We ALL need leads… fresh, hot, ready-to-buy leads. They are the foundation that keeps you in business.

But not all leads are created equal, nor are all leads to be treated the same.

Online and offline lead generation needs to be treated with kid gloves.

* Make sure you take the time to segment the leads out as early as possible in the nurturing process. Flag them with details on where they came from, search words they used, etc … the more detail you have in the process the better the results will be.

* If you have a simple questionnaire that goes out to them and has some interactivity built into it (forms, webpages, online survey forms, etc), it is very simple to flag each prospect with the level of interest they have in buying. Even better, find out with open-ended questions what type of information they want right NOW.

* Give them options to increase (or decrease) the frequency of communication. If they only want information once a month, make sure you don’t inundate them with weekly or, worse, dailies. They will be gone in a flash. Or, if you start them out with bi-weekly, and they tell you (through triggers you help them act on), they want twice-a-week e-mails … give it to them.

* Create campaigns to win back inactive buyers. I was just talking with my neighbor last night and he runs a plumbing company that does $1M a month in distribution. His biggest problem … the sheer volume of buyers he has limits how much effort he can put into his inactive buyers. He estimates if he could get even half those buyers back, he would increase his sales by 40%.

* Test (and measure response) using HTML newsletters vs. text e-mails. BOTH work … and it is very dependent on your business, industry and prospects. Saying HTML only or text only is ridiculous. There are no standards for what type of e-mails your prospects want … only THEY can tell you. HTML e-mails look slicker and more corporate … text e-mails are much more personal and perfect for building a stronger bond with your buyers (based on my tests and results)

* Look for trends in buying patterns. Note the time it takes for a Google lead to convert to a first-time buyer, then a second-time buyer. Compare that with offline lead generation ads. Compare those numbers to social media leads. You will start to find some very profitable trends here and you can easily change your entire follow-up sequence to tailor itself to the lead source and buying conditions you find.

* Map your content delivery schedule to the buying patterns of your prospect. If you find out that leads falling into category X typically buy within two months … then plan your follow-up sequence to build up to a two month sales cycle (lots of quality content up front … slowly over time starting to introduce promotions in small pieces). If prospects in category Y buy within two weeks, you have less time to warm them up so make sure what you do is packed with content and some promotion right from the start.
o What three types of buyers do you get in your sales funnel?
o How quickly does each type of buyer make their first purchase? Their second?

* Use the content you already have. The biggest excuse I see and hear is that the business owner needs more time to develop “perfect” content. Meanwhile, the most effective way to do it is to leverage the content you already have now and build it into the funnel “as is” to see what the results are. As you get your measurements in, you will see the areas that need help and those that are perfectly in the right time and place.

* Build in fast-track paths IF your prospects want them. Find ways to initiate a trigger with your prospect base that moves them to a new prospect system. For example: They may have entered into your funnel thinking they would take a few months to look around and find the right solution. But three weeks into the cycle you have an offer for a download, or a survey, or a sales call. If they take you up on it, you want to move them from the three month buying cycle into the one month cycle. Again, testing will show you which buyers are more likely to respond to which triggers … and quicken their buying cycle.

* Recycle your leads. Implement a new system that automatically puts them back in the funnel (or in a slightly modified funnel) if they haven’t taken the desired actions in the typical buying cycle. For example: I worked with a high-end land developer selling million-dollar homes. When I dug into their leads and the follow-ups, I found 900 leads they got from their website and trade shows that were NEVER followed up on properly. When I got in touch with those leads, I found out that over half of them bought from a competitor because they didn’t hear back. Now their system automatically puts them in the appropriate funnel and recycles the sales system every 90-180 days (depending on their level of interest).

* Leverage the phone. Yes, the trusty old phone can make a huge difference in the sales cycle. Flag your prospects to receive a quick introductory phone call from a sales person (or yourself) after they have been in the cycle for ____ days, weeks or months. Hardly anyone uses the phone in their follow-up anymore, so this will add a very nice touch to your sales system. Even better: On the phone call, tell them about a free gift you have for them. Give them a URL to claim their gift, without any hook or ‘catch.’

* Every month/quarter/year you should analyze your follow-up system to find hidden opportunities … and gaping holes. Some of your systems will consistently convert prospects to buyers … others will need more of your attention and new content to test. Ultimately you will find the magic combination that works like a charm for every level of prospect. Once you do, make sure the numbers don’t change due to changing buyers’ preferences, new technologies, or changes in the economy.

“Successful organizations cannot afford to spend money generating qualified leads that slip through the pipeline when they do not result in immediate opportunities.”

Ian Michiels, Senior Analyst, Aberdeen Group

To your success,

Troy

PS: If you want a fresh stream of new leads (that quickly convert to buyers) you seriously should be joining my Story Selling Coaching program. We are starting the next session shortly, and the results form the last group should help you decide:

Julie from Parenting Power brought in a dozen new members to their club with one single email (each one being billed monthly). Imagine what she will be able to do when she tells more fun stories – without hard pitching. Each time she tells a story, trust is further built with her prospects and clients. Trust IS the deciding factor if they convert from interested prospect to excited new client.

Or Seth that saw $18 back from every $1 he put into his Halloween story selling campaign. Imagine that – plug $1 in – get $18 back! How many times would you do that? As many as humanly possible! As long as you are weaving in good stories, quality content, and little emphasis on hard core pitching… this will continue to work for you.

Or Chris V who started a new business 3 years ago using the techniques I shared… and now earns $97,000… A MONTH. All by finding his passion and sharing it in a compelling manner.

Story Selling IS powerful… and I do hope you consider joining us.