Lead nurture refers to the process of developing relationships with potential customers who have shown interest in your product or service, with the goal of guiding them through the sales funnel to become paying customers. As a sales ops professional, you likely help the sales team implement effective nurturing strategies that turn leads into loyal buyers.
How does lead nurturing work?
The first step is identifying and segmenting your leads based on criteria like demographics, interests, and where they are in the buyer’s journey. Sales and marketing teams can work together to define these segments and build targeted nurture campaigns for each one. For example, you may send different messaging to a lead who just downloaded an e-book versus someone who has already had sales calls and demos.
Once leads are segmented, you’ll develop nurture workflows – a series of timed, automated emails, phone calls, social messages, etc. that drip feed helpful info to leads. The goal is to educate prospects and build trust, not overtly sell to them. This takes strategic planning of content and timing based on their stage in the funnel.
As a sales ops pro, you help develop the nurturing schedule and configure the technology platforms needed to automate the process. You may also analyze data from nurture campaigns to see what content and outreach strategies work best for converting different lead segments. Using this intel, you can help sales teams refine nurture programs to improve their ROI.
A key part of nurturing leads is handing them off smoothly to sales when the time is right. You need processes to alert reps and provide background on leads that become sales-qualified.
Above all, lead nurturing requires coordination between sales, marketing, and operations. By working together to develop relationships with potential buyers, you can increase pipeline opportunities and boost sales success rates. Robust lead nurturing not only generates more sales opportunities but also provides a better customer experience.
Lead Nurturing Examples
Some common lead nurturing examples that sales operations teams oversee include:
Sending targeted emails
Setting up drip campaigns that automatically send a pre-determined set of emails to leads over time. This could include product updates, educational content, event invites, surveys, and more. The goal is to engage leads and add value.
Conducting webinars
Hosting live or recorded webinars that provide demonstrations, how-tos, expert advice, or other helpful info related to the product or service. Webinars help position the company as a trusted resource.
Building landing pages
Creating dedicated pages on the company website tailored to specific buyer needs, interests, or topics. This makes it easy for leads to find relevant information.
Promoting gated assets
Offering free downloadable content like eBooks, templates, or guides in exchange for contact information. This gives sales teams valuable data while providing value to leads.
Maintaining active social media
Posting educational, entertaining content on social platforms to nurture relationships. This could include links to blog posts, videos, etc.
Retargeting online ads
Serving ads across the web to leads who previously visited the company website. Helps keep the brand top of mind.
Sending direct mail
Mailing printed materials like postcards, brochures, or gifts to leads to stand out.
The goal of all these efforts is to build awareness, trust, and mindshare until leads signal they’re ready to have a conversation with sales.
Sales operations teams help plan, execute, and optimize nurturing programs.
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