In general, warm leads are more receptive - and easier to convert - than cold leads. This is because warm leads will already have a level of awareness of your business and, if your company has been recommended to them by a trusted contact, they may already feel positively about your brand, something that’s a major advantage when securing a new customer.
However, while warm leads are more open to contact and conversion, you still need to put the work in if you’re going to turn a ‘maybe’ into a ‘yes’. Here, we take a look at the most important things to consider when talking to your warm lead.
When contacting a warm lead, it’s important to put them at ease by making it clear who’s referred them or how you’ve got their contact details. Leveraging the influence of the mutual friend or contact who’s put you in touch will help you set the scene and build rapport with your potential customer.
Before you make contact, be sure to carry out a little company research. During your conversation, use this research to connect with your contact and show that you have a good understanding of their business, brand and position within the marketplace.
It’s also important to make clear that you understand them as you go through the meeting. It's obvious that asking questions of your prospect and their business about a variety of areas will be important but without making it feel like an interrogation, but ‘demonstrating’ understanding throughout your conversation is critical too. Make sure you play back their words as you go, and summarise at every key milestone in the meeting about what they have said and what you have agreed.
More often than not, the warm contacts that are referred to your business will be looking for a solution to an existing problem. Once they’ve explained their issue, try to present them with a solution that relates directly to their issue or opportunity. You should use the summary of your questioning and playback as above to guide you on this.
Use benefit language, compelling data and key facts when outlining your solution. Focus on ROI as this is likely to be a major consideration for your prospective customers.
Before you run any type of prospect meeting, it’s important to consider what their concerns and objections may be. Every prospect, no matter how warm, will have concerns about using a new supplier. More often than not however, they don’t voice these concerns due to politeness or expediency.
Asking yourself what objections your prospect may have before you meet them will help you come up with good, relevant answers. During your meeting, ask your prospect outright about their concerns and objections. Listen to their answers carefully and then work to overcome any issues raised.
Keeping communication flowing after your first contact is essential. Good communication will help you build rapport with your prospect and give you plenty of chances to answer any follow up questions.
After your initial call or meeting, write an email reiterating the key points that you covered. Send over relevant links to any products or services that they showed an interest in or that you think may be relevant to their organisation. Sharing case studies or testimonials can also help to build trust and give your prospect a clearer idea of what they can expect from your business.
If you haven’t already met your contact in person, try to arrange a face-to-face meeting. This is another good way of building rapport and growing your professional relationship. Try to ensure all key decision makers attend this meeting.
Make sure that both parties are 100% clear on what will be delivered before any work begins. Set success measures so that you can both see how things are going and, if some aspects aren’t working, where they can be improved.
Though warm leads should be easier to convert, it still requires time, energy and commitment to bring them fully on board. Learn more about converting your prospects by getting in touch with an expert member of our team today to see how we can help transform the behaviour of your sales teams.
Image Source: Canva