Dear [First Name]: How to Fix Your Lead Nurturing Sequences

Speaker A: Foreign.

Speaker B: Welcome to the B2B sales and marketing Hotline.

Speaker A: Dialing up the latest tactics and hottest trends, we're here to help you take your B2B game from stagnant to stellar.

Speaker B: I'm Emily.

Speaker A: And I'm Marianne, and together we're ready to answer your burning B2B sales and marketing questions.

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Speaker B: Whether you're a seasoned sales leader or a marketing veteran, the B2B Sales and Marketing Hotline is your one stop shop to take your B2B effort to the next level.

Speaker A: Hi Emily. Hello. I'm excited for this podcast episode. We are talking about lead nurturing today, um, and sequences that feel like lead nurturing and sequences that don't but actually are. And this is fun because you don't have to be an expert to know what is bad nurturing. Gotten those emails, uh, Dear First Name.

Speaker B: Oh, yeah, pretty messed up.

Speaker A: This is an automated message that is trying to nurture me because I did something, I took an action on their site. So, um, you know it when it screams automation, even when it's just not very personal. So anyway, we're going to dive into all the things.

Speaker B: So let's uh, let's do it. Yes. So let's talk about what a nurture sequence should do, what, uh, what it should make you feel. Right. So, um, I mean, when I'm thinking about nurture sequences, I think every nurture sequence and every action on a website needs to have a different approach to the nurture. And I think you need to define the goal of that specific, um, nurture sequence. So for example, let's just say someone signs up for a webinar, so you're hosting webinar and someone signs up to attend the webinar. There's a couple of reasons why I'm bringing this up because there's a couple paths, right? So let's say someone comes, signs up and they attend the webinar. That's going to be a different nurture sequence. You're going to want to have, um, you know, they came, they saw the content, now you're going to want to talk to them about what they felt, how they, you know, more resources, um, to support what was discussed, um, Maybe try to get a meeting on the books to talk about the webinar and how you can help support their business. Whereas someone who signs up and didn't attend is going to have a very different urge or sequence. They signed up, but they didn't come. So you might want to send them the recording. You might want to send them some quotes from the webinar. You might want to follow up with some, um, with some additional reminders to watch the webinar and ask questions about the webinar. So I just share that because that one action that someone took already has two different, very unique nurture sequences that would make someone feel, um, like you're speaking to them.

Speaker A: And when you're thinking about how to nurture and how you can take different directions. Like you just described thinking about it as a human and not an automation process. Like, okay, well if they attended that webinar, ding, ding, ding, ding, all these dominoes have to happen. And if they didn't, we want to take them on these other dominoes. So they'll download the webinar and then continue down the path. Um, but making sure that you're thinking of it like the way you just described it. Like, how would you reach out? How would you reply? How can you hear, Humanize it. People don't want to be nurtured in automation. They want to be talked to like a person and they want to be met with empathy and shown value. And so you really, when you're thinking about how to nurture, don't think of like, end result. Think about how are you building credibility, how are you showing empathy and feeling human to these people when they're going along the path that you want to nurture them? Uh, those are so much more important than them. Those are more important and they're going to get to the end task of them clicking a CTA or what you want them to do because of the unsaid things in that nurture.

Speaker B: Yes. Yeah, speaking to them like human, like they, uh, they signed up for. And we'll just keep going with this webinar but there's so many, you know, it could be an ebook, it could be whatever. But they signed up for the webinar because the topic interests them, them. So whether they attended or didn't attend that topic is still interesting to them. They are still raising their hand saying that what you are doing this webinar in on is something that I too am interested in learning about. So, you know, be approaching it, approaching every single nurture sequence with valid, um, business Reasons and clear call to actions to help them understand the topic better that they are. They're looking to know more about based on the action they took.

Speaker A: Yes. And then so that's how to make them better. But it's not a fun podcast if we don't talk about how to mess um, them up right and what you can do wrong. And I know we're all thinking of examples in our head of things that we've seen go wrong. Right. Like um, trigger based automations obviously can have mistakes in them, but also your content can have mistakes if you focus too much on yourself and your company and your accolades rather than the prospect and what they're thinking, what their problems are. And um, also I think like the momentum can really mess you up. Like how often you're talking to them, how much lag time you have in between your conversation with them. When you're nurturing, you can take different strategies for different um, needs. But being intentional about how long you're spending between your contact touch bases, whether that be LinkedIn or email or phone calls, whatever it is in that nurture sequence. Um, but being intentional about how much time is, is spaced in between them.

