Let’s get back to basics for a moment on the subject of new business.
We consistently preach our philosophy and mantra when speaking with prospects: we maintain a relationship-building approach that doesn’t shove the company down the prospect’s throat, but instead shows them, through respectful, yet consistent and useful contact, that the company understands their challenges. (Now we didn’t invent the concept, mind you, as its called lead nurturing, amongst other labels, but it’s one we’ve fully made our own.)
So it’s always heartening to see it touted by others, and specifically in this case, at the site marketo.com. Marketo, if you’re not familiar, is “the fastest growing provider of marketing automation and revenue-building best practices.”
While their focus is on B2B, they have a great (and free) guide called The Definitive Guide to Lead Nurturing. It’s a bit lengthy, but their tips can be very easily adapted to your own new business and it’s well worth a look. A couple of points to take away, the first slightly modified by me:
Up to 95 percent of qualified prospects on your Web site are there to research and are not yet ready to talk . . . but as many as 70 percent of them will eventually engage you.
Think about this in terms of your own new business efforts. Quite often, a visit to your site or a show of initial interest from a mail or email campaign doesn’t translate to immediate work-in-hand. And this is where companies so often fall short-they stop too early, sometimes after only one follow up email or phone call!
I altered the following chart to read “new business", and I love these tips:
That last bit, “How can you tell” should be at the top of your new business road map. Per the report:
Most non-sales-ready leads will eventually be ready — and it is up to you to both provide them with relevant information and to be there when they are ready to make a buying decision.
Take this advice to heart-it will serve you well.
Download The Definitive Guide to Lead Nurturing here.
Comments