What’s that you say?…You’ve made the first point of contact with a prospect by getting them to take your quiz?…That’s brilliant!
You’re off to a flying start, you’ve provided your prospect with valuable feedback and helped them to identify the key areas they need to develop. You probably haven’t had any direct contact with them yet and you’re already building trust and showing them that you are a voice of authority in your field.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean they’re instantly going to buy from you. No matter how great a first impression you’ve made, to sit back and do nothing would be a big mistake. Big. Huge!
In this article we’re going to explain the importance of having a process in place for following up on leads and what that might look like.
We’re also going to share our own tried and tested strategies for nurturing quiz leads that we have seen success with time and again, as have our clients.
What is a nurture sequence and why is it important?
‘Nurture sequence’ is a general business term, used mostly in sales. It describes what you do after you’ve made your initial pitch to push your lead towards taking action. It can also be referred to more informally as a ‘follow-up’. The process usually involves making contact with the prospect via phone, email or social media messaging.
If the idea of following up on a lead gives you the ick, you’re not alone, 44% of salespeople only follow-up with a prospect once before giving up. It’s understandable, you don’t want to come across as the stereotypical pushy salesperson. But a study by sales consultancy, The Brevet Group found that 80% of sales require an average of five follow-ups to close the deal. So, if you don’t have a robust follow up process in place that you stick to, you’re missing out on a lot of missed opportunities and revenue.
What does a nurture sequence look like?
A successful nurture sequence should involve a variety of communication methods, unless the prospect has specified a preference. If your emails go unanswered, pick up the phone. Don’t forget about the power of LinkedIn either.
Follow-ups should be appropriately timed, don’t hound your prospect with daily attempts to make contact. Conversely, don’t leave it too long.
There are a lot of automation tools on the market for nurture sequences, which do have their uses. However, best practice is to take a personalised approach. Success comes from engaging with people and providing them with meaningful information that benefits them. Keep conversations focused on your prospect, their goals and challenges and not about you and your product or service.
A great follow-up should always include defined next steps, if they specify that they need more time to consider, arrange a set date and time for your next call that they’re agreeable to.
Follow-up calls and emails should also be limited to the essential information. Your prospect is likely busy and won’t appreciate long emails or being kept tied up on the phone. Keep it short, sweet and to the point.
Our six-step quiz lead follow-up process
You can adapt and use this tried and tested strategy as a framework for your own nurture sequence:
Step 1) The prospect completes your quiz and submits their details
Step 2) Instantly, the prospect receives their results along with an initial thank you email. This email includes their results and deeper feedback in a PDF report, thereby giving them even more value straightaway
Step 3) Within the initial email, the prospect is given a call to action, encouraging them to engage with you and take the next step.
If your quiz is a Specialised Marketing Assessment from SMA Digital, these first three steps are automatically triggered when your prospect takes your quiz, so you won’t actually have had to do anything yet!
10% of the prospects who get to step three, will take up your call to action. To capture the 90% of people who are not ready to engage yet, you will need to implement the following steps:
Step 4) Send your first follow-up email one day after the prospect has completed your quiz. This email should wow the prospect with additional valuable resources that are tailored to their quiz score and are beneficial to them
Step 5) Send your second email two days after quiz completion. This email should spark a conversation by asking the prospect an open question, specific to what you do and how you can help them
Step 6) Send your third email four days after quiz completion. Now you need to get your prospect to commit. The outcome could be that they confirm they want to go ahead with you, or they might give you a firm no. Keep this one super brief and to the point, it could be as simple as ‘Are you still looking to (insert their goal that you can help them achieve e.g. grow your business)’. The next step you offer at this point could be a discovery call or similar.
Don’t fear the follow-up
It can be easy to convince yourself someone isn’t interested in your offering when you don’t hear from them. The reality is that they’re probably just busy. Decision makers often have very demanding roles, and their inboxes are usually full to bursting. While you’re worrying about coming across like Jack Lemon’s Shelley Levene in Glengarry Glen Ross, your prospect probably just has other priorities and needs you to grab their attention.
Some key take-aways
- If someone has completed your quiz but doesn’t take up your call to action, either yourself or a team member should call them within 24 hours with the aim of booking a sales meeting. We have found doing this one thing creates the BIGGEST increase in quiz completions converting into a sales call
- Before a sales call takes place, look through their Specialised Marketing Assessment report and the answers they gave. This will help you understand their biggest challenges and what to focus on next, which will help guide the conversation
A well-executed nurture sequence tells your prospect that they matter to you. According to a study by Genius.com, 66% of buyers indicate that consistent and relevant communication is a key influence in choosing a solution provider. So, don’t waste that great first impression you’ve made with your Specialised Marketing Assessment and set up your nurture sequence today.
