Half of all the leads you create and qualify are interested but not-yet-ready to buy. Nurturing and engaging them till they ripen is a necessary but often daunting task, one overlooked by too many marketers aiming to feed a hungry or anxious sales force.
Nurturing, like lead generation itself, depends mostly on strategy and sensibility which is then supported by IT or CRM systems. Consider these steps:
1. Accept the nurture notion. Plan on the fact that many of those not-yet-ready to buy, eventually will buy and that the money you've already spent to identify them is worth an added incremental investment to convert them into genuine prospects.
2. Make a plan. Think about or study your sales cycle. Figure out what are the usual steps and sequences of questions and of presentations. Plot out the FAQs and typical inflection points. Then assume your nurture pool will follow the pattern and design contact and content sequences to keep them interested.
3. Talk and Tease. Frequency and relevant, meaningful information drive nurturing. The trick is to be around enough so that when they're ready, you are top of mind and to toss out enough tantalizing ideas or cases or benefits so that you can accelerate their interest or arm an internal advocate. Mix and match messages and media to avoid overkill but to establish a real connection. Ask prospects to set preferences for medium, frequency and content so you don't have to guess.
4. Create Variety. Nurturing leads is like putting a menu in front of a diner. You know they are hungry so put many tantalizing choices in front of them in the hope they'll choose one or more. Don't limit yourself to cases and white papers. Offer newsletters, podcasts, videos, Power Points, access to private blogs or wikis, access to community sites or opportunities to speak with clients and peers. Different people respond to different stimuli. Use as many as you can and track uptake and usage.
5. Personalize and Be Available. Incorporate whatever you know about the individual, the company, the industry and the segment into your message stream. One size does not fit all and the more directly you link your offering to a prospect's needs the shorter the cycle and the more persuasive the message. Data, analysis and information on peers is particularly valuable. Always offer links and easy access to your materials and your people so when the magic moment strikes, you are no more than 1-click away.
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