Three quarters of clients have never received advice before, and fear of making a wrong decision can hold them back from converting.
So nurturing prospective clients is vital to your performance. With this simple strategy you can capture their interest, nurture their intent, and ensure their conversion.
Your main goal when nurturing prospects is to capture their email address. With this you can send them a series of emails resolving the key blockers to their conversion.
Add an opt-in form to your website, and make it clear why they should leave their details.
You’ll offer answers to their key questions. Do they actually need advice? How much does advice cost? What can they expect from the first meeting?
State that you can provide this information at no cost – and there’s no obligation to take on advice by signing up.
Be open and reassuring. Use this copy to not just encourage them to leave their details, but also to present yourself as someone who’s on their side.
You’ll need their email, but you can also make it optional for them to leave their phone number, and even state their advice needs.
With this information you might have a higher rate of conversion further down the line, as you can use this information for more targeted communications over a wider number of channels. But forcing prospects to do this can lead to fewer providing their details at all.
Once you’ve captured their email, you can begin sending out your communications.
These emails should be succinct, and ideally come from your personal address. Each should have one reason for being sent, and one action for the client to take.
So for your first email, you could answer their most general question – do they actually need advice? State this question in the subject line, and include content discussing who might need advice at which stage in their life. You can even use this piece we’ve written which tackles this question.
The key here is to show you can help without mentioning your services. You’re not trying to convert them with each email, but instead build up a positive image in their mind, so when they’re ready to convert they’ll choose you.
Having said this, always provide your contact details in the footer so they can easily convert when they want to. And include a small note at the bottom letting them know you’ll be sending over a few more pieces, and if they don’t want these communications any more to just let you know.
Your second email could be sent a day or two later, and answer questions they might have on the cost of advice. This piece we’ve written takes consumers through this topic and displays how valuable advice is over the long term.
Your third, to be sent two or three days after that, can explain what clients should expect from a first meeting. Use this piece to provide the information they need to feel in control of the process and confident enough to commit.
Once your initial emails have been sent, you can send further ones relating more explicitly to your advice. But continue to frame these in terms of you helping them, not selling to them. Brief explanations of your services backed by client testimonials will be most effective.
And so with their fears answered, they’ll be ready to convert. And having seen you as considerate and understanding so far, you’ll be the obvious person to go for.
