There’s nothing more frustrating than generating plenty of leads, only for a tiny percentage to convert into sales. You might be left feeling as though you’re wasting your time, but if you fail to nurture these unconverted leads then what you’re actually doing is wasting huge opportunities.
The truth is, people buy when it’s right for them, not for you. Only 15% of leads buy within the first 90 days, and that’s a maximum figure. The rest need to be nurtured until they are ready, and the most effective way to do this is through content marketing.
Content marketing will uplevel your firm by farming your unconverted leads, thus increasing your sales volume. Best of all, it’s not rocket science; it simply requires consistency and patience.
Different Types of Leads
Leads fall into three main categories:
– Hot. These prospects know what they want and are ready to buy now, or within the next 90 days.
– Warm. They have an idea of what they want but aren’t yet ready to enter a sales conversation.
– Cold. Cold prospects don’t know what they want, and it’s your job to teach them.
By only following up with hot leads, you let the other 85% slip through the net. If you neglect these prospects, they’ll soon forget about you and turn to your competitors instead. Don’t fall into the trap of mistaking ‘no’ for ‘never.’ Through content marketing, you can heat up your prospects until they reach boiling point and become ready to buy.
Farming
Connecting with a new lead is like planting a seed. It needs nutrients, water and sunlight in order to grow. In this case, it’s content that cultivates.
Content marketing keeps you front of mind. By showing up every day with valuable content, you will retain your prospects’ attention and ensure that they don’t defect to a competitor. More than that, it allows you to present yourself as the solution to their problems. When they’re ready to buy, you’re right in front of them, framed as the obvious choice.
What Should Content Marketing Do?
Each piece of content should fulfil one of the following purposes:
– Illuminate. Content should grab your audience’s attention and highlight their problems. Focus on their pain and make them feel understood.
– Educate. Identify the solution to their problems and teach them what they need to do to achieve their goals.
– Convert. By now your prospect knows what they’re looking for, so prove that you’re the right provider for their needs. This type of content is centered around you and how you help your clients achieve transformations.
Regardless of category or format, each piece of content should end in a call-to-action (CTA) to engage your audience in conversation. Examples of CTAs include:
– Asking a discussion question
– Promoting your latest piece of long form content
– Directing your audience towards your website or sales page
– Encouraging prospects to book an audition call
Quantity Over Quality
You’re probably used to hearing this phrase in reverse, but the truth is that you don’t need to be the next Ernest Hemingway or Steven Spielberg to create content that converts. You already have knowledge and expertise that is enormously helpful, so all you need to do is show up and share it.
Your YouTube videos, for example, don’t need to be hour-long cinematic productions. Just get in front of the camera and address the common questions or concerns that your audience has.
Short daily social updates, a few short form blogs per week and a regular newsletter will do a lot more to nurture unconverted leads than a single prize-worthy blog post each month. Like plants, your leads need to be watered every single day, not drenched every now and then. Little and often is the best approach to nurturing your prospects.
Conclusion: Patience and Consistency
In an ideal world, all of our prospects would be ready to buy from us right this minute. The reality requires more work. However, by being patient and consistent, you will see impressive results over time.
Content marketing keeps cold and warm leads on the back burner, slowly heating them up until they’re ready to buy. This will generate many more sales for your practice because you’ll no longer be letting 85% of your hard-earned leads slip through the net. This is a huge and important step towards more sales, bigger profits and the freedom practice you’ve always dreamed of.
