Did you know that, according to HubSpot, only 5-15% of leads are actually ready to purchase your product or service?
That’s right. 85-95% of leads contacting you are simply not ready to buy.
But they’ve obviously shown some interest in your business, so what do you do with them?
Here’s five suggestions:
1. Start an Email Drip Campaign
An email drip campaign is a series of emails triggered to go out to users over a set period of time. The content of the emails can include anything from offers, product info, promos, tips, news and contests all the way to whitepapers and resources.
In the end, you want to provide value to new leads and demonstrate why they should choose you over your competitors so when they are ready to buy, your business is top of mind.
Sensei Marketing Small Biz Email Tool Recommendation: Mailchimp, iContact, Constant Contact
2. Get Social
If leads aren’t ready to buy yet you need to keep them engaged in your social network. Find out where they are (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) and add them to your network.
Remember, being social means “listening” to prospects and their needs, not just promoting your business. And if you really want to get social, call on your prospect.
Sensei Marketing Small Biz Social Tool Recommendation: Jugnoo, SocialMention, Hootsuite
3. Send out a Survey
Yep, the good old survey is still around. Why? Because it’s the quickest and easiest way to get a lot of insight into your business from your prospects and customers.
Ask leads how and where they found you, and do more of the marketing that’s delivering quality leads, and less of the tactics that aren’t delivering. Ask them what they know about your product or service, what the biggest challenge is their business faces, and what their timeframe or budget is for making purchasing decisions. With this information you can improve your lead gen process, but you can’t get it if you don’t ask.
Sensei Marketing Small Biz Survey Tool Recommendation: SurveyMonkey, Zoomerang
4. Do All the Above and Measure What Works
This is probably your best option. You want to create a lead gen program that you can manage, measure, and continually optimize.
Think in terms of number of sign-ups, social shares and mentions, meetings booked, talk-time, and email list growth as kpi’s. Assign a number to each “win”, such as 1 point for an email sign-up and 50 points for a face to face meeting, to help you measure the success of each lead gen method.
5. Ditch ‘Em
Let’s face it, you don’t want to waste your time, money, or resources on leads that you don’t want as customers. If they are just looking for the lowest price, don’t have the budget for your product or service, or just don’t see the value you’re offering – maybe the best bet is to just say “thanks for your interest” and move on.
Remember, your brand is a reflection of not only the customers it keeps, but the customers it chooses not to keep.