Best Practices for B2B Lead Nurturing
0 likes134 views
This document discusses the importance of lead nurturing for B2B sales. It provides insights from a case study where a company was able to generate 37% of new customers from leads over 3 months old and 20% from leads over 1 year old through effective lead nurturing. It outlines best practices like becoming an industry expert to nurture leads, tracking marketing activities, using call scripts and emails, not wasting leads, and tracking results. It also discusses nurturing leads through different stages of the sales cycle with a combination of communications like email, telemarketing, direct mail and webcasts.
Best Practices for B2B Lead Nurturing
- 1. Means Maximum Gains Effective B2B Lead Nurturing © Copyright 2013 InsideUp, Inc. All Rights Reserved
- 2. What’s Inside 1. Background 2. Why Lead Nurturing is So Important 3. Insights from a Case Study 4. Four Questions to Help You Get Started In Lead Nurturing. 5. Effective Nurturing Through the Sales Cycle and Beyond 6. Conclusion Table of Content Ready to Learn More? Contact UsToday Call (800) 910-7638 Click insideup.com/getleads Email getleads@insideup.com
- 3. Background1. 2. © Copyright 2013 InsideUp, Inc. All Rights Reserved Most companies have a database of leads that have been set aside after initial closing attempts failed to produce the desired results. These leads should not be ignored, as they can prove at least as valuable as fresh leads, and are worth working. The truth is, even the best leads will not produce the results you want if they are not managed and nurtured well. You can meet the challenge of a longer B2B sales cycle by refining and strengthening your company's lead nurturing process. This will enable you to capture sales and boost ROI even when leads don't close on the initial call. Did you know that nearly 75 percent of B2B leads are essentially tossed aside by sales? This is unfortunate, because, according to a report by Marketo, when leads that are not immediately sales ready are properly nurtured,“they are three times more likely to become a sales lead in a given month than if they are not nurtured.” The alarming trend of discarding leads that do not purchase on the initial call was recently analyzed by lead development expert M. H. “Mac”McIntosh, who said,“Industry experts estimate that only one-quarter of those who are going to buy do so in the first six months. Yet, roughly another quarter buy within a 7-to- 12-month period, another quarter buy within a 13-to-18-month period and the final quarter buy sometime after 18 months.” McIntosh added, however, that“salespeople are measured and paid for winning the race for short-term sales, usually causing them to focus on the easy sales opportunities while ignoring the longer-term B2B leads.” Executive Summary Why Lead Nurturing is So Important 6 Months It pays to stay in touch as only 25%of leads result in sales in the first 6 months. 7 to 12 Months 13 to 18 Months 18 Plus Months Time to Purchase 25%
- 4. © Copyright 2013 InsideUp, Inc. All Rights Reserved Insights from A Case Study3. Marketing Sherpa recently followed Infusionsoft as the company began a campaign to re-connect with its cache of older leads. By deploying a well-planned email nurturing strategy, Infusionsoft was able to turn a surprising number of older leads into customers. The results? Sales from leads more than three months old now account for 37 percent of Infusionsoft's customer base, and 20 percent of their current customers came from leads generated more than one year prior. Source: © 2011 Marketing Sherpa Case Study: Lead Nurturing : Old names Yield 37% of Customers Reference: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/old-names-yield-37-customers Percentage of New Customers from Older Leads 40 % — 30 — From Leads Older than 3 Months From Leads Older than 1 Year 20 — 10 — 0 — 37% 20% Effective lead nurturing plays a critical role in building maximizing the investment time and resources that your company has spent on finding a qualified prospect. The more complex a decision, the more time that is involved in the prospect making a final decision.
- 5. A Systematic Solution Many businesses still have no real process in place for nurturing leads. Such an oversight can translate into a great deal of lost revenue. You can put your company at an advantage by taking the time out right now to develop an effective lead nurturing system. Here are some questions to ask when developing your program: 1. What is the best way to get our sales messages to the decision makers? 2. What can we offer to keep them engaged through the research phase and into the buying process? 3. How can we addresses our prospects' concerns and reduce the perceived risk of purchasing from us? 4. What can we offer to help our prospects move forward into the buying process? For your nurturing campaigns to be successful, your sales and marketing teams must be educated about the process and motivated to give these slower to buy leads the attention they need if they are to become your customers. © Copyright 2013 InsideUp, Inc. All Rights Reserved Four Questions to Get You Started in Lead Nuturing 4. Strategic Steps for Nurturing Campaigns Determine Messaging & Delivery Create Interest & Engagement Eliminate Risk & Address Concerns Compelling Offer & Conversion (Cont.)
- 6. Best Practices for the Best Results Truly effective lead nurturing involves much more Become a recognized authority in your industry. Keep your sales team informed Compile qualifying questions, call scripts, and email templates Don't waste leads Track the results than sending out an automated monthly or weekly email newsletter. The content of your emails must be targeted at the very least according to a prospect's needs, industry and buying stage. This will enable you to connect with prospects, build a relationship and establish trust. An unofficial survey of several lead management companies produced the following best practices: 1. Offer your expertise to help prospects make an informed decision. If you provide guidance without pressure, you will come to be viewed as a trusted source. 2. about which marketing activities each prospect has responded to, so they can tell you which strategies are yielding results. 3. to help with the initial contact. Using these tools, a rep can refer to specific interests the prospect has demonstrated, such as downloading a white paper on a particular topic. Ask questions that will help you gain new information to enhance what you already know about your prospect. 4. . Make sure sales follows up on each one. Reassign leads that aren't contacted the first time around. Every lead should be valued and cultivated through the often very long B2B sales cycle. 5. of individual marketing activities to gain a deeper insight than you would by simply tracking the lead source. © Copyright 2013 InsideUp, Inc. All Rights Reserved Effective Nurturing Through the Sales Cycle and Beyond 5. (Cont.)
