Lead Nurturing – Don’t Be The Salesperson That Quits

Lead Generation is easy.

Lead Conversion is hard.

Lead Nurturing is where you actually start to make a real income.

Lead Nurturing is so hard because it’s so easy to quit. It’s easy to give up after the prospect doesn’t return the 2nd voice-mail or reply to the 3rd email. It’s easy to quit, so you do.

You have to realize that its not the prospects job to follow up with you. Its your job to follow up with them Read: Lead Conversion Is Still On You.

How Soon Do You Quit?

Seth Godin, writes in the book “The Dip” (affiliate link) about salespeople who quit,

“A well-reported study found that the typical salesperson gives up after the fifth contact with a prospect. After five times, the salesperson figures she’s wasting her time and the prospects , quits and moves on.

Of course, the study reports that 80 percent of these customers buy on the seventh attempt to close the sale. If only the salesperson had stuck it out!

Is it true that people need to be closed constantly, that seven is a magic number, and the key to selling is to be aggressive? I don’t think so. I don’t think the best salespeople are the ones who are always in your face, always asking for the order, always pushing.

I think the lesson of the story is this: Selling is about a transference of emotion, not a presentation of facts. If it were just a presentation of fats, then a PDF flyer or a web site would be sufficient to make the phone ring.”

When do you quit?

Are you transferring emotion? Or hoping the website makes the sale for you?

Seth goes on to write,

“Prospects are experts at sensing what’s on the salesperson’s mind. People have honed their salesperson radar-we’re really good at detecting sincerity (or lack of it). If a salesperson’s attitude is “Hey, if this person doesn’t buy, there’s someone right down the street I can call on,” what’s projected is “Hey, I’m not that serious about you having this product.” On the other hand, if a salesperson is there for the long run, committed to making a sale because it benefits the other person, that signal is sent loud and clear.”

What signal are you sending?

You might not went to seem like a pushy, aggressive salesperson but your lack of lead follow up and nurturing the lead process might make you come off looking like a salesperson that doesn’t care and only in it for the sale.

That of course, is not true, right?

Become A 6%er

The study that Seth might be referring to is from Herbert True. Herbert True was a marketing specialist and is noted for saying,

• 44% of all salespeople quit trying after the first call
• 24% quit after the second call
• 14% quit after the third call
• 12% quit trying to sell their prospect after the fourth call

That means that 94% of all salespeople have given up before even getting to the 5th at bat. So, only 6% of salespeople are still in the game.

And we wonder why the top 10% of salespeople make 90% of the sales?

You have to become a 6%er. You have to be left standing after the other 94% quit.

After you have generated the lead, converted the lead, do you have a lead nurturing process to make sure you are there when the decision is made?