Measure Twice, Cut Once

My Dad used to always tell me to measure twice and cut once. I think the same rule applies to lead buying. So often we get some initial data and knee jerk into a reaction. In lead buying this can waste a lot of money lead shopping and damage some potentially great marketing partnerships.

As this applies to buying the right number of leads you have to be very careful. Over buying is certainly counterproductive, but so is under buying. Attempting to maximize your sales production each month means hitting maximum throughput on your sales capacity each month. Often that means pumping more, not less through the sales engine.

Sales Capacity is an Individual Thing

Sales capacity is truly an individual metric. Each sales person’s capacity is effected by a myriad of influencers. If you are trying to determine overall sales capacity you have to create a weighted scale not a flat average.

Whenever I am asked how many leads each sales agent should get I always ask what is their velocity. This has a lot to do with sourcing the appropriate lead flow. Sales agents will have a variety of conversion ratios, call volumes, and performance levels. These will all effect the number of leads you buy.

Here are some of the factors I like to look at:

• Call volumes
• Number of attempts before sale
• Number of attempt before withdraw
• Desired number of sales
• Commission tiers (you will be amazed at the glass ceilings this causes in sales)

Remember your sales team(s) are made up of human beings. They will perform as such, each as individuals. Calculate your lead buys on the combined demand of the individuals, not an average of the group.

Buy Leads Based on Sales Performance

As you dig into all of these numbers stick with the golden rule that will always serve you well: “Buy leads for performers.” Poor performers will always hoard and waste leads. So, feed your top performers and starve your poor performers–both groups’ sale numbers will improve with this strategy.

—

Next Wave Marketing Strategies brings over 5 years of integrity, innovation, and client satisfaction to the aged debt leads market. We offer industry leading quality control, data cleansing, and a generous return policy to empower you to build your business in the fastest, most cost effective manner. Learn more about aged debt leads.

(photo credit: timparkinson)

Lead Nurturing is Not Just Email

The first misconception of lead nurturing is that it is an autoresponder. Although, these have their rightful place in marketing, lead nurturing needs more. Simply blasting customers with a mindless string of emails is not building a relationship.

Make sure that your lead management process is a mixture of various marketing communications: regular calls, direct mail, even an email or two.

Vintage leads are inherently a blend of customers at various stages of inquiry. Therefore, your need to design your lead management strategy in such a manner as to nurture clients to the proper financial product or service.

Lead Management is About Trust Building

Nurturing leads and doing it in an efficient way is critical to converting aged leads into loyal customers. This requires a lead management process that builds trust and engagement. The following are some basic techniques for creating a trust-based lead nurturing process:

• Inform them about your company
• Educate them on the current market
• Explain the various solutions available
• Tell them what to avoid
• Call them to action when the time is right

The more value you provide to the customer the greater the trust. Clients enrolled in your lead nurturing campaign may not be ready to transact, but the smarter they get about your products and services the more likely they are to call you for help.

No, Means Maybe Later

But, how do you start? Well, all clients should have access to your lead nurturing program. It should be a central part of your ongoing customer relationship manager. However, the most important group are those that say, “no.”

Customers that don’t close immediately are not failures of your sales process–they are failures of your timing. Lead nurturing helps you cure your bad timing. Non-responsive customers, customers that go with competitors, and customers that say they do not need your services are “future” prospects.

Unless they tell you to stop calling on them, respectfully keep them informed and you are certain to build an enormous, long-term pipeline.

—

Next Wave Marketing Strategies brings over 5 years of integrity, innovation, and client satisfaction to the aged debt leads market. We offer industry leading quality control, data cleansing, and a generous return policy to empower you to build your business in the fastest, most cost effective manner. Learn more about aged debt leads.

At under $1 per lead versus the $10-$50 your competitor is paying for real-time leads you need to keep these aged debt lead conversion secrets to yourself! Here is the proven formula:

1. Be smart in your lead buying: When you enter into the aged lead market you are treading into the murky backwaters of online lead generation. It is filled with treasure and gold, but you have to find a solid, reputable partner.

