It’s tempting to think if you just get enough warm leads that the hard part’s over. In reality, there are leads in every area of your life, from acquaintances to blog readers to your network. But turning them into a sale is another story.

According to an infographic by Smart Insights, 25% of leads are legitimate and should advance to sales, but 75% aren’t ready to move into the sales process. This may sound like bad news to those who are looking to that 75%, but it’s really an opportunity to continue warming them up until they convert into a sale. While not everyone will end up buying, you can increase your odds with lead nurturing. Here are 10 ways to get started.

1. Create a Drip Campaign

Are you using email to warm up your leads to sales? According to a study reported on by Oracle, 78% say the most effective online channel for lead nurturing is email, and 48% say their website.

Blogging can attract cold leads to your website, while a lead magnet can turn them into a warm lead. For example, someone who signs up for your industry ebook in exchange for their email now expects to hear more from you and is open to some email correspondence. At this point, you can put them through an email drip campaign that slowly and steadily sends email correspondence tailored just to them. An email marketing provider like Constant Contact can help set up an automated campaign designed to drip content to your audience.

Think about what your leads need. Someone who signed up for a resource on selling wholesale products on Amazon is obviously interested in building an Amazon business. Now you can tailor your emails to speak directly to anyone who signs up for this topic. Send an email once a week on how to find merchandise on Alibaba, get samples and deal with customs. After a few months, you can offer an incentive to purchase your product on how to build a better Amazon business or an ecommerce coaching offer.

2. Strategically Connect Your Leads

Forming strategic relationships with your leads can turn them into a thriving network that will book your services or purchase your products. However, it’s more than just putting them on your email list and connecting via LinkedIn. Real relationship building can be done by identifying beneficial connections between your leads and network.

Let’s say you have a lead who owns an ecommerce store who struggles with estimated taxes and financial business planning. That lead would probably be enthusiastic about being connected with a CPA from your network who works with digital retailers.

But the real point isn’t simply connecting leads to your network. It’s about strategically creating a cohesive network where you are the matchmaker who sees where you can help. The more your leads and network view you as a trusted source, the more likely they are to buy from you again and again.

3. Be Seen and Heard

Your lead might not be ready to buy right now, and will need a little finessing at the right time to get on board. The only way to be there when they’re ready to jump is to be seen and heard everywhere they are.

It’s not as difficult as it sounds to get in front of your network and leads. Start guest blogging or speaking on podcasts that target the industries your clients work in. You should also work on building a blog that people actually want to read to become regarded as a subject matter expert. And don’t discount the power of showing up to events, conferences and MeetUps in person. The more places you are, the more you’ll end up being top of mind.

4. Meet in Person

People are drowning in email, meetings and endless work that requires hiding behind a computer screen. But you can stand out from your competition and make a big splash by just picking up the phone and offering to meet in person. Those face-to-face interactions build more trust and camaraderie than someone stopping by your meticulously branded website.

Ask a new lead if they want to get together for a quick coffee or after-work drink to unwind and talk a little business. But keep your meeting all about them. Take the opportunity to meet as a chance to grow your relationship and nurture that lead. It’s not necessarily the time to make the sale.

5. Make it Personal

Despite what anyone says, business is absolutely personal. Your leads are real people with outside interests and a home life that extends beyond their business. Show them you understand that they’re more than just a lead or a sale by making it a little personal. Find out when their birthday is and send them a gift basket or flowers to wish them well. Congratulate them on a promotion you noticed in a LinkedIn alert, or reach out to let them know you enjoyed their recent article in an industry publication.

While leads don’t really need to know about your entire personal life, sharing a few details can break the ice and help forge a relationship. Let them know you share their love of travel, or trade a few stories about the university you both attended. Laying some common ground can make your business feel more relatable

6. Use the Right Tools

Keeping your leads organized and figuring out when to make the ask for a sale can get complicated. And once you have several – or hundreds – of leads, it’s tough to keep track of the details.

A detailed Google Doc spreadsheet can help, but isn’t always enough to stay on top of the lead process. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool can help keep you organized from first contact to the sale, and into ongoing relationship nurturing. A cloud-based tool like Salesforce monitors your sales leads, tracks support tickets and can also keep tabs on your marketing and website analytics. Once you’re up and running, you can see exactly where your leads are in the sales cycle and get reminders on when to follow up.

Image: Salesforce

7. Offer VIP Access

Leads and customers alike appreciate the royal treatment. Show them you value their relationship and business by giving them VIP access to special events or a mastermind group. Ask a group of like-minded, ambitious business owners to meet once a month to talk business building and strategy. Or invite your leads to an exclusive event at your office to listen to a guest speaker.

VIP access could also be one-on-one access to you. Invite your leads to call or email you anytime to discuss their business and how you can help. Make it a priority to respond to them as quickly as possible to show how vested you are in their business and success.

8. Solve their Problems

At the end of the day, what clients and leads really want is for someone to solve their problems. Pricing may be a small part of the equation, but they don’t necessarily care about your product or service unless it can directly benefit them.

Take the time to really listen to the problems in your leads’ business, where the gaps are, and how you can help. However, it takes more than just saying your product can fix their problem. Talk about what you can do, what type of ROI to expect and the time frame needed to resolve the issue. Focus on the ability to resolve it and lead them to the relief they’re looking for.

9. Show Some Empathy

Solving your leads’ problems is just one part of the equation. You also need to show some empathy – that you truly understand their pain points. Build trust by reflecting back what your leads are struggling with and how that’s impacting their business.

This can also work when you’ve made some mistakes when closing the deal. Maybe you got their contract wrong, pulled incorrect numbers or realized there was a mistake that would stop the sale. Taking responsibility, acknowledging their frustration and working to make it right can turn the situation around. Retail Customer Experience reported how the COO of Handels, a chain of homemade ice cream and yogurt shops, asks unhappy customers to become secret mystery shoppers at his stores to help improve the experience. The customers love it and it turns their negative experience into a positive one.

10. Set a Time Limit

Some people just won’t buy unless there’s a compelling reason to. If there’s not, you’ll have leads sitting on the fence trying to make up their minds before slowly losing interest and moving onto something else.

Setting a time limit and offering an irresistible incentive can sometimes prompt people to act before it’s too late. While you should stay away from high-pressure sales tactics that are ultimately disingenuous, you can offer a limited-time discount or bonus products. Let your lead know that the offer expires within a set period, such as 24 hours, and is unlikely to be offered again. If they ask questions about the offer and engage with you, chances are high they will either buy now, or perhaps a few months down the road. They might even regret missing out this time around, and remember that sense of urgency for next time.

However you approach turning warm leads into sales, look at it as a long-term relationship. Nurture those leads and turn them into repeat and loyal customers, not just people looking to buy and move on.

Have you turned a warm lead into a high converting sale? What’s worked and what hasn’t for you? Let us know by leaving a comment below:

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