As the old saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. These words of wisdom are especially true in the world of sales, where your follow-up strategy can mean the difference between landing a new customer and losing out to the competition.
When it comes to following up on sales leads, there are a few essential practices every eCommerce business owner should follow to maximize their chances of success. Here are some tips to help you turn leads into repeat customers.
Share Useful Content
Follow-up communications should always add value. Don’t just send out generic messages or try to hard-sell your products or services. Instead, focus on providing helpful information leads will find useful.
For example, you could publish blog posts with tips on using your products, infographics with interesting data about your industry, or success stories from happy customers. You could also offer downloadable guides or resources a lead would find helpful.
To maximize every opportunity to share valuable content, seek help from an eCommerce SEO company. They can help you identify keywords your leads may use so that you can include those in blog posts, guides, and infographics.
You can even localize your content by working with an SEO agency in your area. For instance, if your eCommerce company is based in The Mile High City, a Denver SEO agency can help you compile a list of keywords and phrases your local audience uses when searching for useful content.
Segment Your Leads
Every lead comes to you in a different phase of the buying journey. For instance, a lead you gained through an email opt-in campaign may need to warm up to you first. On the other hand, someone who completed a contact form on your site may be more sales-ready. Either way, different leads require different messaging.
The best way to cultivate a compelling message is to segment your leads into three groups: hot, warm, and cold. That way, you don’t risk sending a sales-ready follow-up message to a “cold” lead who needs to find out more about you and your company.
Follow Up Quickly
While you might think two weeks is plenty of time to get in touch with a lead, research shows that the sooner you follow up, the better.
The time you don’t spend communicating with a lead is the time a competitor may use to swoop in and take advantage of the lull. Consumers are used to finding information quickly and expect companies to respond to them quickly.
Use Different Communication Channels
It’s essential to follow up on sales leads promptly, but you also need to be mindful of how you go about it. Right now, you likely don’t know a lead’s preferred method of communication. You’ll have to show you can respond quickly through email, phone, and text.
To determine a lead’s preferred method of communication, follow their lead. If someone calls you with questions, call them back. You can even create a script if you have to leave a voice message to increase your chances of getting a callback.
Once you know how a lead likes to communicate, stick to that method. Of course, you can let leads know they can contact you through phone, email, or text. Suddenly calling a lead on the phone that you’ve communicated with via email may rub them the wrong way.
Following up on leads is all about remaining in a lead’s orbit without becoming a nuisance. Rather than making a sale, concentrate on making yourself readily available, no matter where a lead is in the sales funnel.
