Leads will come to you at every stage of the Sales funnel. That means that whilst some will already be considering their options, others will be right at the icy end of the scale, doing nothing more than perusing their options. At this point, they’ve got an open mind as to who they want to work with. It’s at this point that you need to get involved to prove you will be the best choice they ever made.
We know that you’ll have hundreds, if not thousands, of new leads a month. It’s just not feasible to send individual emails to each of these contacts, and we’re not even including older leads here! There’s a lot of people to contact, and it’s hard to keep track of where everyone is in the sales funnel. Which is why we use marketing automation to nurture our leads through the various stages. Minimal engagement from us, but a personalised experience for the lead. It’s a win-win situation. Here’s a look at our 3 top performing workflows and why we use them.
Welcome Workflow
This workflow is perfect for all your newest leads. It’s the place to keep content light and informative. This is the workflow where you get to know your leads and their interests. Convey your brand image upfront to set the scene for your following interactions. Create a journey where leads get to know your company as a whole. At this point, you likely don’t know what area of your business each contact is interested in. If your lead seems to engage with one topic over another, send more information on that area. You could even invite them to an event or seminar you’re hosting on a similar topic to the one they’re engaging with. A perfect opportunity to meet them in person, and at an early stage too.
Nurture Workflow
Lead Scoring is the trick which comes into play for this workflow. All web pages on your website have been attributed a score based on their importance. This sets the basis for assessing how hot your leads are. Your workflow uses these lead bands to direct leads into the workflow at various points. If they’re a cool lead, enter them at the intrigue level for lighter level content. If they’re beginning to warm up, no problem, enter at the consider stage where they can start getting the heavier content, give them the resource to show them how. Or are they a pretty hot lead already, dive straight in at the deep end with the decide stage. Offer sales calls and demos to show what you have to offer them directly. Let your leads set the pace, they’ll enter at the point where they fit and will work through the workflow dependent on their engagement. Keep leads interested until the point of a one-to-one conversation.
Website Triggered Workflow
A lead has been on your website. They’ve downloaded a resource or completed another form. Don’t leave them there. Feed them into a workflow where you provide more information on their topic of interest. If they’re interested in hamsters, tell them all about hamster feed. If they’re interested in skydiving, tell them about parachutes. Obviously, you’ll need to tailor it for your business, I highly doubt that both these examples will fit snugly into your area of expertise but keep the topic consistent! It’s likely they’re looking at this area for a reason, capitalise on it. Make all subsequent content relevant to what your prospect is looking for.
It may seem like an almighty task to get everything set up in the first place, but believe us when we say that in the long run, it all pays off. Two months down the line you’ll be saving so much time, with so many more sales-ready leads to pass over to your sales team. Take a look at how our marketing automation software can help you set up your workflows.
