002: New Leads, Now What? How to automate Your Follow-Up With Email.

Episode Transcript

002: New Leads, Now What? Automate Your Follow-Up With Email

Ok… so you’ve got a new lead! Now what?!

Following through on leads hasn’t always been my strong suit. In fact, getting new leads used to give me anxiety because I had no idea what to do… and I I felt like I only had one shot to make the right impression. As a result I often didn’t follow through with leads… at all. I was totally paralyzed by my own fear and ultimately left thousands of dollars on the table by not taking action... out of fear that I’d take the wrong action. 

So before we dive in, the first and most important thing, if you take nothing else from this episode, is that there is no such thing as “the wrong action.”

You might not get the results you hoped for, but that doesn’t mean it was wrong. It means that you now have data to work with. You know what didn’t lead to the results you wanted. 

And that data is just as valuable as knowing what DOES lead to the results you want. Because that data is what helps you figure out what works and what doesn’t work.

Everything we do is business is an experiment. It’s just a test to see what works and what doesn’t. So there’s no such thing as the wrong action: you’re just collecting data so you can decide what works and what doesn’t in your unique business.

And for a long time, I didn’t take any action so I never had any data. I didn’t really know what worked and what didn’t until I started trying things. I was constantly guessing, which is exhausting.

But once I DID start taking action and collecting data I noticed something really powerful: every time I send an email I made money. So with that data in mind, I started experimenting to find what worked and what didn’t work. And I came up with a process that has gotten results for me over and over so today, I want to pass that on to you.

But first, there are two magical things about emails that you should know:

First, your email list is the only marketing tool you own. Social media is controlled by an algorithm. Your lead box is controlled by the store owner. Instagram, Twitter, tik tok… they’re all at the mercy of someone else. But when someone gives you their name and email address and permission to market to them… that’s all yours. So if Facebook shut down, if Instagram were gone , if every lead box you ever used were thrown away… you’d still have your email list. And you’d still have permission to market to those people. My point is: Your email list holds more value than you realize. Treat it like gold.

The second thing that is magical about email is that you can completely automate it. You can preschedule emails weekly, monthly… you can even create a set of emails that gets sent to new subscribers every time someone joins your list. All automatically, saving you time and ultimately, helping you impact more lives and make more sales.

Now, when you get a new lead in your business you have two options:

you can go directly into selling, or

You can take time to nurture your lead and build a relationship before trying to sell to them

There are pros and cons to both. The pro of going right into selling? You might get a sale. The con? It’s a strong “might.”

The likelihood of someone making a purchase before they’ve ever gotten to know you is slim. If they do make a purchase, it’s likely to be much smaller than it could have been with a little TLC. If they don’t make a purchase it might be because they’re actually running the other direction. Most people don’t want to be sold the second they meet you. They need to get to know you, to trust you first.

Your email list is one of the best ways to deliver that TLC, to nurture your new lead. Here’s exactly how I do that:

Whenever someone joins my email list they automatically are sent a series of emails designed to help them get to know my business, help me get to know how I can best serve them, and to help build trust and credibility.

This sequence of emails CAN become quite complex - in a good way. The kind of complex that gives you lots of useful information and allows you to get even more targeted results.  However the purpose of this episode is to help you get started using automated email sequences for the first time. And what I don't want to do is make this so overwhelming and complicated that it's impossible to get started. so what I want to help you set up today is a basic welcome sequence that serves a few purposes:

 to deliver free download to your audience, also known as a lead magnet.

To get your subscriber to interact and engage with your lead magnet so that they actually get the full value out of it that they’re supposed to

And to build trust and credibility so that they are more likely to make a purchase when the time comes

The overall structure of this email sequence is actually pretty simple. The first email that goes out service one primary purpose: to deliver your lead magnet and remind the reader of the value that it delivers. When they downloaded your lead magnet most likely it's because they felt like they were going to get some kind of value out of it. Maybe they read a social media post that helps them understand why they need whatever is in your lead magnet. And then you linked to it so they downloaded it. Maybe you wrote a blog post that helps them understand why they need whatever is in your lead magnet and so they downloaded it after reading the blog post. Whatever it was in order to get them to download it you did a good job of helping them see the value.

