Mary is a 34-year-old professional from Baton Rouge. At a recent trade show, she dropped her business card in the glass bowl on your table for the opportunity to win a year’s supply of whatever you sell.
Mary wasn’t the big winner. She probably forgot all about it by the end of the day. But she left behind something very valuable:
Her contact information.
Mary doesn’t know it yet, but she has just become a prospect. And you’re going to have to learn how to nurture prospects like Mary to turn them into customers. Here’s how it’s done.
Start With a (Warm) Cold Email
She may have been just a face in the crowd at the trade show, but it’s time to get to know Mary. Who is she? What does she need? What problem does she have that your goods or service can solve?
Ask her!
An unsolicited email might be called a “cold” email, but your tone should be warm and welcoming. Introduce yourself, tell her a bit about your company and set the hook. Give her a taste of what she can expect from your small business.
Important note: You are not trying to sell her anything right now, so save your pitches and your discount codes for another day. Since you’re nurturing prospects, all you’re trying to do is get your foot in Mary’s front door.
Use the Right Bait
If you’re fishing for sharks, you’re not going to bait your hook with an earthworm, so make sure you’re using the right tools for the job. If your endgame is to get Mary’s entire company to contract with your janitorial service, you’re going to approach it a bit differently than if you were trying to get her to buy a $30 pair of shoes.
Big sales require more engagement than smaller ones, so be prepared to be in it for the long haul if you’re trying to get someone to make a major financial decision.
Don’t Be Salesy
Yes, your ultimate goal is to get Mary to make a purchase, sign up for your service, what have you. But beating her over the head with constant emails begging her to buy, buy, buy is not the way to get it done.
You want Mary to come to her own conclusion that she absolutely can’t live without your product or service. And you can get her there by educating, rather than selling.
Show (don’t tell) her how much easier her life will be if she becomes your customer. Give her all the materials — blog posts, white papers, case studies and stats – she needs to make the decision.
Have a Purpose
One email probably won’t convince anyone to go from prospect to customer, but too many emails will ensure they definitely won’t. So when you’re nurturing prospects, you need to find the happy medium between “not enough” and “way too much.”
And, unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all number that will work for every business.
When you’re nurturing prospects, you don’t want to focus on the number of emails — you want to focus on the necessity of them. Are you telling Mary something new or just emailing her to remind her of your existence? If it’s the latter, do something to make it the former. Even if it’s just the link to a new blog post, there needs to be a purpose for the contact.
Make the Connection
You have officially armed Mary with everything she needs to make her decision, so the only thing left to do is ask the question.
“Mary, it’s been great getting to know you better and I think [product or service] would really help you with [insert problem]. I’d love to talk more in depth with you about it. Do you have 15 minutes on Wednesday?”
Voila! Mary is in and you have a bright, shiny new customer — all because you held her hand from the very first point of contact.
Do Your Prospects Need Nurturing?
Any relationship, personal or professional, requires nurturing to grow. When you guide your prospects through the entire process, there’s a better chance they’ll make it to the finish line!
Are you not the nurturing (prospects) type? Not a problem. Let Mischa Communications help you turn your prospects into patrons. Let’s talk!