Accelerating Lead Conversion: The 7 Days and 7 Touches Strategy

In the world of sales and marketing, converting a lead into a customer is akin to an art form, one that requires precision, timing, and a strategic approach. The ForzaDash slide outlines a sophisticated 7-day program designed to convert a “Hand-Raise” lead into a potential demo, and then maintain engagement through a “Drip” system. Let’s dive into how this strategy can be a game-changer for businesses.

Day 1-7: Intensive Engagement

The first seven days after a lead expresses interest are crucial. Dubbed the “Hand-Raise to Demo – FD DemGen Engine,” this phase is characterized by a series of calculated touches from both the sales and marketing teams.

Sales Strategy: Personalized and Persistent On the sales front, the strategy involves three direct contacts on days 1, 4, and 6. The initial action involves a call, leaving a voicemail if necessary, which adds a personal touch and may increase the likelihood of a response. If the lead engages, the conversation can be an invaluable opportunity to qualify their interest and introduce them to your product or service. Following this, a direct manual email with a calendar link is sent, offering a clear call-to-action and an easy way for the lead to book a demo. These touches are spaced out to maintain presence without overwhelming the lead.

Marketing Approach: Automated Yet Customized Parallel to sales efforts, the marketing team kicks into action with four touches on days 1, 2, 3, and 7. The first touch happens within five minutes of lead capture, showing responsiveness and setting the tone for future interactions. An automated email is sent, but it must be thoughtfully crafted to appear as personalized as possible. Over the following days, new collateral assets are introduced, keeping the product top-of-mind and nudging the lead towards scheduling a demo. Incentivizing with a gift card could be the final nudge needed.

The Content Factor

Content creation is an ongoing task for the marketing team, with a commitment to produce at least 3-4 collateral pieces per month. These could range from blog posts, PDFs, to testimonials, all serving to educate and engage the lead further. Quality content that addresses the lead’s pain points and educates them about the solutions can significantly influence their decision to proceed with a demo.

Post-Conversion: The Drip System

After the intense first week, leads who have not yet converted enter the “Drip” system. This is a more gradual, yet consistent form of engagement. The focus shifts to maintaining contact and providing value through newsletters, announcements, and invites to trade shows. A clever move here is to include competitive news, which keeps the leads informed and subtly pitches your superiority in the market.

The Psychological Edge

The 7-day strategy taps into the psychological principle of commitment and consistency. By interacting with the lead in various ways over a consistent period, you’re not only building familiarity but also gently steering them towards committing to a demo. The key is balance; you want to be persistent without being intrusive, and personalized without being overbearing.

Measuring Success

To truly understand the effectiveness of the 7-day strategy, it’s crucial to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) such as the response rate to calls and emails, demo conversion rate, and eventually, the sales conversion rate. This data will help refine the approach, customize communication, and improve the lead conversion rate over time.

The “7 Days and 7 Touches” strategy presents a structured yet flexible approach to converting leads. It’s a blend of art and science, requiring meticulous planning and execution by both sales and marketing teams. When implemented correctly, it can shorten the sales cycle, increase conversion rates, and ultimately, contribute to the business’s bottom line. The post-initial contact strategy, the Drip system, ensures that even if leads aren’t immediately converted, they’re not lost. Instead, they’re nurtured, keeping the door open for future conversion opportunities.