Speaker B: Yeah. I would also add, you know, have more than just your meeting. Like have more than just. I'd like to get time with you. I'd like to with you.

Speaker A: Thank you.

Speaker B: Yeah. I mean I just feel like we like sometimes people don't. They're not ready to talk to you yet. You just want to be that helper. You want to.

Speaker A: It's not nurturing. Let's just say too that's not nurturing. That is asking for a very bottom of the funnel CTA to happen. That is not nurturing. And sales people love jumping to that because obviously that's the end goal. But the point of nurturing is to do other things to get them to be more likely to book that meeting. They're going to be more likely to book that meeting if you have built rapport, shown that you are an expert, shown empathy for the problems that they have, do those things so that they'll click that instead of shoving that click a meeting with me button at the very beginning.

Speaker B: Yes, totally. And you can have book a meeting in your email signature or somewhere like casual so that if they do want to book a meeting with you. Yeah. Ah, so you don't miss one. Um, but that should not be the purpose of your outreach. The outreach should be furthering them in the buyer's journey. Um, and specifically depending on the action that they took. So Whether they're top, middle or bottom of the funnel, you would have a different approach to it. Um, and also, you know, sometimes nurture sequence don't feel like nurturing because the tone is too stuffy, it's too corporate, it's not conversational. Um, you want to make sure that you're approaching people with a human element. Right. So especially those one to one sales emails, you want to make sure that you are coming off as ah, natural. You're like you're typing it in your, in your inbox. You're sending them an email that's from you to them. It's not a blanket automation. Like you really want these to feel personal and not robotic at all.

Speaker A: And that's always been important. But wouldn't you say that's more important today than now, more than ever?

Speaker B: I mean there's people have their spidey senses when it comes to automation. Yes.

Speaker A: And they need a human, they need a personality.

Speaker B: You've got it.

Speaker A: We need to work hard to figure out how to show our personalities via email. Cause the, the ones that don't show personality get lost in the fold and get an eye roll. Quite frankly. They get an eye roll.

Speaker B: Yeah, I get emails. I mean, I'm sure we all do. I mean I'm telling everyone what they all experience every day. But we get so many emails. I mean I'll probably hang up from recording this podcast and have a hundred emails in my inbox and I'm gonna delete, delete, delete, delete, delete. And unless something catches my eye, I'm gonna delete it. So I mean you just have to make sure that you're speaking to them, you're touching on pain points, you're really, you, uh, know, focusing on being relational and you're keeping it short and sweet and to the point. Um, and yeah, yeah. And also one, one more thing I just want to say. Yeah, ah, you know like we talked about, uh, with the meeting links and booking meetings and really driving meetings home, um, think too about providing value for them without asking for anything in return. So what can you give to them? What can you teach to the action they took and what you know is going to be interesting to them? What else could you send them? Could you send them a stat, could you send them um, a client testimonial of someone who you did this exact thing for? Could you send them a blog post that educates them a little bit on the specific topic they're looking at? Um, you know, just thinking about how you can provide them value um, and not ask for anything in return. Not ask for that meeting, not ask for a sale.

Speaker A: It's like taking your thought leadership LinkedIn strategy to lead nurturing emails. Yes. Bring your advice and expertise and translate it to the people, because that is what's going to make you stand out in 2025. Like, this is the day and age that people are getting educated by AI and they will get educated by your content. But how can your personality and your expertise that you bring to that content help you to stand out? How can you help people so they want to buy from you. Yeah.

Speaker B: And think about the, like, times when you just get blasted with email nurturing. Like, you're just constantly getting emails. You're like, who is this person? I don't even know this person. Like, why is, why are they still emailing me? So think about that too. When you're the one on the other end, what can you do to stand out inbox? You know, try different touch points. Could you, uh, connect with them on LinkedIn? Could you send them a quick LinkedIn message in between emails? Could you call them, um, if they're local, could you go stop by their office and drop off donuts? You know, like all the things that, uh, just make you stand out from everyone else who's doing automation as well.