However by the time they actually download it a minimum of a minute or two will have gone by. And in this day and age a minute or two feels like hours. And they might not even actually go directly from the page where they downloaded the lead magnet to their email inbox where you're delivering it... They might not go and download your lead magnet until the next day. So your first email not only gives them The lead magnet itself but it also needs to reiterate why this lead magnet is so important to their lives. It needs to remind them of the value and the benefit. Comes from using this lead magnet. So that's the purpose of your first email to deliver the lead magnet and also to remind them of the value and benefit they get from using your late night. You can also use this email to introduce yourself, but most importantly in order for your lead magnet to do its job, which is to build trust and credibility, they need to actually download it. And to actually download it they need to remember why it's so valuable.

Your second email which I generally send 24 hours later is a reminder that the lead magnet exists. This might feel redundant but if you actually think about your own habits you might realize just how useful this is... Most people don't download their lead magnet right away. Or, if they do download it right away they don't take action on it or do anything with it and will need to re-download it later when they're ready to actually take action. 

We live in a distracted world... How many times have you gone to Facebook just to check a quick notification and noticed something that you wanted to save for later? Maybe it was a free business tool that somebody shared, maybe it was a blogpost that you wanted to read later, maybe it was a coupon for sale... You knew you wanted it, you understood the value, but you were busy and so you couldn't do anything with it right then and there. So you save it or download it with the intention to come back to it later.  but then it gets lost in a pile of other emails or you forgot to come back, or whatever. This is where the second email comes in. The purpose of this email is to remind your new subscriber, your new lead that this lead magnet exists. It's generally short and sweet, it points out the value again, and it includes a link where they can download the lead magnet.

So we have our first email which is sent immediately upon somebody downloading it and then one day later we send them a reminder that they downloaded it.

2 days after that second email I sent a third email. The primary purpose of this email is to help my weed actually take action and use the lead magnet. I got them to download it but I need them to actually use it or they're never going to experience the transformation that it was designed to deliver. Here's an example: on anchor design co.com, right on the homepage, you can download a free 30-day new consultant planner. The purpose of this planner is to help you create a 30-day plan for your new team members so that they  get started with lots of momentum. You might  look at the email that delivers it on day one and be excited about it. But you're busy so you don't look at it right away. I'm day to I remind you that it exists in your life “yes! I need to look at this...”  so you open it up and you download it and you get excited, but you're still busy so you don't actually do anything with it. At that point you're excited but you haven't received any value. You won't receive any real value until you actually do something with this planner.  The purpose of miford email is to help you take the first step. In this email I might talk to you about the benefit of taking action Now versus putting it off. I might talk to you about the result that you'll receive when you actually start using it.  I'll also share with you how to get started. I'll talk to you about how simple it is and walk you through the first couple of steps of taking action so that if you are feeling overwhelmed you can see how simple it really is and that this isn't something that's going to take all day. Because most likely when you made the decision not to take action on it the first or second time it was because you didn't have the time on your hands to get it done. And I want to overcome that objection because you have to actually take action in order to receive the value.

This is exactly what you want to do when you deliver that third email to your new subscriber. You want to find a way to help them take action. So, talk to them about how to take action, why it's so important to take action now, what benefits they receive from acting sooner rather than later, Etc.

This is the first part of your nurture sequence. The sole purpose of those first three emails is to  make sure that your lead is actually getting value from your lead magnet. If they don't download it, if they don't take  action and they will never receive any value and the trust and credibility that your lead magnet was designed to build won't exist. And that's crucial before we move on to the second part of your email sequence.

