Issue 4: Lead Nurturing for Professionals

The first is the immediate follow-up phase. For each of your selected lead generation tactics, think through what a natural follow-up would be that could initiate an ongoing communication between you and the potential client.

For example, if you use seminars and presentations as one of your main tactics then rather than simply giving out copies of your slides at the event or getting the organiser to send them out; write a more detailed report and ask for people to give you their business card if they want you to send them a copy.

You can then either keep up the dialogue with them via manual emails (perhaps sending further thoughts, asking for feedback, etc.) or (if you ask for permission) subscribe them to your email newsletter.

One of the simplest follow-up tactics is via email – but it’s so easy to get this wrong. Frequently after meeting someone at a networking event I’ll get a standard "Nice to meet you, if you ever need our services…." email. Not surprisingly, I tend to hit the delete button pretty quickly.

But what would happen instead if someone took the time to think about what we spoke about at the event and refer to it? Or maybe suggest a useful link or resource for me. Or at least say they’ll keep a look out for whatever I said I was interested in. Then I may well email them back and begin a relationship.

Personally, after every event, I type the details of the interesting people I met into my contact management system myself. When I do that, I recall what we talked about, and I think about what I might be able to do to help them. And I then drop them a short email with something relevant in. it’s a good habit to get into.

You need to figure out what the right follow up to each of your main lead generation activities is. After that initial follow-up, you bring the potential client into the second phase of lead nurturing: your ongoing relationship building programme.

Your ongoing relationship building programme is a planned sequence of activities you carry out with potential (and existing) clients over time to strengthen and deepen your relationship with them. The objective is to build the client’s perception of your capabilities so that when a need for your services arises, you’re the first on their mind.

It could be as simple as a regular email newsletter. And some professionals are masters at keeping in touch and furthering relationships with a simple phone call.

In other cases it can be more elaborate. Personally, I keep a list of my top current and target clients (whom I’ve initiated contact with). I classify them into A/B/C depending on their potential for long term, profitable business relationships.

Every week I review that list and think though: is there something I can do for them this week that will deepen our relationship? I might be able to source a useful article for them, or put them in touch with someone useful. Simply reading the list and actively thinking about them is enough to put them in the front of my mind so that if something relevant to them pops up during the week I’ll notice it. For my A clients and prospects I’ll try to make sure I’m contacting them in some form at least every 2-3 weeks. For my B clients and prospects it’s 4-8 weeks. And for the C category it’s every quarter.

More sophisticated still: you can pre-plan a whole sequence of "nurture funnel" activities designed to gradually build your relationship. In the online world, this is often done with email autoresponders. After a potential client signs up (for example to download a free report) a sequence of timed emails is initiated. The first may thank them for subscribing. The second might ask for feedback or highlight a section of the report you recommend they study thoroughly. The third may add some extra tips not in the report or give links to further information. The fourth might notify them of another free report in a related area you have. While the fifth might announce a new coaching service you’re starting to provide in the area covered by the report.

But while these planned sequences are mainly found online, there’s no reason why they can’t be done offline too. After attending your seminar, you might send a potential client a copy of a related article you’ve written one week. Maybe then a call to see if they found it useful. Perhaps you follow that with a guest invitation to a networking event you regularly attend which they might find useful. Maybe the next step is to post them clippings of useful articles in their field. And then maybe a letter or call to ask if they’d like to meet up to see how you could help them.

Both offline and online nurture funnels share three key characteristics:

In practice, the sequences could be shorter – or much longer. And they are likely to continue well beyond the initial offer.

The key is that they deliberately develop a relationship in a sequence of small steps – rather than trying to jump immediately from an initial meeting to a sales offer in one go.

Smart business developers have always nurtured client relationships – whether formally planned, or just something they did naturally.

However, nurturing activities have traditionally been reserved for the very highest potential clients. It requires a big investment of time to do all these activities manually and tailor them to each specific client.

Thanks to the internet, and the increasing capabilities of contact management and CRM products, nurturing can now be extended to even more clients.

Semi-automation increases the efficiency of traditional lead nurturing and because of this allows you to do it for perhaps double the number of potential clients as before.