Speaker A: I love it. Okay, um, so for a, like, sequence structure that feels more natural and can be effective, do we kind of want to step through, like what emails specifically could look like, how to start, how to end? Um, you know, there's nuances to this that I don't think we can accomplish to, as a giveaway on this podcast based on different industries and really specific segmentation and lists that you're going to be sending it to. But like, as a general flow, I guess we could just Recommend like email 1. Start with a thought provoking insight, some aha idea that, um, is educational and interesting. Right. And then email number two, um, give like a guide from that Aha. Without asking anything of them. Okay, so you got their interest at the aha. Second email is to guide them through and not ask them anything. Yep, yep.

Speaker B: And then I would say email number three. You want to have some social proof, right? So like now you've emailed them a couple of times, throw in a case study, you know, talk to them about maybe a quick, uh, blurb of a quote, um, that just shares a pain point that someone in their industry or with their specific, um, pain point has that you helped solve.

Speaker A: And when in doubt on your nurture journey, case study that is a great way to nurture without making an ask, you know, that is when in doubt, what to do next, case study it.

Speaker B: Yep. And people want to know that you've had success with others in their industry specifically, but with their specific need. People, uh, want to see that, you know.

Speaker A: Right. And then after a case study, your fourth, like in the sequence of a nurture, um, throw out like some common objection. Right. So you've answered and shown the common objection for your case study and how it's worked. But next, just generalize, like what other objections could they be thinking right now? How can you give a helpful answer to that common objection or question next? And your answer, like, address the elephant

Speaker B: in the room head on and then answer it and get their attention with it. Um, and then I would say after that, depending on how they've engaged with all of these emails, have they clicked? Have they actually looked at the guides you've sent them? Have they read the case studies? I would then say the next step would be, um, asking. I think at this point you can ask, right? So you can ask for a meeting. You could ask them if it would make sense to me. I've given you all of this information. You've been reading it. Now are you ready? Would it make sense to talk? Yeah.

Speaker A: Right. I love it. And then you can come in with the harder ask. Right. Like personalize your, your final thought, follow up. Um, if they've had interaction, you know that they're interested at this point and say, I'm ready to meet with you. It's like, let's talk this through.

Speaker B: Yeah. And I will say too, HubSpot now has rep led sequences. So in, in the past sequences were very like, this happens now, this happens now, this happens. But there are now rep led outreach sequences. So you know, if you send an email and they engage with a certain amount of clicks or a certain amount of opens on that email, then I want next step to happen that's rep led. So you could say like, I want automated email to send, but if they open and click on my email three times, I want to send them a LinkedIn connection so you can actually have, you know, specific next steps to just make it feel a little more organic and also bring you as the seller into the fold and understanding where these people are in your sequence so that you're not just like pounding them with automated emails over and over.

Speaker A: Um, I think I feel like another good tactic to incorporate in some of these is to ask a question, um, don't overdo it or make it Too cheesy. But if you ask a question, you do initiate a reply from people and so ask a question of them just like again, just like you would do on social media and your thought leadership strategy. Ask a question to get people to engage, to get people to respond.

Speaker B: Yeah, no, I love that. Um, also, just when we think about like making these emails feel really natural and actually from you, um, I always say when you're setting up a sequence, when you're setting up automation for lead nurturing, make sure that you're replying to the original thread. Um, instead of starting like a brand new email every single time, it just

Speaker A: makes it look like you're actually a

Speaker B: human who like mail and forward.

Speaker A: That's a good tip. Yes, yes, Small. A small change that's easy to do. That makes it also depending on your

Speaker B: industry and who you are and your personality, add in a gif, add in emojis, add in whatever shows your personality and style. I mean, it's not for everyone obviously, but if you're like a jokester and you're funny and you're emailing someone who you know, if you're nurturing people who are in an industry, that's generally a pretty light industry, add in something fun, add in a funny meme or something and just make people laugh.

Speaker A: I agree with that. And you can make it real without being too cheesy. Right? I mean you could definitely just be human with your language. Um, to insert your personality without being overly cheesy.

