporations holding their customers like babies until they are ready to purchase. I think the culprit of my interpretation is the word nurturing. Bizarre as this image may be, it is an effective metaphor for lead nurturing. A quick google search gave me the definition:

Lead nurturing is the process of developing relationships with buyers at every stage of the sales funnel and through every step of the buyer’s journey. It focuses on marketing and communication efforts on listening to the needs of prospects and providing the information and answers they need. — https://www.marketo.com/lead-nurturing/

Let me put this as a real-life example with less marketing jargon: Imagine your customers are at a restaurant and you are the server. Your job is to go around and greet each of the customers and tell them the daily specials. The thing is your customers are not provided a menu or any additional information about your dishes. No matter how good your prices and your pitch may be, it’s going to be hard for your customers to be able to pull the trigger with it comes around to ordering.

When properly executed, lead nurturing ultimately results in that potential 83% of customer leads to convert into sales. Studies show that companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at a 33% lower cost. This makes marketing Investment worth your time and money.

So, What’s involved in lead nurturing?

When It comes to lead nurturing many companies understand the benefits of practicing this model but just don’t understand where to start. Lead nurturing is easy and we suggest these three strategies that have been proven to convert your sales without utilizing a hard sell.

1. Start solving your customers’ problems and then repeat

When it comes to motivated your customers, studies show that highlighting your solutions to customers’ problems is more likely to produce favorable results. Problems create fear and anxiety for businesses and providing them with a solution to their problems will help get their attention.

2. Give your customers things that they actually want for FREE

This doesn’t mean spamming your customers with useless infographics and irrelevant incoherent marketing campaigns that only highlight your lowest price. Customers are motivated by tools to help solve their problems such as white papers, ebooks, and relevant industry tools. Giving your customers this will establish a positive working relationship and your customers will start to look to you for help resolving their problems.

3. Stop Pressuring Your Leads To Commit

Have you ever inquired about a gym membership? If so, then I am sure that the next day you were called by a 210lb bodybuilder, subscribed to their email campaigns, and had three texts to come stop by for a visit. This type of aggressive marketing just doesn’t cut it in 2019. Pushing your customers to buy on the spot pushes them into their fight or flight mechanism making closing your sale almost impossible.

We recommend utilizing content marketing to develop the fragile lead relationship in the beginning and if you’re not sure what content marketing is, check out my blog posts:

• Website Content marketing
• Social Media Content Marketing
• Email Content Marketing

This seems overwhelming, How can this all be accomplished?

Now I know what you are thinking, How am I going to manage this while doing all the other daily tasks needed to run my business? Well, the short answer to that is your not. There is no way that you can manage your small business and efficiently manage all of your media channels. That is why I suggest using marketing automation to help carry the workload while you focus on what you do best.

///—Check Out My Post On Marketing Automation—///

Also, its time to start leveraging an integrated marketing agency. The time for just having a web design agency and some freelancers are over. Getting a holistic approach to your marketing will allow you to start nurturing those leads into lifelong clients.