Making the Sale | How to Convert Leads Like the Pros
In every business, there’s a transition time between when a lead is generated and when it is finally turned into a sale. To increase the chances you are making that conversion from lead to customer, it’s important that you begin nurturing your clients effectively from the very start.
Integrating a good Customer Relationship Management system, or CRM, is the foundation of managing your customer journey. By implementing good CRM software into your business, you can keep tabs on where your customers are on their journey and what the next step is for you to convert them. This kind of detailed information will allow you to customize your sales approach with each and every one, exponentially improving your chances of making the conversion.
Once your CRM is implemented your next step is to create steps along the customer journey that will help lead to sales. The actual nurturing process can take many different shapes or forms but we’ve identified some of the most common ones that you’ll see.
By far the most common technique to nurture leads is through email. Once you’ve got them on a list you can drop them into a drip campaign or take some time to personally message each person to give things a bit of that intimate feeling that customized messages contain. The main point of using email is to constantly stay in touch with the lead and slowly give them assistance with things until they come to your business wholeheartedly.
Snail Mail
One of the most time-tested and intimate ways to nurture a lead is through the use of physical mail. Since the beginning of marketing, snail mail has been one of the most utilized methods for lead nurturing, only increasing in effectiveness during the mostly digital era. Simply sending a handwritten note can mean a lot to your customer since it’s something that rarely happens today.
Phone Calls
While constantly calling your leads can come off a bit “spammy,” if done correctly, it can actually be one of the most personalized and effective methods of nurturing a lead. By not constantly bugging them or trying to push a sale on them through phone calls you can slowly develop a relationship in a way that emails and letters just can’t. This relationship can ultimately develop into a great working relationship which in turn will provide you with a long-lasting customer.
The main takeaway is that efficiently managing your CRM will help you stay organized and convert leads into customers at a much higher rate. Keep in mind none of these require the use of a CRM to complete, it’s just much easier to keep track of what stage each lead is in with one in place. Understanding your customer journey and taking the correct action in response can give you far greater insight than just blindly sending out emails or letters. The extra effort taken to provide true value to your lead is the key to developing the kind of business relationship that lasts for years to come.
So what do you think? What are some of your tips for nurturing leads into loyal customers? Leave a comment below to get the conversation started.