3 tips: lead nurturing

Tip 1: Use a combination of media at different points to catch their attention

• Email messages:
• Send a special, welcome email when they first respond thanking them and pointing them to additional resources e.g. white papers, product specs, customer testimonials / case studies, contact info for questions they have.
• Periodically alert prospects to new resources that might be useful to them, such as: webinars, appearances at events, new white paper
• Telemarketing
• Use inside sales or telemarketing trained in lead nurturing. Offer additional resources that will help them through the buying process and collect info to qualify them such as time frame for purchase, or details about company size and needs. Don't try to close the deal on the call
• Direct mail
• Use targeted mailings, such as a postcard, to promote new white papers or webinars. Postal mail, sent along with in email, increases registrations.
• Send attention grabbing mailings to top prospects such as printed brochures, targeted content, branded gifts
• Integrate with telemarketing. When identify more qualified prospect send customised pack to demonstrate how you can help meet their business needs or address particular pain points.

Tip 2: Quick response to web leads
Calls placed within 5 minutes of s web lead have the highest likelihood of making contact. Odds drop x 10 within 30 minutes and another 10 within an hour.

Tip 3: Use a lead scoring system

1. Work with sales to define highly qualified leads - what characteristics they are looking for in a lead
2. Determine a criteria to score each prospect e.g. number of touches and prospect activity, customer profile, qualifying info such as budget in place, time frame set, decision making authority.
3. Measure impact of nurturing activity - track leads in database as move closer to sales ready status. Record all touches and determine which helped move a prospect up. Monitor each prospects email activity to look for increases open and click. Monitor web activity to find visitors who suddenly visit more often, reading company of product info, or downloading additional white papers, case studies or other supporting material.
4. Close the loop with sales - track results of all leads passed to sales - weekly call or recording follow up sales activity in CRM. Determine which leads closed, dropped out and have no chance of sale, dropped out due to change in circumstance so go back into nurturing process.