Brian Carroll Brian Carroll is founder and CEO of InTouch, a B2B marketing firm and one of the first companies to provide lead generation services for the complex sale. Brian is a recognized expert in lead generation and author of the popular book, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale (McGraw Hill, 2006).  Brian's been profiled and regularly quoted in numerous publications and he speaks to thousands of people a year on improving sales effectiveness, marketing and lead generation strategies. His acclaimed, B2B Lead Generation blog , was named the Best B-to-B Marketing Blog by MarketingSherpa readers and is read by thousands each week. Follow Brian Carroll via Twitter

In a complex sale, my experience is most of the selling actually happens when the sales person isn't there. I know there's a lot of emphasis on lead generation (that's a good thing) but getting a ton of leads doesn't guarantee that increased sales will follow.

Startling as it may seem, recent research (and even studies from ten years ago) shows that longer-term leads (future opportunities) often ignored by salespeople, represent almost 80% of potential sales.

You can increase your odds of success by adding a lead nurturing program.

What’s lead nurturing?

Lead nurturing is all about having consistent and meaningful communication with viable prospects (those that are “a fit” for your solution) regardless of their timing to buy. It’s not “following-up” every few months to find out if a prospect is “ready to buy yet.” Lead nurturing is about building trusted relationships with the right people.

Walking in their shoes

Consider the following concerns that are going through a potential customer's mind before they make a buying decision:

• How will this product/service help my company?
• We’re doing okay, why do we need it?
• Is there another company out there that is better?
• Will their solution really work? Can they prove it?
• Is the company credible?
• Can we afford it?

Lead nurturing helps people find the answers to these questions and remind them of the benefits of working with you. You're creating value by giving them useful information in digestible, bite-sized chunks.

How to start lead nurturing

A typical lead nurturing program includes: a series of letters, emails, voicemails, case studies, success stories, articles, events, white papers and web events that are meaningful to your potential customers. Since you’re providing relevant, educational or thought leading content the tactics employed and the frequency of touches will depend on the solutions being sold and the buying cycle of the prospect.

Basic Lead Nurturing Plan

Below is a sample lead nurturing plan.

When we create lead nurturing programs, we create different lead nurturing tracks based on demographic criteria such as size, industry, role in the buying process and more.

So what’s the ROI?

As a result of lead nurturing, companies will see more sales-ready leads, higher close ratios, a stronger sales pipeline and shorter average sales cycles. Our clients that have committed to a lead nurturing program find they can sustain their production of qualified leads over the long term and build a much more predictable and sustainable sales pipeline. Perhaps more interestingly, another client determined that their nurtured prospects brought in nearly 100% more initial revenue than those that were not nurtured and yet another said their nurtured prospects cite a greater overall positive impression of their company.

Can InTouch help you with your lead nurturing needs?  Give us a call at 1-800-810-7710, send us an e-mail, or use our contact us form.