Speaker B: Yep, yep, totally. Okay, so some final thoughts here. Should we wrap up with some final thoughts? So I would say my final thought, my biggest takeaway here is create nurture sequences that are, that feel very natural and who you are and how you speak. So don't try to, you know, make an automation sequence that's like robotic and long and lengthy. Think of automation as just automating your natural process what you're already doing.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Yes, you're already doing. Maybe even go into your sent mail and see how you typically follow up with people and idea that email. Because you're just automating your normal outreach so that you don't have to remember to hit send on that second follow up. In three days from now, you're going to just go ahead and enroll them in a sequence, nurture sequence and HubSpot or whatever automation tool you use is going to take care of the automating of that. So, so make it feel like it's an email from you.

Speaker A: So important. And then also, mhm, make it include value. Right. Don't just shove offers B2B or B2C. Shoving offers is not. Does not get the best out of your prospect as they're getting to know you. It doesn't build rapport and value. It doesn't build credibility, which is what you're trying to do. So offer value. Offer insights. Offer. Offer humanity in your nurturing.

Speaker B: Yes. Great. Okay, There you go. There's your nurture sequence. So, um, Q and A. Let's do some questions. We have two questions to cover today, and I'll read them out. So the first one is our team is thinking about leveraging podcasting as part of our marketing strategy. As podcasters yourselves, what advice do you have to use this medium effectively in the B2B space?

Speaker A: Oh, yay. Love this one. We are doing it. So let's see. First, we have an episode about this. So you can go back to. We have a podcast episode about podcasting and B2B.

Speaker B: We do.

Speaker A: So you could find that. Um, so we'll link to that in the show notes, our podcast episode. And then ironically, we also have an ebook on this. We've created all types of content to reach people in different ways. Um, but it's a new one. We just. We just released it. So, yeah, benefits of B2B podcasting, um, is an ebook that is out right now. Maybe we can put that in our show notes as well. Um, but yes, there's so many benefits. It's. It's about, um, just like we talked about in this episode, showing your humanity and your expertise in a different content form. You're already doing it on LinkedIn. You're doing it in your emails, hopefully in your nurturing. Um, it's bringing that to an audio form so people can, uh, consume it when they're driving or, um, just consuming it in a different way.

Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I would say, like, we probably have, I don't know, 10 different blog posts in different forms or fashions on our current website about lead nurturing. Um, but doing it in person like this, now you can hear us actually use our words to explain this stuff. And we can hear, you know, joke around and you can see our faces. It just brings a different, uh, angle to the same exact content. Um, and also my favorite part about podcasting in general is not anyone actually listening to the whole podcast. We were actually just talking about this. It's the clips of the podcast, to me, that are the value. So after the podcast is recorded, you can chop it up into a bunch of smaller clips and use it on social media. You've embedded into blog posts, send it out in an email. Um, it just gives you more content to use.

Speaker A: Mhm. In a new format. So come we can talk to you about that too. So definitely reach out to our team and we can talk through what that could look like for your business.

Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. Um, last question. We've got a lot of inbound traffic, but conversion rates are low. How do we diagnose the weak points in our funnel?

Speaker A: Oh, well, the weak point in your funnel is conversions, traffic. Yeah, there it is. Um, the why. Why are people not convers learning? Um, the I would want to look into a lot of other things. What language are you using? What visuals are you using? Um, what is the offer? Not interested in it? Um, is it a new offer? Is it an old offer? I think that, um, there's a lot of different things to diagnose of why. But, uh, you have to start with a lot of questions.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I mean the main you're getting people there, they're just not converting. So it's something about the form. Maybe you're asking too many form fill questions. Maybe the CTA button isn't clear. Maybe the offers, uh, in general are just not worthy of someone exchanging the information you're asking them for. Yeah, like Marianne said, there's a million different things that we could diagnose with this. Okay, well, that's a wrap folks. It was nice to chit chat about nurturing and lead nurturing. And if you have any questions, reach out to us, leave us a voicemail comment on our LinkedIn. Um, we'll continue to do Q and A at the end of every episode. Um, and we'll leave in the show notes that podcasting episode in the ebook as well. Um, it was great to chat with you, Marianne. Thank you.

Speaker A: Okay, see ya.

Speaker B: Bye everyone.

Speaker A: Thanks so much for tuning in to the B2B sales and marketing hotline.

Speaker B: Don't forget to follow us wherever you listen to podcasts so that you never miss an episode. And if you've got a question for us, head to the show Notes and let us know what's on your mind.

Speaker A: And Visit our website, leeg2.com where you can find even more helpful B2B sales and marketing resources.