HUG2010: Who's your MoFu?

No No we are not trying to be inappropriate. At HubSpot they have coined the term MoFu to represent the middle of the funnel. This session was a discussion on how to take leads and turn them into conversions. I have found this sessions to be the most entertaining session by far. The whole session related lead nurturing to the process of dating. The typical sales funnel takes:

Visitors -> Leads -> Customers

The dating funnel takes:

People you meet -> Dates -> Marriage

At HubSpot they also get very excited about data and statistics, also known as data "porn". For example of people that research products they want to buy 6 months later only 23% of them actually purchased the product. At the same time, 6 months later 67% still plan on purchasing. People that nurture their leads close 20% more of people than those that do no nurture their leads.

What is a lead? It is a person who is interested in your product. Or from a dating perspective it is a phone number given to you on a napkin. Another bit of data is that 78% of sales that started as a web inquiry went to the first responder. That means that it is very crucial to get back to people as soon as possible.

What is a qualified lead? It is a lead that fits the profile of an ideal customer. In the dating world it is a person that you've been on a date with and still like.

Through HubSpot you have the option of create what are called lead nurturing campaigns that allow you to send automated emails in timed intervals if people fill out a specific form on your website. Based on the form filled out you can decide if they should get a different set of information (and create a new lead nurturing campaign) or if they can get the same set of emails as the person who filled out a different form.

How do you send them lead nurturing emails without seeming spammy?
Make sure that your emails are not all sales material talking about you. You want to be sure to send them information that is our could be of value to them. You don't need to use HubSpots lead nurturing campaigns to do this you can do it manually or utilize other tools of your choosing.

What are some lead nurturing email ideas?

Thank you/welcome letter
Tips
FAQs
links or information about online tools
Series of archived blog posts relating to information they requested/downloaded
Product Specs or documentation.

Who should my lead nurturing emails come from?
It depends on who will respond to them or follow up with them if they have questions.

Every person may have a different approach or opinion about lead nurturing. The takeaways are that it's important to respond quickly and make sure that you tailor your lead nurturing to your sales cycle. You don't want to send out emails over a nine month period if you customers usually close within 2 months. Talk to your sales team to be sure you work together to iron out the best process to maximize lead conversion.