Omnichannel Nurture: Chase Their Eyeballs

If you're looking to increase your contact rate when working with warm digital leads from a lead supplier, it's crucial to adopt an omnichannel approach to outreach. This means utilising all available channels, including SMS, email, retargeting ads, and more, to get in front of your leads as many times as possible, through the channels that they are most likely to engage with.

Think of it like this: you have a chance to speak directly to your leads, but they're busy and easily distracted. To truly capture their attention and connect with them, you need to reach out in a way that resonates with them. And that's where an omnichannel approach comes in.

By using a combination of SMS, email, and retargeting ads, you can build a comprehensive and personalised outreach strategy that speaks to your leads in a way that resonates with them, on the channels they're most likely to use.

Text Messaging: The Undefeated Open Rate Champion

Text messaging is a powerful tool for reaching out to leads. With open rates of over 90%, it's a highly effective channel for getting in front of your leads and building a relationship with them.

But simply sending a text message isn't enough. To truly make an impact, your text messaging sequence must be designed to build rapport and drive leads to take action. Don't be afraid to get creative - think outside the box, find unique ways to stand out and make an impression within the 160 character limit of SMS in Australia. We personally love punchy and friendly sounding texts.

Text Message Sequence Example:

An example of this for a finance broker might be;

Text 1: Hi [Lead Name], [Referral Brand] recommended I reach out to you about loan options. I'm [Your Name] from [Company Name]. Free for a call today?

Text 2 (No Answer Follow Up): [Lead Name], if now isn't good, let's schedule a call to discuss loan options. [Optional Calendar Link]

Text 3 (No Answer Follow Up 2): [Lead Name], follow up! Ready to discuss loan options? Book a time here: [Optional Calendar Link]

Text 4 (No Answer Follow Up 3): [Lead Name], hope all's well. Had a chance to schedule a call yet? Let's chat about your options. [Optional Calendar Link]

Automated Email Nurture: A Necessity

Email is a crucial channel for reaching out to leads in any industry. While it may have a lower open rate compared to SMS, it remains a potent tool for establishing trust and providing valuable information to your leads. To maximise the return of every lead you must create an automated email nurture sequence to connect with leads over time. Simply put, if you aren’t doing this then you are wasting your money on leads - it is vital.

E-mail softwares and tools are aplenty so these below examples will cut to the chase and help you build out a sequence quickly and efficiently. This is how you could prepare a basic email sequence to nurture leads in the instance of a finance broker.

Step 1: A Heartfelt Welcome

Example Subject Line: [Lead Name], Your Finance Journey Begins with [Company Name]

This email aims to make a good first impression, build rapport, and show the lead what's possible with your company.

Include:

• A warm greeting and introduction to your company
• A brief explanation of what your company does and how you can help the lead
• A success story from one of your clients to showcase the impact your company can have
• Your phone number and a friendly invitation for the lead to familiarize themselves with it
• An invitation for the lead to reach out to you if they have any questions or concerns
• A professional closing and signature
• Timing: Send immediately after the lead provides their contact information

Trigger: Lead enters your system/CRM

Step 2: Unique Value Proposition

Example Subject Line: [Lead Name], Learn How We Unlock the Key to Getting Approved

This email aims to educate the lead about the unique value your company can bring to their finance journey.

Include:

• A reminder of the lead's finance goals and how your company can help them achieve those goals
• An overview of your company's partnerships with lenders and financial institutions for a wide range of finance options
• A statement about your company's personalized approach to finding the best solution for the lead
• A calendar booking link for the lead to schedule a call with you if they're interested
• A professional closing and signature
• Timing: Send 1-2 days after step 1

Trigger: Lead does not respond to the welcome email

Step 3: Success Stories

Example Subject Line: [Lead Name], Get a Glimpse of What's Possible with [Company Name]

This email aims to build trust and credibility by showcasing the success stories of other clients.

Include:

• An overview of your company's success in helping clients achieve their finance goals
• Case studies or testimonials from satisfied clients who have used your company
• A statement about your company's dedication to empowering clients to achieve the best possible outcome
• A calendar booking link for the lead to schedule a call with you if they're interested
• A professional closing and signature
• Timing: Send 2-3 days after step 2

Trigger: Lead does not respond to the industry insights email

Step 4: Industry Insights

Example Subject Line: [Lead Name], Stay Ahead with the Cutting-Edge Insights from [Company Name]

In this email, share valuable information about the latest trends and developments in finance and position your company as a thought leader in the industry.

Include:

• A reminder of your commitment to helping the lead make informed decisions
• Latest insights and expertise in finance, including tips and strategies for maximizing money
• An invitation for the lead to reach out with questions or to schedule a call with you
• Your contact information, including phone number and calendar booking link
• Timing: Send this email 4-5 days after step 3

Trigger: Lead does not respond to the success stories email.

