Marketing and selling is all about building relationships and trust, and that doesn't happen immediately. Similar to dating, there are multiple stages, and each is just as crucial as the next. No one goes from making eye contact to tying the knot within minutes. Well, maybe except for that show Married at First Sight. But outside of that show, no one does that. Right? So if you want to take a cold lead and turn them into a committed customer, the same is going to be true. There are multiple stages. You need to build a relationship with your customers.

You have to build trust, and that doesn't happen overnight. There are 5 steps you need to build into your growth strategy in order for your marketing and sales to be effective. So let's go through those 5 steps. The 1st step is visibility. Every business needs to get in front of more people. This step is all about getting noticed because, let's face it, your customer has to know that you exist. They have to become aware of you. And so in this step, you're gonna utilize various marketing strategies to reach new people and to get on their radar.

Examples of the marketing that you might do are things like using social media, PR, ads, whether it's Organic marketing, paid marketing, whether it's partnerships, affiliate relationships, PR, any of those strategies can be used to get in front of new people. This is all about getting in front of people who don't yet know you so that they can become aware of you. The 2nd step is lead generation. After getting visibility, you want to Offer something of value in exchange for their contact information. This indicates some interest on their part and gives you an in to continue contacting them. Examples of this are things like lead magnets, free workshops, PDF downloads, quizzes, anything that gives them a reason that is valuable enough for you to be able to continue to contact them. They are giving you permission to send them more value. So then 3rd is nurturing.

Once you've gotten their email, you're gonna deepen the relationship by sending them relevant content, giving them the value that they were hoping for, and also letting them know why it would benefit them to continue to stay in your world, and perhaps to even explore working with you. The aim here is to build trust and rapport and get them bought in on you before you ever make an offer. Examples of this are email, podcasts, social media, anything that lets you stay in touch with your audience once you build it. 4th is sales inquiries. After a period of nurturing, you're gonna start noticing signs of interest from your audience. They'll engage with your content more. Some will start asking about your services. Maybe they'll react to your stories and your social media.

They'll reach out and give you feedback. Now is the time to give them an opportunity to learn more about working with you. By this stage, they know you, they trust you, and they're much more likely to say yes than a cold lead. Some examples of how you can generate sales inquiries are by giving them the opportunity to opt in to a sales mechanism. This could be a marketing event, like a webinar or a workshop or a challenge that has a pitch at the end. It could be a discovery call or a sales call or an application form, anything that's them raising their hand to learn more about working with you. 5th is the sales conversion. This is where you close the sale.

You're gonna make your offer clear, concise, and irresistible. And if you've followed all of the previous steps, your chances of a conversion are significantly higher. Examples of this are the actual pitches within those marketing events. It's when you ask them to move forward in a sales call, Or it can be the email sequence, the sales page, and the checkout page that come after the pitch. All of those are included in what it takes to convert the sell. Now some of you already know about these 5 steps. But I tell you, I work with business owners making 6 figures, multiple 6 figures, 7 figures, multiple 7 figures. And many of them come to me and when I audit their Buying journey.

They are missing 1 or more of these pieces. Or maybe they have all of these pieces, but they're not connected. And so I wanted to take the opportunity today to share these 5 steps, but I really want you to know that skipping any of these steps, or trying to rush them is like proposing on a 1st date. It can feel jarring, and it can decrease your chances of getting that yes. So each of these stages plays an integral role in turning a cold lead into a customer. Missing out on even one will likely impact the buyer's experience, and by extension, your sales. This is a journey. And like any good relationship, It requires intentional time and effort.

So invest in each step, make sure that there is a journey that is in place for your buyers, Make sure that it is strategic and intentional, and that each step leads to the next so that you can take your leads from cold to customers.