How to Convert Sales Leads into Paying Customers

8. Above all else, be patient.

“It is important to identify the fine line between harassing or spamming the lead and communicating very late. As soon as you acquire a sales lead, contact them. If the potential customer requires some time to make the decision, provide them the time. Never harass the leads by contacting them continuously or spamming their email.”

– Joshua Weiss, CEO of TeliApp, @teliapp

9. Consider using live chat.

“I’ve recently installed a chat feature on my website to help engage customers. I can then greet them, ask them something relevant, and have a conversation from there. It’s helping to convert a lead that [comes] to my site into a customer. I can even see where they go on the site as well as where they’re coming from.”

– Mike Steffan, Creative Director of High Impact Entertainment, @highimpactent

10. Think like a doctor.

“Stop thinking like a sales person trying to close a deal and start thinking like a doctor.  A good doctor seeks to fully understand his patient’s ailment before prescribing a solution.  Gain your prospects trust and confidence by digging deep and going beyond the standard qualifying questions.  Address all of the pain points they disclosed when prescribing them a solution.  Genuinely make them feel heard, and you may not even need to ask for the sale.”

– Jonathan Prichard, President and CEO of Mattress Insider, LLC., @InsiderMattress

11. Use varying communication channels.

“Remember that sales come when the customer is ready. It’s our job to educate and inform them. Stay in touch regularly. The follow up is key. And don’t forget to mix it up. Email, phone calls, direct mail, social, etc. Don’t just rely on one media. Become a trusted resource and those leads will become sales much easier.”

– Ely Delaney, Co-Founder and Lead Trainer of Your Marketing University, @elydelaney

12. Create a consistent and measurable sales process.

“The key to converting sales leads into customers is to implement a consistent and measurable [sales] process. Be sure to qualify your best leads first and the move these leads to the top of your sales process for sales outreach. Always remember that a mechanical and thoughtless approach will prevent you from understanding the needs of your customer.”

– Matthew Reischer, CEO of LegalAdvice.com, @legaladvice

13. Communicate past client praise.

“Position yourself as the obvious choice by allowing the portfolio and customer recommendations speak for you. When answering questions, point to relevant portfolio sample(s), and paste relevant client recommendations.”

– Bernard Vukas, Microsoft Office Business Applications Developer at Bvukas.com, @bvukas

14. Make a personal phone call.

“Never underestimate the power of a personal phone call.  In the age of email and text messages, simply picking up the phone and calling a lead makes you stand out immediately.”

– Lerin White Wheeless, Owner of Lerin Photography, @lerinphoto

15. Do your research.

“When most people acquire a good lead, they jump on it immediately. Simply put, take some time to understand what this business, person, or people really need.  Consumers purchase solutions not products or services so you will need to do some research and tailor your message in order to discover and address their unique set of issues.  This will require more time per lead, but your conversion rates will be higher.”

– Patrick Brown, Founder and Director of Business Development at Occam Education,
@OccamEdu

How do you convert a promising sales lead into a customer? Let us know in the comments section below.