{"id":5898,"date":"2020-10-21T16:24:14","date_gmt":"2020-10-21T21:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/?p=5898"},"modified":"2020-12-04T19:09:15","modified_gmt":"2020-12-05T01:09:15","slug":"warm-leads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/warm-leads\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Stay in Touch With Warm Leads Who Aren&#8217;t Ready to Buy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a perfect world, every lead would instantly sign on the dotted line.<\/p>\n<p>But just because a lead doesn\u2019t immediately snap up the deal you\u2019re offering doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not qualified, or that you shouldn\u2019t continue nurturing them.<\/p>\n<p>I sat down with Julie Mann, Vice President, Inside Sales at Upland Software, to discuss how sales reps can get the contact balance right with warm leads who just aren\u2019t ready to buy yet.<\/p>\n<p>Julie has been a sales practitioner for the past 12 years, including stints at Upland, Optimizely, Spreadfast, and she believes nurture is a seriously undervalued \u2013 and often deprioritized \u2013 skill in sales.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hb1pRmEbj4Q\" width=\"560\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>How Do You See Inside Reps Splitting Their Time Between New Prospects and Nurturing Existing Ones? [1:22]<\/h2>\n<p>In a typical organization, Julie underlines, around 20% of sales rep time is spent following up new inbound opportunities and new leads, while roughly 65% is dedicated to outbound tasks like <a href=\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/sales-prospecting-techniques\/\">prospecting<\/a>, sourcing and executing.<\/p>\n<p>Just 15% of their time will be spent on two-way engagement with interested people, she estimates.<\/p>\n<p>Julie believes this approach needs to be switched up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople spend a lot of time focusing on the people that are coming through as hand raisers, and their goal is to get them quickly to that qualified opportunity stage and through the sales cycle,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut what really should happen in an ideal world, is that 60% of your time as an SDR Inside Sales rep should be following up on inbound leads and nurturing leads that you\u2019ve had two-way engagements with. And then the other 40% can be focused more on outbound initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>What\u2019s the Goal of a Nurture Campaign? [3:34]<\/h2>\n<p>Julie says nurture campaigns have two simple goals:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identifying the right group of buyers and prospects from your <a href=\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/define-icp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ideal customer profile<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Getting them to buy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cJust being able to isolate those needles from the haystack,\u201d she says of the first goal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had a mentor who used to say: &#8216;we spend so much time finding the needle in the haystack, and then once it\u2019s in the <a href=\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/sales-cycle-stages\/\">sales cycle<\/a>, it falls out somewhere. Then we just go back to trying to find new needles instead of collecting this isolated pile of needles that we can come back to.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She explains that nurturing has myriad benefits, including gleaning competitive information from prospects, and collecting ideas on how to improve tools, products, and services.<\/p>\n<p>On her second point, Julie warns sales reps to tread carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat you don\u2019t wanna do is take these people who you had a great meaningful conversation with and just shove blanket messaging down their throat,\u201d she explains. \u201cInstead, identify them, put them into a fuel line that you can revisit at a very specific cadence, and only be delivering value added material that helps them in their job today.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>How Do You Define Value? [5:09]<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cIf you have an asset that you can offer somebody, that gives them some benchmark or some information that aligns with the problem they\u2019re trying to solve today \u2013 that adds value,\u201d Julie says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it\u2019s inviting them to some kind of a webinar event that really, genuinely pertains to the problem they\u2019re trying to solve \u2013 that\u2019s value.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So what is value <em>not<\/em>?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cValue is not &#8216;hey can I get ten minutes on your calendar,&#8217; value is not &#8216;hey give me information and it\u2019s a one sided relationship.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Instead, value is delivering assets that genuinely relate to the conversation you had with the lead, she notes.<\/p>\n<p>So if you\u2019re going to send a prospect a content piece, always consider whether it\u2019s relevant.<\/p>\n<h2>How Do You Find the Right Balance for Nurturing? [6:45]<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThere is a cadence you can execute that will pretty much make sense for the type of nurture you\u2019re running,\u201d Julie explains.<\/p>\n<p>There are three different types of nurture:<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Closed loss nurture<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This is where there was once a qualified opportunity that fell out of <a href=\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/sales-cycle-stages\/\">the sales cycle<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt some point we want to revisit that,\u201d Julie underscores.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month message that these people can receive,\u201d she says. \u201cYou can establish a connection with them: \u201chey I\u2019m gonna stay close to you, not because I\u2019m trying to sell to you, but if I see something that\u2019s valuable to you, now I know a little more about your business, I\u2019m gonna send it your way.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She explains that once you start sending these messages, you can continue to iterate on them &#8211; but you need to be careful you\u2019re not wasting time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs you go through the year, the messages become a little more dire and a little more needy perhaps, because \u201chey, you\u2019ve been with this vendor for 9 months, I want to know if it\u2019s working well or if its not &#8211; is there something I can do?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. The almost opportunity <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cMost of the criteria was met, you are talking to the right person,\u201d Julie says, of the almost opportunity. \u201cThey do have the authority. There\u2019s a need there. But timing or budget may be off right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sales reps should keep these people close through thought leadership, she advises.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBuild a relationship where they see you as the expert and advising. And that cadence can be a little bit more free \u2013 it doesn\u2019t just have to be the 3, 6, 9, 12.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Focusing on people who were hand raisers <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>These are the leads you\u2019re yet to have a meaningful conversation with \u2013 but you want to.