How to Nurture B2B Leads for a Shorter Sales Cycle

 Betsy Scherer

Robin Cohen (Founder & CEO @ Robin's Nest) and Leah Pemberton (Demand Generation Lead @ mabl) shared tips and tricks for nurturing B2B leads at every stage in your sales funnel. Here's what we learned...

How to successfully send personalized email campaigns...

• Divide your sales funnel into stages. Top, middle, bottom as an example. From there, deliver specific content based on funnel stage. For bottom of funnel folks, send industry-specific articles. For top of funnel leads, offer a demo session.
• Start small and iterate. It  all comes down to educating and nurturing.
• One email doesn't have to communicate everything. Think of this as series throughout the sales cycle. Teach them what they need to know at the moment, not what they need to know over the next 20 weeks.
• Clean data is key! If you're sending out emails with names, company names, and industry-specific messaging, having clean data in your CRM is a must.

How early stage founders can implement lead scoring...

• Think through the process first. Who do you want to target? What does your ideal user look like? What steps do you need them to take? Take a look at your personas and past data and look for commonalities. Lead scoring should be based on this.
• Implement a points-based system. Give out points for various activities: joined a webinar, one point. Downloaded an e-book? Another point. Give out more points for indicators that actively show interest, like requesting a demo. This helps folks on the sales side better prioritize their time.
• Keep flexibility in mind. It's important to keep this process fresh and verify it's working. 

How to nail the right messaging...

• Keep current events in mind. Tone and empathy are key right now.
• Use softer touch points. Have your sales teams actively talking to leads about how they're managing during the pandemic and how they're needs have changed.
• Differentiate your business. Everyone is doing webinars - ask yourself how you can set yourself apart from the competition. How can you deliver an engaging content experience?

RELATED: How to Put a 10X Multiplier on Lead Gen

How to audit and repurpose existing content...

• Use what you already have. Content is key for a solid lead nurturing program. It may seem daunting to build out brand new content. Instead, think about what you already have and if you can tweak key points for new leads.
• Utilize your team. Is there someone at your startup that closely resembles a persona? If so, sit down and pick their brain. 
• Use data to test frequency. Do your leads have a high or low tolerance right now? Base this on open rates, click through rates, unsubscribe rates. It's important that you don't solely rely on marketing automation. Keep the process fresh and revisit often.

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