I usually include a minimum of three emails in the second part of my nurture sequence.The purpose of this half of your nurture sequence is to start introducing your lead to your product or service.

 so this starts with the fourth email of your sequence. So email number for is when you start to bridge the gap between your freebie, your lead magnet and the actual products or service that you're offering. This email is the perfect place for a story analogy. I love using stories and analogies to bridge the gap  between my lead magnet and my paid offer because they're so emotionally relatable and easy to understand. They're also significantly more interested in than me just telling you to buy something. This emotional connection is super important because it's what maintains the trust that you just worked to build and continues growing on it. In my case after you download the 30-day new consultant planner eventually I'm going to show you the full circle system which is my canva editable system of new consultant packet, recruiting packet, and other business tools for direct sellers. Any stories that I tell are going to be real world analogies that somehow relate. They could be stories about needing to look professional, they could be stories about  using templates to simplify my life and business, they could be stories about doing something myself instead of having to always hire it out. I won't get into how to write a story that sells in this episode because  I want to keep this short enough to be digestible.  But if you'd like me to do an episode on story selling  shoot me a message on Instagram and let me know!  the point here in this email is to talk about why a certain result is important the result that you're paid offer is going to give, but you're not introducing your product yet. In fact I wouldn't talk about your product at all. 

Focus on just helping them understand an important concept instead of trying to sell them on the physical thing that you're selling. By understanding that bigger concept  they're already going to be on board with your product by the time you finally introduce it to them because at this point you help them understand why do you need a specific result and now they just need a way to get there. Over the next two emails that is when you're going to actually introduce your product as the solution to this need that you helped them realize.

So an email number five of your nurture sequence you're beginning to introduce your product. And this is subtle. You're still not focused on selling. you're still going to use stories, you're still going to focus on  reinforcing a specific need and helping them get into and with the problem that you're able to solve. But you're not saying “buy this now!” you might mention your product but you're not specifically including a call to action. the call to action happens in your 6th email in your nurture sequence.

This email is when you can ask for the sale. You’re still focusing on the value, the benefit, and the big win that your customer will experience when they use your product, But in this email you can specifically say here's the missing piece, here is the thing that will solve your problem,  And here is how you can buy it.

At this point you've done a couple of things to prepare them to say yes to this offer.

First you gave them something for free which started to deliver the result that your paid product or service can bring.  

Then, you helped them understand why that value is so important  And you help them get really clear on a problem they are experiencing so that they're ready to implement a solution... Your product. Over the first five emails in this sequence your sole focus was to deliver value  and help them understand why that value matters so much. Your final email gives them the last piece to the puzzle... The product that will ultimately give them the most value.

So a quick recap: 

Email number one is delivered immediately as soon as somebody filled out the form to download your lead magnet. The purpose of this email is to deliver the lead magnet that you promised and remind them of the value of that lead magnet.

Email number two is delivered one day later. The purpose of this email is to remind your new subscriber or lead that your lead magnet is waiting for them to download and what value they'll get by doing so.

Email number three is delivered two days after the second email. This email is all about getting your lead to take action your lead magnet is only as good as the follow-through and action that your leave takes. So the goal of this email is to help you are lead understand why they need to take action and what benefit there is to taking action right now.

 email number four is delivered 3 days later. This is when you begin to bridge the gap between your free lead magnet and the products or services that you are selling.  You are not introducing your product at this point. Instead, you're helping them  hone in on a specific problem that they currently have which hair products can eventually solve. You're just making sure they understand there's a gap that needs to be filled.

Email number five is delivered 3 days later. This email is less subtle turn the last one. again you're  making sure that your lead understands the problem and how to solve that problem. You can introduce your product here most likely won't include a call to action for them to actually purchase the product. This is the bridge where you say “hey remember that  problem that you have this is how you solve it, oh and by the way I have the product that will solve it.”

 And finally email number six is delivered 3 days later. In this email you're asking for the sale. You're still pointing up a problem, you're still making sure that they're really clear on what the solution to the problem is, but you're very specifically pointing out that your product or service is the solution to that problem. in this email you're including very clear steps for how your lead can take that next step.

There is one last point that I want to make and that is that this sequence does not actually need to be about making the sale. If your business uses a home party business model  you can use this to encourage your lead to book a party if that is what will be the most valuable to you.

 so you can focus on making a sale or you can focus on something else like booking a home party or an online party. Selling either way sales is really just helping somebody make a decision about something. That might be a decision to buy or it might be a decision to book an appointment.