Make sure your aftermarket data provider is a verifiable business, properly established, and willing to give references. Then start your buying with small amounts of data and cost–this will establish a benchmark of quality and return on investment.

Once you find the right blend of leads and partner begin to scale up your buying and operations.

2. Immediately email and phone verify each lead: As soon as you get any new lead data you should immediately verify all contact information. This is important not only to validate the quality of the lead data, but also to effectively segment and prioritize your lead data.

This process also allows you to update contact information, append new contact information, and firmly establish some initial relationship with the customer as you add them into your marketing program.

3. Use lead management software: With real-time leads that you throw away after 5-7 days you may be able to get away with managing leads in your email, but for serious database marketing you need a lead management system. By the way, the inefficiency of lead buyers not managing, losing, or arbitrarily discarding leads after 5-7 days is exactly what makes aged debt leads such a great value.

Your lead management system should make it easy to status, track, and follow-up on database leads. Lead management software should be simple to configure workflows, trigger pre-defined email campaigns, and remind you to call leads as they are worked throughout the year.

4. Create call and email scripts: Don’t contact your vintage leads in a haphazard way. Script your call routines and email drip campaigns as you would any other marketing plan. Your calls and emails should follow a logical, valuable path that lead the customer to debt relief when they need your services.

Like any good story your call and email scripts should be broken into small chapter size pieces that when put together communicate a clear beginning, captivating middle, and satisfying conclusion. Don’t jump straight to a closing on an aged lead–be polite, introduce yourself, build credibility and trust, then go for the close. This process may take weeks and several contacts.

Diligence and good process is what helps harvest the most value from aftermarket leads.

5. Status every lead: As you work through your leads you must have a simple and consistent way to status each lead. This will allow you to segment, analyze, and workflow out your sales and marketing processes for maximum effectiveness.

6. Develop lead nurturing workflow: Lead nurturing is critical to maximizing your aged consumer data investment.

Each aged lead that you buy is a customer. They have a variety of dates of inquiry, motivations, and buying intent. However, each originally showed interest in solving a debt problem. That means that they are or will become a candidate for your debt solutions.

Lead nurturing allows you to stay top of mind with the customer through a variety of communication methods (i.e., telephone, email, newsletter, website) with a methodical, long-term strategy. That way when they are ready to solve their debt woes you are the first one they call.

7. Lead with value, not hard sell: Remember these are aged leads–they could have been damaged or bruised on their path to you. Barging in with a hard close will probably not be the best strategy.

Build a script that leads with solid value and information. The sale will come. Build credibility and trust first.

8. Establish professional web presence: Since your first contact is going to be relatively cold I recommend a top-notch website to reinforce your credibility as a debt solution provider. Immediately directing a skeptical person to a website full of information, value, and testimonials will take the pressure off the initial contact.

A great website will also give them a quick and easy way to get back in touch with you. A “no: know may become a “yes” later if they can find you quickly when their needs change.

9. Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up: Customers needs are constantly changing. Nowhere is this more the case than in managing personal finance. Debt challenges can creep into peoples life in the most inopportune and unexpected ways: illness, loss of job, sudden turn in the market, marriage, divorce, kids, college, and many other life events.

Stay in contact. Consistently check in and ask questions. Provide information and advice. You never know what the next follow-up might bring.

10. Never kill a lead: This goes hand in hand with number 9. Leads never die–timing simply may not be right. Whether it is a debt work-out or a referral to a family member in need, every lead with make you money over time.

—

Next Wave Marketing Strategies brings over 5 years of integrity, innovation, and client satisfaction to the aged debt leads market. We offer industry leading quality control, data cleansing, and a generous return policy to empower you to build your business in the fastest, most cost effective manner. Learn more about aged debt leads.