Bringing in new clients can be a lengthy process. Many businesses will focus their efforts to draw in new clients upfront, with an introductory email, phone call or message – but forget to follow up beyond that.
However, not following up means missing out on some significant sales. A study found that only two percent of sales happen after a single contact from a salesperson. Beyond that, 80 percent of sales happen after five to 12 contact attempts from a salesperson. That means you should expect to follow up with a prospect several times before they’re ready to move forward.
But simply checking in with your prospect isn’t always enough to convert them to a client. You want to make sure you’re offering real value when you follow up with your prospect. Over time, those quality interactions might be what gives your business the edge when that prospect is ready to buy.
The Nurture Loop
The nurture loop is a process that we use to make sure we are checking in with our prospects frequently – and adding value along the way.
There are three loops in this strategy: prospecting, nurture and the close loop. These loops make up the sales engine we use to bring in new business.
In this article, we’ll be honing in on step two: the nurture loop. In a nutshell, this is where we continue to make contact with our prospects, and build a relationship that will hopefully lead to them becoming a client.
Here’s a more in-depth look at each step in that loop, and the strategies you can adopt to stay in front of your prospects:
Quarterly Campaigns
We recommend a goal of sending out at least one campaign per quarter. You can do more than that, but you should be checking in with your audience periodically throughout the year. This does two things: it helps you generate new leads, and it allows you to re-engage with prospects you’ve already connected with.
When you’re thinking about quarterly campaigns, it’s not just about what you’re going to do next. It’s about what touchpoints you have in your sales process over the next few years that will enable your sales team to re-engage with prospects.
Those touchpoints should be more than a check-in email here and there. Use that opportunity to provide value, and continue to build that relationship. That might look like sending your prospect a helpful industry report, blog post, case study or video. Ask your prospect how business is going, and pay attention to pain points that you might be able to help them with. It could take some time, but when your prospect is ready to buy, they’ll already have a well established connection with your business and your sales team.
Target Visitors
Some people who land on your site are going to subscribe to your newsletter, download your ebook or sign up for a consultation call. But not everyone will be ready to do that.
You might have some ideal potential clients who check in with your website every so often, view your content, and keep you in the back of their mind for when they’re ready to buy. This is a golden opportunity to target that visitor with valuable outreach. We want to put the right tools in place to find out who those visitors are, let the sales team know when it might be time to reach out, and enroll those visitors in a drip campaign that will provide value.
You can also use that information to try some retargeting with online ad campaigns. That’s just another way to make sure your brand is being shown to those interested visitors, and carrying through the nurturing process.
Execute The 1-3-5
The 1-3-5 is a tool we use to make sure we’re engaging with our best fit prospects enough. It means reaching out to your prospect one time, every three to five months.
This could happen through an email, a phone call, a LinkedIn message, etc., but ideally it would be a combination of mediums over time. The goal is to stay in front of that prospect via a manual outreach one time every three to five months.
Also recognize that not everybody is going to be ready to have a meeting with you right away. It’s so important to nurture prospects over the long haul, because that’s where you’re going to see results.
Planning for the Long Term Nurture
Like we mentioned earlier, the vast majority of sales happen after five to 12 points of contact. With that in mind, your sales team should have a plan in place that spans at least one year for ideal prospects who aren’t ready to buy.
For many businesses, the follow up looks something like a quick, “How are you doing? Have you thought anymore about working with us?”
But really great long-term nurturing should be intentional, meaning there are steps along the way based on where a prospect is at in their buyer’s journey.
So, how do you achieve that?
First, you should have your prospects in a CRM system that allows you to document your outreach, and take note of what responses you’re getting. This will help you see trends and feedback over time, and recognize what kind of interactions lead to sales.
And second, you can use some form of automation. That doesn’t mean that every touchpoint should be an automated email, however (although email automation is another great way to keep your prospects engaged.) Your sales team should use a mix of emails, phone calls and social media connections because your prospect might be more responsive on one channel than another, and automated reminders will help you stay on top of those interactions. It can be a challenge to manage every prospect in your loop, so enlist tools that will help your sales team engage consistently with those qualified prospects.
The bottom line
Relationships don’t happen instantly. They take patience and consistency, and that applies to your prospects, too. Fostering a deeper connection through the nurture loop means learning about your prospect, and meeting them where they’re at. Keep the lines of communication open, and offer something beneficial every time you interact. Then, when your prospect is ready to move forward, you already have a foundation of trust and understanding to work from.
Ready to learn how you can implement a Nurture Loop and provide more value to prospects over time?
