Okay, business owners, be honest:

How many times do you follow up with leads that reach for your product or service, but don’t close?

Once? Three times? Never?

I want to show you some numbers, often quoted by sales pros:

• 2% of sales are made on the first contact
• 3% on the second
• 5% on the third
• 10% on the fourth
• 80% on the fifth to twelfth contact

Now:

How many leads have you given up on that were probably still closeable?

And more importantly, if there were an easy way to follow up with and close more of those leads, you would — right?

Good news: there’s more than one way! Keep reading and I’ll explain.

First of all some transition here:

There are two main things you want to look at when measuring your marketing results: Cost per lead (CPL) and return on investment (ROI).

Say you send out 5,000 postcards.

It costs you $2,000, and you get 50 calls.

2,000 / 50 = 40

Your CPL is $40.

Now:

Say you close 20% of those 50 calls — that’s 10 sales.

Every sale brings in $2,000.

You made $20,000.

Subtract the $2,000 you spent on the campaign and you’ve made $18,000.

Divided by your original investment of $2,000, that means…

You’ve made a 900% ROI — which is awesome!

Great ROI is definitely what you want.

But…

What about the 40 leads (that cost you $40 each to acquire) that didn’t close? You wouldn’t throw $1,600 in the trash, would you?

Or worse: a potential $80,000 in revenue!

Because if you don’t follow up with those leads, that’s basically what you’re doing.

Don’t be discouraged.

I’m telling you this because I want you to succeed. I want you to grow. I want you to close every possible lead!

Listen:

People who have reached for your product or service are MUCH easier to close than someone who has never shown any interest in you.

Systematic follow up can help you rehabilitate that interest, create more sales and minimize wasted dollars.

Set up what’s called a “funnel” system to contact those leads regularly over time through a variety of channels.

Here’s an example:

Day 1: Lead calls in

Day 2: First email

Day 4: Follow-up phone call

Day 8: Second email

Day 9: Second follow-up call

…And so on. You get the idea.

Now let’s explore the different ways you can follow up.

1. Phone calls

You should regularly call all leads to touch base and check their status. I don’t think I need to tell you how to do this! (But here are some tips for mastering follow-up phone calls.)

2. Email drip campaigns

An email “drip” campaign is a series of emails that go out to your leads at preset intervals based on when they were added to your email database.

How many emails each lead gets and how often is up to you.

Email marketing software — there are dozens and dozens of options available — makes this easy.

Download this FREE report on how to use set-it-and-forget-it automated email for follow up and close more leads for your business

The purpose of the emails is to “warm up” these leads with interesting, valuable information that encourages them to contact you again.

Keep in mind:

In order to run an email drip campaign, you need to collect email addresses from your leads! (A new caller checklist can help with this.)

3. Email newsletters

Along with your customers and prospects, new leads should also receive a regular (monthly or even bi-monthly) email newsletter from your business (in addition to the drip emails)!

Your newsletter can include things like:

• Helpful tips relevant to your product or service
• News about your industry
• A new testimonial about your business
• Announcements about your company

Again, email marketing software can make this a snap. All you need to do is write (or have someone else write) a short introduction to the newsletter each month.

Just make sure that it’s not ALL about you. Include information that is useful and/or interesting to your recipients, or it will be quickly deleted!

4. Direct mail

I recommend a 3-postcard drip campaign for leads that don’t close.

They can be similar to the cards you send to raw prospects, as long as you add something that indicates that you recognize they have already contacted you.

Something like: “Thanks for your interest!”

Every month, go through your mailing list to add new leads and remove those who have become customers.

(You don’t want to mail someone asking them to do something they’ve already done!)

5. Online follow-up

Thanks to the genius of Google, you can automatically follow up with people who visit your website with online ads. This is called “remarketing,” “retargeting” or “Google follow-up advertising.”

Here’s how it works:

People who visit your website, but don’t take your desired action (whether that’s filling out a form or making a purchase) start seeing your banner ad all over the internet. This makes it seem like you’re “everywhere” and reminds your prospect of their initial interest in you!

A final thought…

Different people move at different speeds. Some will call the first time they see your ad, while others won’t take action until they’ve seen it three, four or five times…

For example, I make decisions very quickly. I see something I want and I go for it.

My husband, on the other hand, will ponder and research before making a purchase.

The point is:

You never know how close to buying a lead actually is. That’s why you should follow up — and follow up, and follow up — until they close.

Some businesses on my prospect list have been there for years. I have one client who we followed up with for nearly a decade before they finally made a purchase!

After some time, we slow down our promotions and only reach out to them a few times a year — but we never give up!

If you have questions about what kind of follow-up system is appropriate for your business, call one of my marketing experts at 800-628-1804. The consultation is absolutely FREE! And of course, you can always email me directly at Joy.Gendusa@PostcardMania.com.

Best,

Joy

P.S.  This article was adapted from my book, Postcard Marketing in an Online World. Click the link to download it for FREE!