Sales can be quite challenging at times. When you are beating the bushes, you can be teased, put off, ignored, and sometimes forgotten by your prospects. You need some thick skin. You also need to practice persistence.
Many people in sales leave opportunity behind. Via statistics provided by multiple national research firms, it’s widely accepted that many give up too early in their quest for that precious conversion.
On average, roughly 50% of salespersons stop pursuing a lead after one contact. That’s right. 50%.
It gets worse. 65% stop after 2 contacts, 80% after 3.
In marketing, more contacts and impressions are vital to successful sales. According to the Online Marketing Institute, it can take 7-13 touches (or more) for that prospect to become a qualified sales lead.
The graphic at the top of this article, demonstrates the value of building a relationship over time. Timing is a big element in converting sales. It’s vital to deliver value, demonstrate authority, and ultimately earn the trust of each prospect.
While it usually takes a human touch – a phone call – to close a sale, there are many ways to achieve quality marketing touches.
If a contact on a landing page offers their email address via a form – usually with some sort of value-add information or lead magnet – you can create quality “nurture” campaigns on the relevant product or service.
Digital advertising is also a great way to achieve multiple touches. In 2018, for the first time, digital ad spends outpaced TV ad spending in the United States – 37.5% to 35.6% of all total ad spends. (source: Visual IQ, a Neilsen Company).
It’s been trending toward digital ad spending for years and it will continue to do so.
We are big fans of using IP Targeting in conjunction with other media (e.g. direct mail, Facebook, and/or email campaigns) and direct contact.
Why? IP targeting provides amazing frequency – remember those all-important touches – and is laser-focused on your target.
Additionally, since it’s cookie-free, there is almost no fraudulent impressions or clicks. You are certain that your target is a human. With a recommended campaign, your target will be exposed to your product or service multiple times.
That prospect has now been “warmed up” and is more informed on what you have to offer. Your chances for a conversion are now much higher.
We have been around long enough to know that one size doesn’t fit all. So, the marketing mix that we prescribe will vary from client-to-client and industry-to-industry.
But there is one constant that we’ll never waver from – more touches – quality touches – are your recipe for turning a prospect into a sales-ready lead.