Step 5: Personalised Solution

Example Subject Line: [Lead Name], Experience the Power of Personalized Finance with [Company Name]

In this email, offer a personalised solution based on the information you have gathered from the lead.

Include:

• A brief overview of the personalised solution you have for the lead
• An invitation to discuss their goals in more detail and schedule a call with you
• Your contact information, including phone number and calendar booking link

Timing: Send this email 6-7 days after step 4.

Trigger: Lead does not respond to the industry insights email.

Step 6: Final Chance

Example Subject Line: [Lead Name], Don’t Pass Up The Chance For Us To Help You…

In this final email, follow up with the lead and reiterate your commitment to helping them get personalised finance approved.

Include:

• A brief reminder of the personalised solution you have for them
• A call to action to schedule a call with you
• Promote urgency but don’t fake it or sound cheesy or you will break any rapport you have built
• Your contact information, including phone number and calendar booking link

Timing: Send this email 7-8 days after step 5.

Trigger: Lead does not respond to the personalised solution email.

Email Sending Optimisation

We recommend personalising these further using merge tags and unique details about your company, these are general but provide a sequence to work with.

To ensure that your emails are delivered and read by your leads, it's important to pay attention to your email deliverability. Here are a few technical setup tips to increase your email deliverability:

• Authenticate your domain: Ensure that your domain is authenticated using SPF and DKIM records in your domain DNS settings to prevent your emails from being marked as spam. Many email softwares provide instructions for this.

• Use a professional email service provider: Utilise a professional email service provider such as Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or AWeber to deliver your emails.

• Clean up your email list: Regularly remove inactive subscribers and invalid email addresses to maintain a healthy email list.

• Monitor your sending reputation: Keep an eye on your sending reputation by monitoring your email bounce and complaint rates. Sender Score is another good tool to check sending reputation.

• Integrate with your CRM: Integrate your email service provider with your CRM, such as Pipedrive, to streamline your outreach efforts and track your email campaigns.

There are many popular email tools available that you can use in conjunction with CRMs like Pipedrive, Hubspot or Salesforce. Some of the most popular email tools include:

• Mailchimp
• ActiveCampaign
• AWeber
• Campaign Monitor
• Sendinblue

Each of these tools offers unique features and benefits, so it's important to choose the one that best fits your needs and goals.

Retargeting Leads Using Custom Audiences With Value Content & Guides

Retargeting is another powerful tool for getting your leads to answer a call. You can populate your retargeting pools directly from the purchased lead data by uploading it in ad platforms like Facebook or Google. This allows you to stay in front of your leads and continue to build rapport and provide value.

One other interesting strategy for retargeting is to create custom audiences based on specific behaviours or actions that your leads have taken. For example, you could create a custom audience of people who have visited a specific page on your website, or who have opened one of your nurture emails with tracking pixels and API.

To maximise the effectiveness of your retargeting efforts, you should also create value-rich content and guides that you can offer to your leads. This could be in the form of an e-book, educational video content, video testimonials, a webinar and more. The goal of this content is to provide value to your leads and position you as a trusted advisor who can help them get to where they want to go. People buy from people they like and trust thus making them more likely to answer your call. 

You can even tailor the text within the ads to hit them at certain points of nurture. For example you could structure a Facebook retargeting ad like this;

Still thinking about that car loan but not sure whether we are the company to help you? That’s okay! There are so many options out there now. See a testimonial from one of our happy clients who was in the exact same boat as you! [insert video testimonial]

Think Outside the Box: Direct Mail, OOH, Targeted Audio Advertising (Podcasts, Spotify, etc.)

While digital channels are the most common way to reach out to leads, it’s also important to think outside the box and consider other channels that may be effective for your target market. For example, you could consider using direct mail, outdoor advertising, or even targeted audio advertising to reach your leads.

Direct mail can be an effective way to reach your leads, especially if you have a targeted list of leads who are interested in your services. By sending them a personalised letter or postcard, you can build rapport and provide value, helping to increase the chances that they will take action. 

Outdoor advertising, such as billboard or bus stop ads, can also be an effective way to reach your leads, especially if you have a clear message and a strong call-to-action. This is especially effective for building trust in a local community when you are working specifically there but keep in mind this is an expensive exercise at times

Finally, audio advertising, such as podcasts or Spotify ads, can be an effective way to reach your leads with retargeting to your leads too via self-serve audio ads platforms like Decibel.

Part 2 coming soon...

If you found the first part of our contact rate masterclass helpful, stay tuned for part two which will delve into advanced optimisations that can be made in your dialling and technology stack.