 Some products are easier to sell via an email sequence than others.  It's really about trying one and seeing how it works. Remember what I said at the beginning: everything is an experiment. There's no way to know if selling a product or booking a party is going to work best with your audience in business.

This is also a starting point. You may find that your leaves need a little bit more TLC before you can expect them to make a purchase. And there's nothing wrong with that again you've just got to start somewhere. And this email sequence is a great place to start six emails, three that help your lead interact with your lead magnet and get value from your lead magnet, and 3 that Prime them to make a purchase.

 get this setup, start here and try it for a month. Give it enough time to actually work and then look at the data. Are your emails being opened?  if not you might need to work on writing better subject lines. Are people actually clicking the buttons in your email? If not you might need to make sure that your emails are really helping your lead really see the value of your offer or if maybe they can be improved.  Are people buying after they click the button in your email? If not you might need to look at the checkout process or the process to book a party and make sure that it's clear and easy.  it's all about trying it and then looking at what's working, what's not working, and how you can adjust to continuously improve.

Before we wrap this up I want to give you some practical support in getting started.  there's a mistake I used to make all the time when I first started using email marketing in my business and that is to write my emails right in my email software. What I mean by that is going directly to mailerlite or activecampaign and opening up a blank template and writing the first draft of my email in that template. The problem was doing this is that your focus is split: you're trying to both come up with good content and you're also trying to make your email look nice at the same time. And anytime you split your focus you're also splitting your ability to get good results. so instead of writing your email right in your email software open a Google doc or a word doc or whatever kind of document you like to type in and write your emails there. Write your entire email sequence in one document. Just add a new page for each email. This does a few things.

First it helps make sure that you're staying focused. You're not splitting your focus between designing your email and write in your email. This is going to allow you to write better content.

Second it allows you to save your sequence for future use. Maybe you want to create a second version of this for a different lead magnet. Instead of having to retype everything you can just make a copy of your document tweak the work that you've already done and now you cut the time it takes to write an email sequence in half. You're really just setting yourself up for Success later on.

And to help you out I've actually created a pre-formatted Google doc for you. A Google doc where I have set up 6 pages with everything you need to start writing your nurture sequence.  I even started writing the first email for you so you have something to go off of.  I'm also giving you an outline of everything we just talked about condensed into short and sweet little Snippets that you can reference back to anytime. 

In this download I even gave you links to both of my favorite email softwares, one of which is a really good beginners, and is what I started my business with, which is for up to 500 subscribers. And another which is what I currently use That is my preferred long-term solution which is still pretty inexpensive and has some really good analytics and advanced features. So I show you the pros and cons of bolts so that you can decide what's best for your personal business. I also give you step-by-step instructions on how to actually set up your preferred email software. it really gives you everything you need to take all that we talked about today and put it into action right away. It’s totally free and you can download it atanchordesignco.com/2 for free. 

 I hope that this episode was helpful for you and gave you the stepping stones that you need to get started using email in your business. This is truly one of the most powerful marketing  strategies that I have ever implemented and if I were to make a list of three things every business owner needed to do, prioritizing email marketing would be right at the top of that list. So we listen to this episode if you need to as you get started, go and download be freebie  that I created for you at anchor design co.com to and if you need any help getting started come join us in the bill it like a business Facebook group I'm in there everyday supporting women just like you and I'd be happy to answer any questions that you have so that you don't have to figure it all out alone.

Thank you so much for joining me today- please take a moment to recognize yourself for being here right now, for showing up and investing this time in your business. I know that it isn’t always easy, especially these days, to find a moment for yourself and so I want you to know that I’m proud of you for being here and I don’t want to let this moment pass by without the recognition it deserves!

 If you enjoyed this episode, definitely check out these others - they are action packed and full of intentional strategy that you can use to start growing your business. Every week I’ll be back with a new episode and it would mean absolutely everything if you would take a moment to leave a review and share this episode with a friend who could use support in her business, too.

Alright, thanks again for listing, I’ll see you next week, same time, same place. Bye for now!