When you have that first call with a new inbound lead, there a few things to be aware of during the process. Establishing rapport and expressing your understanding will be your keys to success.
The difference between an inbound lead and a cold call is that an inbound lead has already had an experience with your company – regardless of whether or not you’re fully aware of what their impression of your company is. If you’re using a piece of software like HubSpot, you can figure out what their journey was like and use it in conversation. This is the key to a successful first call with a new lead.
One: Reference The Past.
Discuss with the inbound lead what you do know about them based on their history. Try not to make things too creepy by going into demographic information or information you know about them, especially if they didn’t give it to you. Yet, pages on your site, emails they’ve opened, and similar interactions are fair game. Anything explicit that they’ve done, like downloading an e-book or whitepaper should be the starting point of the conversation in many cases.
Two: Start Talking Where The Experience Left Off.
Start the discussion with your prospect around what information they were not able to find on the website. This is a good way to encourage your lead to open up, and to generate discussion with you as to what their next steps might be- and you can also use this information to speak with your marketing department about possible items to add to the website. But, remember: your goal here is to figure out where they are in the buying process so that you can qualify the buyer. If they are not searching for pricing, or if don’t have an idea of pricing, they might be early in the process, for example.
Third: Send Them Back to The Website.
End your conversation by finding a way to send them back to the website. Whether it’s to look at case studies, review pricing, or look at a new resource they may not have found the first time, any of these roads will put them back on a trackable path for your sales efforts. You’ll be able to see if they took your advice, or if they are still interested in your offerings after talking with you. Don’t ever leave a call without suggesting next steps for the prospect, even if the next step is a proposal.
No matter how you handle your sales process, the first call with an inbound lead will be greatly improved by using these three tips. They will help you to track your leads better, and to get more out of your inbound leads during your sales process. If you’re not using something like HubSpot, give us a call today. We’d love to discuss how using inbound marketing software for your marketing purposes can also help you to improve your sales processes.
