Boost Sales with Effective Lead Nurturing Techniques

Buyers perform about 57% of their research before they contact a business for sales assistance. But there are ways you can earn brownie points with your leads during their research so you can come out a winner! If you include lead nurturing in your sales and marketing process, most of the sales work is done.

What is lead nurturing?

Lead nurturing is the process of providing on-going offers and resources that continues to build the relationship between you and your leads until they are ready to buy. It is an opportunity to keep in touch with your contacts list while you build trust and show that your products or services are of value to them. In this article, we will look at proven online methods used in the lead nurturing process to close the sales gap.

Connect your website to a good CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is an excellent sales tool for any sales team, keeping all prospect information, transactions and conversations in a central, easy-access system. Your CRM can provide a load more value if you integrate it with your website. It means your marketing and sales teams can work more closely in unison – collecting leads’ details, sharing feedback and statistics, working to the same business objectives and agreeing on how a contact is qualified as a prospect. The company will save money and resources while gaining greater insights and results. Tapping into your CRM also means that your leads can be targeted with personalised content, providing a far more personal and satisfying user experience. I recommend using a CRM that isn’t too overgrown, clunky and hard to work with. You want the CRM to do the work for you, not the other way around. My favourite CRMs that tie easily into a website and still work in with sales and marketing teams are:

Active Campaign, and
Kit (formerly ConvertKit)

We will look more closely at personalised content below.

Boost engagement with a chat box on your website

A few facts you should know about live chat:

79% of consumers prefer online chats because they can get instant responses while doing their research.
Chat has the highest consumer satisfaction rate at 92%.
63% of consumers who use chat on a website are likely to return to that site.

Source: 99firms, 2019. Chat boxes are quickly becoming more sophisticated and a key tool in lead conversion practices. Chat software can automatically and politely start a conversation with a website visitor. It can ask a relevant question based on whether the visitor is a first-timer, lead or customer, and which page they are on. Some chat software can even qualify a lead before sending them to your sales team. And if a lead is not ready, they can be offered relevant self-service content to keep them engaged.

‘Intercom’ chat interface.

Use automated emails to guide leads along the sales path

When properly thought out and planned, automated emails can do the work for you while you do other things. They can educate your leads step by step, bringing them closer to the final buying decision. These automatic follow up emails can build your prospects’ trust in your business, while they learn more about what you can do for them. It’s a matter of feeding them the right content at the right stage of the buyer’s journey. Automated emails provide a highly personalised experience. They can be triggered over specified timeframes, or by actions individual leads take on your website. Such as downloading a report or visiting the pricing page 3 times in 7 days.

An example of a CRMs automated email flow.

Automate content based on the buyer’s personal journey

Much like automated emails, some CRM software allows you to set up web pages to serve specific content for an individual visitor’s needs. Based on your CRMs details on your visitor, the visitor can be presented with relevant calls to action or welcome messages. For example, a first-time visitor may be offered ‘how to’ information, while a returning lead may be offered a demonstration or phone meeting.

Allow your qualified leads to book a call right there on your page

If your leads have provided specific answers to chat questions or filled in a detailed lead form, they can be ready to speak with you over the phone. Offer them a booking calendar with your available openings so they can book a time right there and then while they are more motivated. Some CRMs, like Pipedrive, include appointment calendars. Or you can use a third party tool with your CRM, like Calendly.

Set up an online demo

69% of consumers believe a product demo best assists them when making a purchase decision

One of the strongest selling tools to include in your sales toolkit is a product demonstration. The prospect can achieve a more hands-on experience to help them make their final decision. Even if your product or service isn’t a digital solution, there is a good chance you can create a video of the item in action, an animated diagram or simply a slideshow to talk your prospects through the process and outcomes in more detail. Demos give buyers a clearer picture so they can gain more confidence in your product or service.