Communication Converts Leads

Honesty is the best policy. Adopting an attitude of being clear and upfront has many benefits in life, from reduced stress to better relationships, but it can also be valuable in your business and key to converting leads into real customers. SCORE mentors will tell you that developing an open and honest relationship with your leads is important for several reasons:

- Honesty creates trust. If a lead feels comfortable sharing their needs and concerns, you can address them directly.
- An honest dialogue will determine if your business is well suited for addressing their needs.
- When choosing from multiple providers, a lead will choose the one that makes them feel most comfortable and capable of fulfilling their needs.

If you are able to honestly communicate your business’ capability to the leads, it brings you much closer to closing the sale and gaining a customer. Converting leads into sales is really about being a good match for client needs and effectively communicating that pairing. Here are some tips for effectively communicating your business to your potential customer:

KNOW YOUR COMPETITION AND KNOW WHERE YOU STAND
If you’ve positioned your business correctly, then you offer something different than your competitors. But it’s important to stay on top of how your competitors are changing and evolving their products and services. Check out their websites, follow them on social media and stop by their retail location. This will allow you to communicate your uniqueness to your customers in an informative way.

SEE WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS SEE
Remember – you are a consumer too. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and think about things like “What’s the first thing I would want to see upon walking into a specific business?” If you’re having trouble seeing from that perspective because you are too close to your business, ask your friends, family and colleagues for their opinions.

TAKE ONE STEP FURTHER
If you’ve effectively communicated your business to a lead and their needs align with what you can offer—but they are still hesitant, you must nurture that lead. If this is your first time in sales, and for many small business owners it is, this can be an uncomfortable proposition. Think of lead nurturing efforts as friendly reminders. Here are some tactics for lead nurturing. See which works best for your customer base and your personality.
1. Be concerned
2. Be persistent
3. Remind of benefits

GET FEEDBACK
It is crucial to take stock of how your lead conversion efforts are working and modify as necessary. Solicit feedback from both successful and unsuccessful conversions to see what you’re doing right and where there’s room for improvement. For unsuccessful conversions, ask questions like, “Did we effectively communicate how we could meet your needs?” and “What caused you to choose another provider for this product/service?” For successful conversions, ask questions like, “What made you choose our business as your product/service provider?”

As with most things in life, honesty about you and your business is the best policy.

About the Author

Bridget Weston Pollack is the director of Marketing & Communications at the SCORE Association. In this role, Bridget is responsible for all branding, marketing, PR, and communication efforts. She focuses on implementing marketing plans and strategies for the organization to facilitate the growth of SCORE’s mentoring and trainings services. She collaborates with SCORE volunteers to develop channel marketing strategies and media / PSA efforts in order to acquire new clients and volunteers. Bridget develops SCORE’s online marketing strategy in order to increase clients’ consumption of SCORE services (mentoring and training). Finally, she continues to enhance and manage SCORE’s public brand and image through the development of promotional materials. Prior to SCORE, Bridget was at Mid-Atlantic Control Systems in Rockville, Maryland as Marketing Manager. There she created and implemented the company’s business-to-business marketing strategies, including redesigning a web site, developing marketing collateral and forming relationships with vertical market partners. Bridget has worked as a Marketing Coordinator at Temple University Health Systems in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she focused on marketing Temple Heart & Lung Center as a center of excellence in the Philadelphia region. Bridget has her Master’s of Business Administration from Temple University and a Bachelor’s of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Outside of work, she currently coaches first grade girls soccer for Arlington County. She currently resides in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Rick.