How Do You Use CRM to Generate Leads?

In order to sell products, you first need to gather relevant leads. A CRM tool can be incredibly valuable in helping you gather information about potential customers so you can more effectively sell to them.

A CRM tool on its own won’t magically bring you leads. You need to market your business in a way that gets people’s attention. But once they take that initial step, whether it’s signing up for your email list or taking advantage of a free offer, your CRM does the rest.

Generating CRM Leads

Want to generate more leads? Here are some ways to use your CRM to its full potential.

1. Create Your Inbound Marketing Strategy

Before your CRM can gather and organize data about potential customers, you first need to attract them to your business in some way. You can:

• Interact with them on social media
• Grab their attention with a helpful blog post
• Offer a free ebook or resource
• Get them to sign up for your monthly email list

The key is to offer them something of value so they choose to take that initial step. If you want people to sign up for your email list, offer exclusive coupons or a free resource.

Once you have their information, your CRM can help you qualify them and work them through your sales funnel.

2. Learn About Your Customers

To effectively sell to each customer, you ideally want more information than just a name and email address. Your CRM can also help you personalize offers based on how customers have interacted with your business.

“You might offer a free ebook on three different subjects — one for marketing, one for sales, and one for SEO. Based on what each customer chooses, you can then craft future offers based on that information,” says Ivana Taylor of DIY Marketers.

For a marketing firm that offers services in all of these areas, sending offers that are personalized to customers who have shown interest in a particular area can be much more effective than blasting out messages to all of your leads constantly.

3. Nurture Those Leads

From there, it’s up to you to turn that information into sales. CRM handles the early parts of the process. It can also help you send out communications and offers that qualify leads who are likely to buy. Then you and your team have a better chance of completing the sale.

“That’s what automation is for — helping you drum up leads and find good opportunities so you can then spend your time and effort taking those qualified leads through the sales process,” says Brent Leary, co-founder of CRM Essentials.

Create offers, answer questions and address concerns. Once your CRM has helped you determine which leads are worth considering, it becomes about pursuing those leads on a more personal level.

One last point: Automation can help you narrow down the leads that should be followed up on but it does NOT replace the need for the human touch when it comes to prospects. Remember, transforming those leads into long term customers is about building relationships and it’s up to you!.

Next Steps:

1. Lay out your plan. Create a comprehensive marketing strategy that offers value to potential customers.

2. Gather your data. Start collecting their information with your CRM and qualify leads that are likely to purchase.

3. Segment your leads. Use segmenting tools to tailor offers to specific customers.

 

Image: Depositphotos.com