The Remedy for Unqualified Leads: Nurture Them Until They’re Ready

The Remedy for Unqualified Leads: Nurture Them Until They're Ready

“A man is never too old to learn”  and so is a Panda.

Po, a panda and a kung fu student, had to fulfill a challenging task for his retiring kung fu master Shifu, of becoming the next kung fu teacher himself in the recent blockbuster Kung Fu Panda movie. Po’s task wasn’t easy like he thought it was and made him doubt on his capabilities. But with the help of his biological father Li, and the guidance of the Furious Five , Po took the courage to eagerly accept the challenge to learn and improve his kung fu skills and later on was able to teach the other pandas using their everyday activities in the village as their assets. Capping these positivities was resolving himself on the role assigned to him as the Dragon Warrior who embodies the yin-yang, and to fight Kai, the traitor who held other kung fu masters captive by taking all their chi. He knew that fighting Kai wasn’t as enjoying as eating his fave dimsum but Po was eager to fight and save the captives  so he strategized the fight by using his Wuxi finger hold to transported Kai and himself to the beyond. With the use of his chi he was able to create a giant dragon figure of himself to battle and finally destroyed Kai.

Like Po who courageously nurtured and mastered his kung fu skills and used his chi properly to trample Kai, we can learn and master our prospecting skills and tactically use resources like the automation and nurture tool to battle against slow poke follow ups and unqualified leads by nurturing them until they’ve become fully qualified and sales-ready.

Nurturing doesn’t just start after the prospect said “yes, call me back” or confirmed an appointment but officially kicks off from the time the prospect picks up the phone to answer your call. Below are some kung fu-like skills and chi-like tools that you can learn to master in order to free yourself from battling against unqualified or premature leads:

Get to know the Prospect

Regardless of how many outbound calls you make in a day, 50, 80, 140 or 200 but just plainly talking to prospects without profiling them would put all your impressive call volume numbers into thrash. You need to profile your prospect before you can design the best offer or sales scheme for him. You may use personality types from www.sales-initiative.com in profiling your prospects and get to know what sales approach works for each. :

  • The Analytical

Type: One who asks facts & figures

Approach: Using qualitative and quantitative data in your presentation will work for this prospect type.

  • The Driver

Type: Opinionated but make quick decision

Approach: Do small talk and be quick and factual to answer questions

  • The Amiable

Type: Quite sensitive and takes time to decide

Approach: Build rapport with emphasize on WIIFM benefits

  • The Expressive

Type: Storyteller and highly impulsive

Approach: Active listening and be in control of the conversation.

Related: Classification of Sales Leads: Hot, Warm or Cold

Give and Take Specific and Accurate Information

Nothing beats a crystal clear conversation. This is the best foundation in creating a good and lasting impression to the prospect which eventually would progress into generating the most qualified lead. Take the following CTAs to help you:

  1.  Share accurate information with prospects about the products and services you offer and couple this approach with the three important Cs of prospecting:

Confidence – exude confidence when pitching. So master and understand how your product works and its benefits to the prospect.

Customize – always place yourself in the prospect’s shoes by acknowledging his opinions and remarks. Some factors you may need to consider are time, budget, need and authority of the prospect to either fully qualify the lead or properly nurture it for future deals.

Consistency – give out accurate facts and data as this will keep you on track during the conversation. The prospect might ask you the same question twice so it’s best to have consistent answers, otherwise he would not believe you at all.

If you got all these mastered as one package you will definitely gain the prospect’s trust.

  1.  Ask probing questions that will uncover important facts about them and how they do business. This will give you a concrete picture of your prospects’ profiles and will get to know their buying behaviors.
  2.  Take note of all the answers or remarks you will hear from the prospect. This will help you create a strategy that will ensure a continuous communication with them and be able to synchronize your activities during the nurture period. 

Related: AskCallbox: What makes an effective lead nurturing program?

Utilize Time and Tools

In the 2010 Gleanster Research study showed that as many as 50% of qualified leads are not ready to buy. So what do you do with these not-sales-ready leads?

Well no other fitting answer to that question but NURTURE them until they are sales-ready with the use of the automation and nurture tools.

Automation and nurture tools are your chi in keeping leads at their best place and position and saving them from becoming shelf-kept captives. Here are short tips on how to utilize automation and nurture tools in 3 easy ways:

  1. Engage and nurture prospects through custom emails sent  via the automation tool.
  2. Answer their queries and concerns by activating real-time alerts and notifications
  3. Track all customer touch points like website visit, links clicked and sent forms, which also means get into multi-channel marketing bandwagon.

Check out our lead nuture tool here!

Qualified and sales-ready leads do not come in handy at all times. Be ready to battle with unqualified leads by mastering the skills on profiling the prospect, giving and taking specific and accurate information and utilizing time and tools.    

Po didn’t go out and battle Kai unarmed – he took time to master his kung fu skills, nurture his fellow pandas by teaching them how to fight, and used his chi to become big and powerful which defeated Kai and saved the captives.

Do you know that telemarketing is an effective strategy for lead nurturing? Learn how..

Check out this case study on lead nurturing:

Turning Targets to Sales-Ready Leads with a 50% Shorter Lead Nurturing Cycle

Watch our Callbox lead nurture tool integrated with Pipeline CRM!