This is a guest post by Lauren from Bean Content.
Bad leads. They’re like the crushes you had in high school. You just know they’re your type and that you’ll be great together. They may even be interested in you. But, nothing ever happens. There’s no story to tell, just a vague sense of missed opportunity.
We could write a sad Swift-y ballad about the ones that got away, but instead, we’re going to move on to leads that appreciate us. Meaningful leads that convert.
7 steps to foster good leads through your website
What holds a good lead back? According to Zig Ziglar "every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust." So, you need to convince leads to want what you’re selling, be prepared to spend cash on it, feel the need is urgent, want your product or service even more, and trust you.
It’s a tall order, but it’s achievable. Let’s get into the specific steps you can take to close the deal.
#1. Make it really clear what’s great about you
When a lead lands on your site, they need to know exactly what you’re about. Explain what you sell, but keep it concise. No one is going to read reams and reams of text about your product or services.
The best way to keep your messaging concise is to make sure you really know what you’re about. So take your thinking all the way back to your mission statement, vision, and values. Then, experiment with fitting your worldview and your offering into three short lines. Remember the less text on the screen, the more users will read it.
Think of your copy as the love notes a more confident, mature, you could have written in high school. A 5-page treatise on why he or she should give you a chance makes you look like a desperate weirdo. A sharp snappy note, written with character, presents you in the best light and piques their interest.
Finally, signpost your message with clear, interesting headings. Try a more personal approach to avoid the worst generics. “Introduction” won’t really draw anyone in, but “Our story” might.
#2. Make it easy to communicate with you
When you have questions, reading through pages and pages of content is frustrating. FAQs don’t exactly inspire a sense of connection with the brand, either.
Barriers to communication are a great way to lose good leads. So, break down the barriers by looking into a live chat tool like Intercom.
A live customer communication tool invites leads to ask any questions, and reach out if they’re stuck. This kind of tool can be used to capture and convert leads, and engage users immediately.
In our teenage love analogy, these tools are the equivalent of giving someone your IM screen name and making the first move to message them “hi”. Leads that are in a hurry may especially appreciate this feature.
Just make sure that your copy (e.g. “Hey There! Any questions? Just ask, where here to help!) is confident, but not presumptuous. You want to push leads towards conversion, but you don’t want them to feel you’re being pushy.
#3. Build trust
Ah, trust. So difficult to earn, and so easy to lose. No one wants to put themselves (or their money) on the line. So, you have to make sure that leads can see why you’re worthy of their trust.
Testimonials are a good way to start. They’re the friends whispering good things about you in your crush’s ear.
People want to see that others have tried your products and services and been satisfied. They want to hear about the difference your offering made in other people’s lives. So, don’t be shy to ask existing customers for testimonials. Make them easy to submit, and keep a bank of the best ones.
When you choose the best for your site, avoid too much repetition. You want your testimonials to build trust in various aspects of your brand and offering.
You can also signal that you’re trustworthy by being open about how your offering works.
If you sell a product, create a fun explainer video that demonstrates how to use all its features. If you sell a service, film a testimonial or two explaining how the process worked for different customers.
#4. Make your site attractive and accessible
Your site shouldn’t be the girl in the ponytail and thick glasses that everyone overlooks. But, poor site design and outdated architecture can cause that.
When pages take too long to load, users lose their patience and turn elsewhere. Sometimes, the delay is so bad that users even lose faith in the company’s ability to meet their needs.
Consider this: a company with a tech product has a slow landing page, and isn’t mobile friendly. Are you likely to think their products will be cutting edge? No way. Like many potential customers, you’re likely to take it as a sign that they’re behind the times.
Carry out regular site audits and don’t make it so easy to dismiss you. Instead, invest in lean, modern site design with negligible loading times.
Make sure it’s responsive, and adapts seamlessly to mobile interfaces. This way, leads can admire your site a their convenience and without frustration. It’s the web design equivalent of taking those glasses off, shaking your hair out and wowing everyone at the prom.
#5. Be part of the conversation
You need leads to see that you’re in the know, and connected to the major conversations happening online.
Being part of the cool crowd adds credibility to your brand and offering. But how do you signal your hipness to potential customers?
Start by building a web of links. Referral links (to other sites) and internal links (to your own site) are non-negotiable. Next, try to show up on popular sites that your target market is interested in.
Guest blogging is a great way to generate leads that already care about what you offer.
Just be selective in who you associate with. You don’t want your crush bailing because they see you’re in with the biker gang and they’ve heard bad things. Instead, you want promising leads to be impressed by the calibre of your circle.
So, connect with aspirational sites that reflect the best about your industry.
#6. Calls to action
In real life, we’re often coy about asking for what we want. We don’t say “call me and we’ll go for coffee”, we say “maybe we should meet up sometime”... and forget to leave our phone number.
Online, being coy just isn’t cute. It’s a surefire way to lose out on customers that are perfect for you and ready to commit.
So, write compelling calls to action (CTAs) and provide convenient buttons to contact you, place an order, request a quote, or follow you on social media.
Compare “Follow us on Facebook if you would like to see more about us” to “Join us on Facebook for news and offers”. Which one would you click? Most people will go for the latter, because it’s clear what they can gain.
Be direct. Don’t beat around the bush. If you talk around what you want, chances are someone else is going to snap up your potential customer before you can seal the deal.
#7. Exit popup offer
So, the lead’s interested, they’ve seen reasons to trust you, they like the look of your site, and understand what you’re about. Somehow, though, they’re still not ready to commit. Perhaps they want to take another look at what’s out there. Perhaps they like you, they just don’t like like you.
You may think that that’s okay. That it’s just the way it goes, leads have a right to explore their options. And while they do, the bad news is that most leads never return once they’ve left the site. So you need to catch their attention while they’re still looking at you.
This is where popping up an exit offer can change the game. Offers like 10% off their first order, or a free assessment and quote if they book immediately, can make you the front runner in a lead’s mind.
Make these offers fun and eye-catching. Create as much fun and excitement around them as you can. For example, your 2-step offer could be colourful and include some witty humour.
The exit popup offer is the enticing glance back after you’ve walked way. It’s flirty but direct, and comes across as confident and self-assured. That’s hard to resist.
What if the ones that got away never got away?
Imagine you closed on every lead that made their way to your site. It’d be a dream, but sadly that’s just never going to be the case. You won’t be for everyone, and that’s okay.
Instead, focus your energies and tactics on converting those leads that are the best fit for you. They’re interested, they want what you offer, and they just need to be treated well to commit.
The tips in this article should help you present a brand that is confident, relevant, and trustworthy. Apply these tips, and your days of lamenting the meaningful leads that just never worked out are over.
Guest Author: My name is Lauren and I am the chief of content at Bean Content. I have been working in the content sphere for over 4 years now and have a passion for words. I have a passion for educating people about the world of content marketing - specifically SEO, writing and social marketing. Facebook | Twitter