<\/p>\n<p>They may have downloaded your ebooks, attended your webinars, filled in your forms, or put in a demo request.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow do you send them information? You do it in a more frequent cadence, but still tailored to their vertical, their persona, and the pain points you\u2019ve seen others have,\u201d Julie says.<\/p>\n<h2>How Do You Know When a Warm Lead Is Ready to Buy? [9:35]<\/h2>\n<p>Onto the million dollar question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only way to really know and know for sure is to see a spike in activity,\u201d Julie says. \u201cTons of activity coming through on your website. If you have predictive analytics tools like Sixth Sense, that\u2019s a great way of knowing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes you \u201cjust don\u2019t know,\u201d however, she acknowledges. So it\u2019s super important to make sure you\u2019re always on top of that thought leadership, and therefore adding value as an expert.<\/p>\n<p>Chipping away through regular, valuable contact can see a big pay out in the right circumstances \u2013 even if early signs are negative, Julie explains.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery once in a while you won\u2019t see that activity, and somebody just happens to be reconsidering something.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause you have made it easy for them to communicate with you, you\u2019ve been respectful of their time, and you\u2019ve been such a value-added resource along the way, they will come circle back, even if you\u2019re not in their first or second choice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Check out <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/uplandsoftware.com\/\"><strong>Upland Software<\/strong><\/a><strong> to browse smart digital tools that could help your team, or find Julie on <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/juliemannaustin\/\"><strong>LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a><strong> \u2013 she\u2019s always open to connecting, talking about strategies and tips, and learning in a mutual way.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a perfect world, every lead would instantly sign on the dotted line. But just because a lead doesn\u2019t immediately snap up the deal you\u2019re offering doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not qualified, or that you shouldn\u2019t continue nurturing them. I sat down with Julie Mann, Vice President, Inside Sales at Upland Software, to discuss how sales &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5899,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[55,5],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Julie-Mann.jpeg?fit=3840%2C2160&ssl=1","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v15.5 - http:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>How to Stay in Touch With Warm Leads Who Aren&#039;t Ready to Buy<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/warm-leads\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Stay in Touch With Warm Leads Who Aren&#039;t Ready to Buy\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a perfect world, every lead would instantly sign on the dotted line. But just because a lead doesn\u2019t immediately snap up the deal you\u2019re offering doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not qualified, or that you shouldn\u2019t continue nurturing them. I sat down with Julie Mann, Vice President, Inside Sales at Upland Software, to discuss how sales ...\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/warm-leads\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mailshake Sales &amp; Marketing Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-21T21:24:14+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-05T01:09:15+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Julie-Mann.jpeg?fit=3840%2C2160&#038;ssl=1\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3840\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2160\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\">\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"http:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Mailshake\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Mailshake-Logo-small.png?fit=325%2C59&ssl=1\",\"width\":325,\"height\":59,\"caption\":\"Mailshake\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Mailshake Sales &amp; Marketing Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/warm-leads\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Julie-Mann.jpeg?fit=3840%2C2160&ssl=1\",\"width\":3840,\"height\":2160},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/warm-leads\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/warm-leads\/\",\"name\":\"How to Stay in Touch With Warm Leads Who Aren't Ready to Buy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/warm-leads\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-21T21:24:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-05T01:09:15+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/warm-leads\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/warm-leads\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/warm-leads\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fadba0629a6997a15e7b77e335c110d8\"},\"headline\":\"How to Stay in Touch With Warm Leads Who Aren&#8217;t Ready to Buy\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-21T21:24:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-05T01:09:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/warm-leads\/#webpage\"},\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/warm-leads\/#primaryimage\"},\"articleSection\":\"Interviews,sales\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fadba0629a6997a15e7b77e335c110d8\",\"name\":\"Sujan Patel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/071c63b926025330e9468435427b9f37?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sujan Patel\"},\"description\":\"Sujan Patel is the founder of Mailshake, a sales engagement software used by 38,000 sales and marketing professionals. 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What Is B2B\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;sales&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"what is b2b sales","src":"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/What-is-B2B-Sales-header-2.jpg?fit=1138%2C493&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1479,"url":"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/100-sales-statistics\/","url_meta":{"origin":5898,"position":1},"title":"100+ Sales Statistics to Drive Your Strategy","date":"03\/06\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Wondering why you\u2019re not creating as many leads or closing as many sales as your colleagues? Want to know the trick to writing a killer sales email? Need to prove to the C-suite why (and how) you should be shaping up your sales strategy? Here are 100 sales statistics that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;cold email&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mailshake-100-sales-statistics-header-02.jpg?fit=1138%2C493&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3185,"url":"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/how-generate-leads\/","url_meta":{"origin":5898,"position":2},"title":"How to Generate Leads Yourself as a Sales Rep (3 Can't-Fail Tactics)","date":"11\/04\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"There are two types of salespeople: those who can generate their own leads and those who can\u2019t. Guess which type VPs of Sales and revenue leaders want on their team? Correct \u2014 they want people who can generate their own leads. 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