Are You A Nurturer?

Gleanster Research estimates that 50% of leads who are qualified to buy are not ready to purchase immediately. Ask yourself these questions, "How long does it typically take a lead to become a customer after his or her first inquiry?" and "Does the sales cycle vary for different types of purchases?" The answers to these questions will assist you to determine how to interact with your potential customers.
You need to build an auto-responder e-mail campaign that will fully satisfy their need; not what you think they need, but rather what you know or have learned from experience or surveys. Once you have the answers, group your leads by categories. Some categories you might have could be new leads, inactive leads, and those who have purchased from you in the past (xx) months. On the other hand, maybe your lists include work-at-home-moms, life coaches, and people who love to travel. Taking the time to segment your lists will ensure the highest ROI for your time and money.

I have been told that the promptness of my replies has been the key to opening the door to work with several of my customers. They complain that other companies just aren't efficient enough for their liking. So, don't hesitate; get them into your autoresponder campaign right away.
Typically, the best course of action is to begin by educating them. However, you could and should mix it up just a bit. Maybe start with an educational slant and throw in a promo or giveaway. Your freebee doesn't have to cost you anything. Why not consider putting together a tool that you found useful; a resource list and a keyboard shortcut sheet are two I have used in the past. Weekly activity sheets is one that I am working on now. If you want a copy just let me know, I'll be more than happy to share.

Never hit them with 'buy now' in your first e-mail if you know that it typically takes a month or more before they take action. Remember, it's all about relationship building and your e-mail campaign is the perfect tool to accomplish that task. Not only will you build rapport, your campaign will keep your business in their 'radar'. Even if they don't need your product or services, they are more apt to tell someone else they might know who does when the opportunity arises.

In the course of communicating with my clients, I have found that when I repeatedly offer the same discount sales dwindle. They see this as routine and disregard those messages. For example, how many of you have gotten your hands on the Weird & Wacky Holiday Marketing Guide? It is mentioned in every newsletter, but I can count on one hand how many of you have this annual edition. The lesson here is, make your offer for a limited time and make it enticing. Know what they want and give it to them.

This brings up another point, nurturing your leads is not relegated to e-mail only. Newsletters, postcards, cards and what I call "bumpy mail" can also be used to communicate with your interested bystander. There are many tools available to you today to stay connected besides even these; consider social media, if you haven't already. A word to the wise, don't send mixed messages on your social media sites. If you want to share personal information on a business site, keep it to a bare minimum. Sharing that you are in Bermuda is okay, but what you ate while there, well less is more, if you get my drift.