I work with a lot of clients, either coaching or managing their social media worlds, and driving a ton of leads their way. Initially they’re happy. Leads! People! They want to talk to me! Wow!

But here’s the thing about internet leads: while you’ll get people who show interest, because most of these leads are cold (i.e. they have no prior relationship with you) it will require diligent follow-up on your part to close them.

That means you’ll have to chase them.

It might mean you have to find alternate ways to get in touch with them other than just email or Facebook.

It might mean that it’s a bit frustrating at times, because while you got initially SUPER excited about a rash of people expressing interest in what you do, there just seem to be so MANY of them that don’t turn out. They’re tire-kickers. They’re not “serious” enough for you.

So you drop them.

And that is what I consider a Follow-up Disaster.

Digital lead generation is the way of the future, so you’d better get a grasp on it pronto, but it’s equally or MORE important to set the right expectations for yourself. On average, about 1-2% of your cold internet leads will close. Yes, it’s that low. I’ve seen digital marketers jump for joy at 3%.

The Follow-up Solution

So what do you do?? It sounds simple, but I will tell you that it will require WORK (yes, hard work, not just medium-level effort). So here are some ideas on what you can do to ensure your follow up generates the best results – and avoids sucking too much time out of your day.

1. Automate it!

You will need to automate your follow-up to a certain degree, because it will become too difficult for you to remember on your own. You’ll get a ton of leads if you do it right, and you need to ensure that each and every one gets your attention, and receives some sort of acknowledgement that you know they exist.

2. Rank your leads

If you just paint everyone that comes in with the same brush, you’re not doing it right. Send out a short questionnaire, or have them fill one out on your landing page. Ask 3-4 important questions that you believe will determine how serious they are. If they ARE tire-kickers, they get the information drip campaign. If they’re any more serious, they get YOUR attention. Right away.

3. Have the drip campaign for tire-kickers

You have no idea if a tire kicker will turn into a client, so don’t just abandon them. That’s email snobbery and it’s awful. The businesses that keep at their leads, no matter how serious they are or not, are the ones that win the long-term digital marketing game.

4. Have a kick-ass database system

You’ll need to ensure you’re keeping track of your leads carefully and diligently. I use Infusionsoft for mine, as well as other technologies that allow me to carefully segment my email database. The more personally you can manage your leads, delivering messages that are relevant, timely and meaningful, the more business you’ll close.

So don’t be a Follow Up Disaster. It’s eventually going to kill your business because someone else will scoop all the leads you’re getting, simply because they followed up with them. I could share disasters of people with databases of only about 100 people. They did zero follow-up for 2 years. Guess what happened? A total of 42% of them re-purchased (this was a realtor, so in this example, they bought another home). Do you know how much that guy got of the 42% who bought another home? NOTHING. Would he have gotten all of these people? Not likely, but come on! He’d at least have had a chance!

Your job is to not only get leads and do your happy dance… you need to nurture them, segment them, and never, ever let them go.