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How “dating” your leads can convert prospects into customers

Many business owners and marketers find themselves in a never-ending endeavor to collect quality leads that will later become solid prospects and eventually the coveted customer. This process of taking a lead and turning it into a sale is not for the faint of heart. The process takes patience, and the amount of patience here would be something akin to dating in today’s world, also not for the faint of heart.

I’m sure if you’d ask anyone who is actively dating today, they would tell you that patience can be hard to maintain.  You meet someone, and they seem “interested.” You ask them out, maybe they come up with some lame excuse as to why they can’t have dinner with you. Something about their great-grandmother coming to town. But you persist. You offer a quick text that includes a funny meme, followed by a polite invitation to lunch. They agree, but not on the day that you first suggested. One date becomes two… then maybe you string together a series of fun encounters that lead you to conclude that there may be a future for the two of you. The bottom line is it takes time and patience to get there.

Romancing the internet leads you receive, either through email or other digital initiatives, takes the same time and patience.  During this romance, you’ll need to be mindful of the fact that the recipient needs to see you communicate value. They need to understand that you can identify with their problem and can offer a solution to what pains them. They also need to trust you and don’t want to feel rushed.  And most important, in dating or in finessing a lead, don’t “ghost” them. Nothing will annoy a prospect more than feeling like they fell off the radar for no apparent reason. See, it IS just like dating!

Let’s explore some of these tactics in relation to pursuing leads.

Communicate Value

You do this by sharing information that is going to improve their situation. You need to focus on their needs and provide them with quality information. If you’re dating, you might offer to run an errand for your prospective significant other, but if you’re looking to finesse leads this can be done with targeted articles or listicles that provide some insight into a problem they may be experiencing.

Identify with Them

Interact with the lead on a conversational level. Have fun where warranted. Send them a funny meme, a great quiz that makes a point or an opportunity for them to share their opinion. These tactics allow you to learn more about the lead, which will fine tune your continued pursuit and possibly seal the deal.

Gain Their Trust

Show them other successes you’ve had in helping businesses just like theirs. While sharing stories of previous relationships isn’t recommended in dating, gathering case studies of your ability to help with your lead’s pain point is a very powerful trust magnet.

Don’t Rush Them

Make them feel like an individual. Make them feel respected. You can’t accomplish that by sending them a mass email that has nothing to do with their specific need or interest. That would be like receiving a text from someone you’re dating that was clearly meant for someone else. It’s certainly not very personal and in some cases could cause irrevocable damage to the prospective relationship.

Don’t Ghost Them

Basically, do what you say you will do and do it in a timely fashion.  And even further, be responsive to all their requests for contact. This is a given in romancing your leads AND in dating.

Moving a lead from the initial inquiry through the steps to becoming a paying client can be difficult to navigate. Even the most ardent daters will turn to friends or even online dating services to help facilitate the dating process.

Marketers can be effective in cultivating their own leads, but some want to find outside assistance. As a business owner, if you find yourself frustrated with the process in turning leads into customers, Federated Digital Solutions can help. Give us a call. We promise to not stand you up.

Schedule a Free Consultation | Federated Digital Solutions

Written by Deb Williams

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