- 7. If you are working with a lead generation company, Email Telemarketing Direct Mail Web Casts Newsletters White Papers lead scoring and lead qualifying will have already been done by the lead supplier. Nevertheless, it still takes several touches to close a B2B sale—up to a dozen, and sometimes more. So you can plan on spending at least some time nurturing your leads. In the early stages, you might simply start with a voicemail introduction, followed by an email introduction, and then leave a follow-up voicemail and email. In your third voicemail you might simply say something like,“I'll give you a call at noon to answer your questions.”Email #3 could include the request,“Please reply with a best time to reach you,”and so on. Be sure to approach the conversation from a consultative angle. Expect leads to have questions when they are still in the research and vendor comparison stage. Hold back on the sales pitch and ask the prospect a few probing questions to gain additional insights regarding their needs. Since the decision to purchase is typically a multi-tiered process involving multiple influencers in addition to the final decision maker, marketing and lead qualifying is just the beginning of what should be an integrated nurturing process. This can include a combination of: Even when you receive pre-qualified leads who are ready to buy, they will still need compelling reasons to purchase from you rather than from your competitor. You can increase sales up to 30 percent by creating a sales message that is relevant to your buyers' questions. Effective Nurturing Through the Sales Cycle and Beyond (cont.) 5. © Copyright 2013 InsideUp, Inc. All Rights Reserved (Cont.)
- 8. © Copyright 2013 InsideUp, Inc. All Rights Reserved A survey by International Data Group found that the chance of closing a sale was reduced by 45 percent when the content of the sales message was not relevant to buyers' most pressing questions. The study also found that 42 percent of the time, sales teams had not been provided with adequate training and tools to help them answer these questions persuasively. For a more effective campaign, refine your messages to offer a persuasive and compelling answer to your prospect's primary questions regarding the services you offer. The three basic questions buyers have are: The first step toward stronger sales messaging is to know your target market well. This will enable you to replace weak generalities such as“great customer service” with specific information about how your company is uniquely positioned to fill a buyer's needs. Differentiate your company by highlighting benefits that your competitors do not offer. Give strength to your message and build your credibility by offering evidence. Provide case studies and testimonials, for example. And be sure to list any endorsements from third party organizations such as the Better Business Bureau. If possible, offer a demo so your prospect can get an even better idea of how your solution will work for their needs. Above all, make sure your messages are brief, friendly in tone, and offer value to the customer. Be generous with your advice and expertise. Why should I meet with you? Why should I replace my current solution with your company's services? Why buy this solution from your company and not from your competitor? (If an initial appointment is the next step in your sales process.) Effective Nurturing Through the Sales Cycle and Beyond (cont.) 5. Relevancy Matters (Cont.) 2. 3. 1.
- 9. © Copyright 2013 InsideUp, Inc. All Rights Reserved Continue nurturing your leads as long as they are in your database. Even after the sale, continue to build a relationship with your customers. Not only will this increase your customer retention level, but it will also afford opportunities for up-selling and will help you to expand your business through referrals. Make sure no lead is wasted. Many companies employ lead management technology to ensure they are getting the highest possible return on every lead. How much value does each new customer bring to your company? If the answer is hundreds or thousands in increased revenue, then by all means, educate and nurture every lead. It is definitely worth the effort required to turn a prospect in the research stage into a customer. Many InsideUp clients have experienced higher closing rates simply by taking the time to educate and nurture leads through the entire sales cycle. Educate your prospects, not only about the advantages your company's services can offer, but also about the benefits of outsourcing in general. Learn to nurture leads effectively, and you'll reap tremendous advantages in pulling more revenue from your sales leads. Your lead nurturing efforts will have the added benefit of building trust and creating loyalty with your prospects and customers. Conclusion 5. 6. It is All About Relationships The Buying Cycle is Different for Every Prospect Effective Nurturing Through the Sales Cycle and Beyond (cont.)
- 10. About InsideUp High-Quality Leads Easy to Set Up Optimized Lead Generation Pay-Per-LeadQualified Business Network Real-time Delivery Live Phone Transfer Online Access - We use only high quality business traffic and media partners. - No campaigns to manage. Account setup takes just a few minutes. - Using proprietary technology and lead scoring algorithms. - You only pay for qualified leads. No set-up and no monthly fees. - Leverage our community of buyers who actively use our service when making business purchases. - Leads posted to your CRM, delivered by email or accessed from dashboard for quick sales conversion. - Free automated live transfer of leads to your sales number. - View analytics, reports, billing, credits, leads and more. InsideUp was founded to solve a critical market need – to help firms effortlessly connect with a community of businesses actively looking to purchase services. What We Provide Ready to Learn More? Contact UsToday Call (800) 910-7638 Click insideup.com/getleads Email getleads@insideup.com As the leading platform to acquire new business customers, InsideUp has pioneered new ways of connecting service providers with buyers. Our unique and proprietary platform, designed specifically for business services firms, allows our customers to be matched with and provide custom quotes to targeted, ready-to-buy decision makers. InsideUp also offers a lead clearinghouse, which lets lead buyers pre-select the type of leads they wish to purchase
- 11. © Copyright 2013 InsideUp, Inc. All Rights Reserved The leading platform to ACOUIRE NEW BUSINESS CUSTOMERS/ For additional information Visit Email Call www.insideup.com/getleads getleads@insideup.com (800) 910-7638