Is lead nurturing worth the effort?
Is lead nurturing really worth all the effort? In short, yes!
In telemarketing lead nurturing should be thought of the power behind what moves people through your sales funnel. These days, people expect to have the time to get to know about your product and company before they commit to a purchase. Asking someone to buy before they know who you are or have had time to think about the product is like asking someone to move in before they know who you are – it’s too much too early.
A survey by Marketing Sherpa found that 73% of B2B leads are not ready to commit at first contact. That means that if you aren’t nurturing your leads you are losing almost three-quarters of your prospects. That’s the kind of numbers no business can afford to lose. Instead of relying on that 27% who may be ready to buy when they hear about your product or service, a far better and more profitable way to win business is to implement a clear and timed strategy for conversion.
But First, What is Lead Nurturing?
In short, lead nurturing is the process of moving people through a predetermined sales funnel. This is also known as “warming them up”, as it requires regular and well-timed contact with your prospect to ensure your brand is forefront in their mind and you’ve had time to positively influence the key decision makers, effectively moving them from a cold lead to a warm lead. This process is becoming increasingly important, as it now takes an average of 5.4 people to make a strategic business decision and the sales cycle is 32% longer than it was just last year (2018).
So, How Can We Effectively Nurture Our Leads?
Integration is Key – Sales and marketing teams need to be working hand in hand for effective lead nurturing. These teams cannot work without the other, and activities like display retargeting, Remarketing Lists for Search Activity (RLSA) and social remarketing, as well as automated emails, should all be planned within the telemarketing sales funnel. Integrating marketing and lead generation / nurturing activities this way will reinforce your messaging efforts, so when you next reach out to the prospect they will be receptive to the call.
Track Leads Efficiently – an effective lead management system is critical; without one, you can’t be sure that all contacts and outcomes are being tracked efficiently. There’s nothing worse in B2B telemarketing than calling a lead and asking them the same questions over again – even if the lead was receptive before, you’ll likely turn them off because they’ll feel like they are on your conveyor belt instead of being personally taken care of and thought about. If you can actually get the sales funnel right and that “conveyor belt” timed just right, it will be one of the best things you can do for your business.
Build Trust – Building trust is a critical part of lead nurturing, as building a personal yet professional relationship with your leads will get your lead to trust you, open up to you, and recommend you to any other decision makers in the company who need to be influenced to get a positive outcome. How can you build trust? Ensure that each call is personalised and that your research is up to date. Don’t assume that the research you did on the lead at the start of the process is still relevant, as you don’t know what may have changed. Instead, keep learning about them and their business requirements.
Leave it to the Experts
If the lead nurturing process sounds overwhelming, try leaving it to the experts. At the Lead Generation Company, we have a highly skilled team of B2B telemarketers who live and breathe great sales. With an average age of 35, we have the necessary life experience to talk to our leads in an authoritative and professional manner, and we use structured conversations instead of scripts to get the best possible results for our clients.
Want to find out more about outsourcing your lead nurturing and telemarketing? You can find out about our lead generation services here, and to learn more about our people and awards, click here. We are always happy to talk to you about your B2B telemarketing and lead generation needs.
Give us a call on 0333 344 3470 to discuss how we can help drive your business leads.
