If you’re just tuning in – make sure to read our last post: SuperBowl 50: Sales Vs. Marketing first – as it explains the differences and the necessity of each aspect of your business journey.
In this post, we are going to discuss strategies for tackling each level of prospect/lead (cold, warm, hot). We’ll also discuss how to get over the fear or discomfort with sales or marketing processes.
Now – at the end of our last post we divided our leads between the three categories: cold, warm, hot (If you missed that, take a quick moment to do it now).
Cold Leads
These are really the beginning stages of leads, they generally have no idea what your business is about and might not even know that you exist. This is where your marketing process will step in and let the prospective client know that you’re here and let them know what you can do for them. The best way to tackle a cold lead is to send our direct mailing, produce an ad campaign either in print, television, radio, or social media. This will build the foundation and enable you to take them on the journey to becoming a hot lead.
Warm Leads
These are the leads that have been acquired using the first step of marketing and have been moved into the warm stage either via marketing or sales. At this step in the journey you can use either a sales or marketing strategy to woo them into the third category. The best ways to manage a warm lead include: a follow up call or an email to entice them to engage. In addition, a simple way to manage warm leads simultaneously is to use a scheduled seminar (or even better: a webinar) to draw them all together and move them along.
Hot Leads
To move a warm lead to a hot lead you will need to be personal, as this is the last stage of the journey to acquire a customer. This is when the sales strategy comes into full force. In some cases, a warm lead may become a hot lead of their own accord – generally if they love the business and highly support the idea. If this isn’t the case, the best ways to move a prospect into a hot lead is using a one-on-one call or meeting, use a proposal, presentation, or contract.
As you can see, the steps are really cohesive, as a cold lead is acquired with marketing, a warm lead is attained with further marketing and/or some sales, and a hot lead is closed with sales. The key to these two functions being successful for your business is balance. Too much of one will create an imbalance and the end result will often be fewer clients than if the two are balanced.
Getting Comfortable
Now, what if you have some discomfort with sales or marketing? This is often a result of inexperience and/or a lack of confidence. If you find that you are a better marketer than salesperson – then the easiest way to overcome this is to partner with a stellar salesperson. This is true if you are great at closing a deal but not so comfortable with obtaining leads. If you are the only person in your company then you can hire talent either on a permanent, temporary, or contract basis. The key is really knowing the business, and determining how you want to portray your product or service to others. If you have confidence in the business then you will be able to speak smoothly and comfortably about it and easily move leads from the cold stage through to the hot stage.
Exchangeleads
Although marketing entails a whole bunch of steps: a simple way to find the initial lead is to use a service such as Exchangeleads. We provide you with a list of high quality leads in your industry without the hassle of searching yourself. If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to us and we’d be happy to show you how we can provide you with your next set of leads to start your marketing and sales journey!
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