Do you know where any particular client enters into your sales funnel? Are they at the bottom, moments away from a buying decision? Or are they further up the funnel, where they are gathering data and information in order to make a go/no go decision for their project?
Understanding where your buyer is when they enter your sales funnel is critical for two reasons. First, it creates a powerful marketing machine that converts clients into buyers. And, it sets appropriate expectations and cadences for your sales process.
Leads that are colder require more education and information for them to feel ready to make a buying decision. The emphasis here is on the word feel—when homeowners are making decisions to beautify and improve their homes, they are not basing their choice in logic. They make an emotionally driven decision that needs to feel good to them.
Enter the popular concept of content marketing. Providing education to consumers may seem like a natural part of what we do. However, going back to where your clients are in the sales funnel, it’s not just about being conscious of how you create the educational elements that you provide, but also how you decide what pieces to provide when.
Providing too much information can actually undermine your ability to sell. Providing the wrong type of information can have the same negative effect. There are three steps that will help you strike a balance and select the what information to share.
Step 1: Grab a blank piece of paper and write out the top three to five questions that potential customers ask. Think the those you get consistently, no matter when they come up in the process.
Step 2: Once you determine the primary questions, answer them as fully and completely as possible. You might already have this content written up on your website, in a blog post, in an email to a client or even disbursed throughout various marketing pieces.
Step 3: Turn this new content piece into a desirable item that your client will view as helpful. For example, create a digital resource like a guide, a checklist or a how-to. Leverage this repackaged information as a viable piece of your marketing and sales process. Create value around it. Make it something that people need to get access to or that they receive as part of your process. The more you treat is as a valuable gift, the more your clients will perceive it as such.
Following these simple steps can create warmer leads faster and buyers that are ready to purchase sooner.
