Lead Nurturing - Setting Up
What does it mean to nurture a lead? Dictionary.com defines
nurture as to support and encourage, as during
the period of training or development; foster.
In business when we nurture leads, we are simply attempting to
educate people through the sales process and eventually lead a person to the
point of sale. Lead nurturing is the act and the process through which we do
that.
For some the process is very short, while for others the process
is very long. For some, depending on the systems in place, the nurturing is
very easy. For others with no systems, it can be a real nightmare and even the
fall of the business or salesperson.
First of all, as a salesperson, marketing manager or business
owner, you need to know and understand who your customers are. The message you
give to young people versus elderly people will be vastly different; the
message you give to a business owner versus a consumer will be different. In
all cases, you need to speak first to the "croc brain" or the
emotions to even get them to listen to you, but in order to do that, you need
to know your customer in order to be able to touch on those subjects that will
cause them to stop and listen.
Once you know who your customers are, you need to get to know
them in order to speak to them and their wants and needs! Visit with them, be
genuinely interested in who they are, and when they share something personal,
make sure you remember it. In the business world, we meet so many people and
sometimes it becomes difficult to remember some of those important little
details. If you have trouble remembering everything people tell you, take
"quick notes" and store them in your database so that when you call
them the next time, your memory has been tweaked and you remember exactly who
they are and what they have shared with you. Past conversations are a great way
to pick up a new conversation, and your prospect will feel good that you have
paid enough attention to remember some details of prior conversations. It will
begin to create, foster and grow the "know, like and trust" aspect
your customers need before they buy.
When we know who our customers are and what their wants and
needs are, we are able to speak to them in their own language about something
that is important to them. Now we start to nurture them, grow them, educate
them, and stay on the tops of their minds.
The real secret is to get to and stay on the top of minds and
continue to educate your prospects, but do it in ways that have impact. You
know the old saying about happening to be in the right place at the right time?
In business, that is very deliberate. We want to make sure we are always in the
right place at the right time!
Sometimes being in the right place means we just made a phone
call; sometimes it means we just sent an email or perhaps a card or letter,
sometimes it meant we were networking and happened to bump into someone who
could benefit from their product or service. You just never know, the options
are endless, but in all regards, our names are "out there" if we have
been deliberately active.
There are many ways to accomplish this, but they all come back
to two major details: your self-initiative and your database! (Obviously my
affections are with By The Numbers!)
If you have the self-initiative to follow through on whatever
systems you have in place, you will use dogged determination and be active in
keeping in touch with your prospects and customers and keep on top of exactly
what they want and need. Become the one who can educate prospects by providing
information and value them. Show them you understand their business or their
situation, and you have solutions to what keeps them awake at night. Become
their trusted source and advisor. As they grow to know, like and trust you,
your sales will grow, too.
Do not just go to a networking meeting and introduce yourself
and walk away; get to know the people. Be very generous in referring and
recommending others, too. You want to become go-to person for solutions for all
kinds of problems because you have such a large network of friends and
acquaintances that you can refer to anyone!
If your database has been carefully tended, you will be able to
easily gather the information necessary to speak to your customers' and
prospects' wants and needs, you will be able to be a person "of your
word" because, not only do you know what you promised to people, but you
will be able to deliver what was promised on time, and more or less you will
know exactly what you are talking about in sending out direct mail, making
phone calls or talking in person. You will be the person who can educate them
on what they are seeking. It has been said that a person needs about 13 touches
before a sale is made. That includes snail mail, email, direct mail,
face-to-face conversations, social media, and other types of advertising.
Oh yes, just have to include this little tidbit, one of the
greatest lead nurturing tools still around today is the HAND WRITTEN note. I'm
not talking about fake handwriting, but really, truly your very own writing on
a card, sent by snail mail. Get in the habit of sending several each day, and
you will start to win over the hearts and minds and loyalty of people.
In conclusion, in setting up a lead nurturing process, we need
two main ingredients: self-initiative and a good database. The actual way then
in which we nurture can vary, but it will be multi-faceted and systematic.
Susan Raisanen is in the business of increasing revenues for
businesses through the use of an effective lead, sales and marketing management
software. She is a sales professional for By The Numbers ( http://www.ByTheNumbersSoftware.com ) who specializes in educating
business owners, sales and marketing managers in regards to the very numbers
that affect gross revenues. If you want to know more about lead, sales and
marketing management tracking made easy, Susan invites you to submit your
questions to her at susan@ByTheNumbersSoftware.com or call her at 480-652-9212.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7050161
