Strategies to nurture leads into paying customers
Tools & Resources
Key learnings
- Qualifying leads helps you prioritise where to spend your time and increases the likelihood of closing sales.
- Building a personal connection and being helpful without being pushy helps to create trust and puts you top of mind when a lead is ready to buy.
Lead nurturing is an important part of the sales process that helps you turn potential customers into paying customers. In this article, Sales and Management Consultant David Broom shares strategies for establishing relationships and building trust to make it easier for you to close sales and nurture long-term customer relationships.
Click each heading to read the tips:
1
Qualifying leads
Not all leads are equal, and some may just need some final reassurance, while others are not yet ready to buy, and others may never buy.
Classifying and prioritising leads based on their level of engagement helps you or your sales team to allocate resources effectively, increasing the likelihood you’ll close sales.
Tips:
- Develop criteria to identify high-quality leads that are most likely to make a purchase – check out this guide from Hubspot.
- Use marketing automation tools to score leads and prioritise them based on their level of engagement.
- Regularly review and update your lead scoring criteria to ensure it accurately reflects your ideal customer.
2
Establishing a personal connection
Potential customers are bombarded with sales pitches every day. To stand out from the crowd it's important to personalise your approach and establish a connection that makes your leads feel valued. This will help build trust and increase the likelihood they will do business with you.
Tips:
- Research your leads and personalise your approach.
- Use storytelling to engage with leads and build rapport.
- Show genuine interest in your leads and their needs.
3
Providing valuable information
Potential customers may be hesitant to buy because they don't fully understand the value of your product or service. Educating leads on the benefits and features of your product or service increases their understanding and makes them more likely to buy, while providing useful information helps build credibility and trust by giving them some value up front.
Tips:
- Educate your leads on the benefits and features of your product or service.
- Offer helpful resources, such as blog posts, eBooks and webinars.
- Keep your leads informed and updated on industry news and trends.
4
Following up regularly
Leads may not be ready to buy immediately, so it's important to nurture the relationship and continue the conversation by regularly following up. Offering to answer questions and address concerns shows that you're genuine and willing to help, increasing the likelihood of closing a sale when your lead is ready to buy.
Tips:
- Follow up with leads regularly, but don't be pushy.
- Offer to answer any questions or address any concerns they may have.
- Provide additional resources or information that may be helpful.
By following these strategies for nurturing leads, you can turn potential customers into paying customers and establish long-term relationships. Qualifying leads, establishing a personal connection, providing valuable information, and following up regularly are all important components of a successful lead nurturing process. By implementing these techniques, you can improve your chances of closing more sales and achieving your sales goals.
Next steps...
- Evaluate and refine your lead qualification criteria using this Hubspot guide to ensure it is identifying high-quality leads.
- When you’re speaking with potential customers, note the challenges they are facing and any industry trends they seem interested in as opportunities or concerns, so you can follow up with useful created or curated content.
- Establish a systematic follow-up process to maintain regular communication with your leads – decide the appropriate frequency and method for follow-ups, such as emails, phone calls, or meetings.
- Read our guide on choosing a CRM system to help you keep track of your leads and implement your follow-up process.
- Book a consultation with David to get tailored support to improve your lead nurturing process.