One of the worst diseases you can have in marketing is “hot lead syndrome”. Constantly looking for and chasing potential clients who need what it is you have right now.

It sounds rather innocent. What could be wrong with trying to find people who are ready to buy right now? Cuts out all that faffing around waiting until the time is right.

The trouble is, when what you sell is a valuable professional service, you need to build up a high degree of trust and credibility with potential clients before they'll be ready to hire you.

And that doesn't happen overnight.

A hot lead may be ready to buy right now, but 99% of the time they won't be ready to buy from you if you haven't built that relationship with them.

Hot lead syndrome sees you hopping from prospect to prospect, losing out the vast majority of the time to service providers who've invested in nurturing relationships.

It's a losing game.

Instead, identify who your ideal clients are and catch them earlier when they're first exploring their problems or establishing their goals and aspirations.

Build credibility by helping them get clear on where they should be headed and giving them insights on what they should be focused on to get there.

Keep in touch, regularly adding value as they get closer to making a decision.

Then when they finally become a “hot lead”, you'll be the person they turn to.

It takes courage to invest in building relationships like this. Confidence that it will pay off. And the strength to hold off from desperately chasing hot leads.

But it's far, far more effective.