According to a Gleanster Research study, 50% of leads are qualified but not yet ready to buy.  The time period between when a lead is created, and then makes a purchase and becomes a customer is usually referred to as the sales cycle.   Your job as a business owner to shorten the cycle so you create revenue faster, and keep the customer from pedaling away to a competitor.  

This process is often referred to as “lead nurturing” and it’s an important part of the lead generation process, and is as crucial as the sales strategy.  Consider the following facts:

  • Top performing sales people are twice as likely to leverage a lead follow up system as their under performing peers
  • Businesses which implement follow up systems report double the sales conversion of companies which haven’t implemented a systematic continuity plan
  • Email drip-marketing campaigns are the most common form of lead nurturing
You’ve heard a million times that the money is in the list, and it’s true, but only if you actually leverage the list with a well planned sales strategy and dovetailed nurturing campaign.

Most likely you’ve worked pretty hard to attract the leads you have, but without the proper sales strategy, systems and necessary automation, you could be losing tens of thousands of dollars every month, and also lose as much as half of your potential sales if your marketing plan is incomplete. And to make things worse, your leads could permanently become your competitor’s customer.

Your website visitors, subscribers, and social networking community members won’t necessarily be ready to buy from you this month, or possibly not even in the New Year.  Some of your prospects will be like microwaves, they heat almost instantly without a lot of work.   But some of your leads will be more like crock pots, they take more time to warm up to your offers, and will take longer before they want to provide you with dinner.

According to MarketingSherpa.com, 79% of marketing leads will never, ever, ever convert into sales. Lack of lead nurturing is the most common cause of this sad phenomenon. Obviously, less effort and strategy leads to less revenue.  It also will cause your business to have little to no residual revenue, which is the most satisfying income of all.  Residual income is only possible when you have an automated selling strategy with pre-planned offers at well timed intervals. 

A strategic and well planned out funnel will nurture your clients who aren’t ready to yet become clients, will also convert readers into revenue, and makes having an online business and a strategic funnel much more FUN.  

Where are the holes in your funnel, or is it working pretty well for your business? Leave me a comment or a question below, I’d love to connect.