Key strategies to close sales with your hot leads

What are hot leads?

No, it is not the name of a new Oscar Mayer hot dog.

Nooo, it is also not the name given to the new 5.0 affair and the one you will have your next love date with.

A hot lead is a qualified lead that has gone through the sales funnel you have developed for your business and is ready to make a purchase decision. In other words, is ready to buy your product or enjoy the service you have on the market.

After this mini definition, do you want to know how to close sales with your hot leads?

Well, you know what you have to do… read to the end! 😎

Hot, warm and cold leads, what are the differences?

One of the most common mistakes in the lead generation stage is not taking into account that there are three types of leads.

Why? 

Because only by keeping in mind that there are hot, warm and cold leads, we will be able to develop successful strategies.

Each of these leads has a level of awareness of our business and our products or services. Awareness that defines EVERYTHING when it comes to closing B2B sales.

When we say everything, we refer to the way we capture these leads; to the texts we share with these leads on sales pages, emails or ads; to the content that each one of them wants to solve their needs, etc.

But first of all, let’s define what a cold, warm and hot lead is.

Frozen, cold or fresh leads

Let’s focus again on that line of awareness we were telling you about earlier.

• A cold lead does not know that he has a problem or need to cover.
• If he is aware that he has that problem or need, he probably does not know that there is a solution in the market to solve it.
• He does not know anything about you, your product or service.  
• Finally, he is not ready for you to contact him for the sale and may not even want to have any contact with your business.

In short, they have such a low level of awareness about your solution that they are cold to make a purchase decision.

Let’s say that we could place them in the initial phase of your sales funnel and that you have to warm them up little by little, accompanying them throughout the process. So that they are receptive and, finally, purchase your product or service.

Warm leads that are halfway

The warm lead is at the intermediate level of your sales funnel, as you may have already deduced between the cold lead and the hot lead.

Its level of awareness is not as low as that of the previous lead.

• In this case, this lead is already aware that it has a problem or a need to fill.
• It is possible that he is also already aware that there is some solution in the market.
• He has had minimal contact with your business and knows, without too much detail, what you offer and how it can help him.

The warm lead is not fully aware of what you offer or your company offers, but knows you are there. He is probably exploring how to solve that problem or solve that need he has.

In the sales funnel, this lead is not yet ready to make a purchase decision, but is more receptive than the cold lead. Therefore, it is up to you to gain their trust, educate them and take them by the hand to move them to the final sales phase in your funnel.

Hot lead, your goldmine

Going back to the awareness line, the hot lead is the one that is crowned at the TOP of the sales funnel.

• He is aware that he has a problem or a need to solve.
• He knows there is a solution in the market.
• He knows your business and he is confident that you can help them solve their headaches.

All in all, this type of lead is ready to make the decision to buy and to make your product or service their own.

Surely, in that first contact he had with you in the previous stage of the sales funnel, you managed to gain his trust, you offered him the content he needed. Therefore, he has considered you the ideal solution to his problems. 

This hot lead is the good one, the one who will say yes to whatever you offer.

Do not forget that… 

We do not want to be annoying. However, we do want to make it clear that the key to everything is in the line of awareness of your leads. 

A cold lead needs a different message, communication and content than a warm lead and a hot lead. 

Moreover, depending on that line you will be able to make a more direct sale or you will have to make a more indirect sale to end up with positive conversions for your business. 

Never forget it. 

Identify the level of awareness of the lead you have in front of you, and your strategy will have a solid foundation that will lead you to a more reliable success. 

6 tips to close B2B sales with your hot leads

We have to admit that setting up a sales funnel, developing the right strategies and educating your leads are quite stressful tasks. 

To help you as much as possible, we are going to give you 6 tips that will allow you to close sales thanks to the hot leads you have in your database.

1.- Identify the lead’s level of commitment

According to what we have told you, your hot lead is ready to become your new real customer, but you must always keep in mind what their needs are and what has brought them to the point where they are. 

There are tools that will help you identify what level of engagement the lead has and what type of content they need to make a buying decision. 

For instance, you will find out what interests them and use this information to offer content oriented to explain why your product or service is the best solution for that lead. 

2.- Support your product or service with quality content

Do not forget that your hot lead has an almost total awareness of you, your product and what he needs. 

Thus, if you are going to develop content to help them make a buying decision. 

Avoid generating repetitive content about things that the lead already knows and create them to support their buying decision: prices, testimonials, success stories, free trials, guarantees…

3.- Facilitate the purchase of your product or service

You simply have to make sure that, having made the purchase decision, the customer does not encounter any obstacles to successfully complete the process.

4.- Customization is essential

Think about this, especially when you are educating the cold or warm lead. 

Personalization leads to a total connection with the leads, which avoids losing them as potential customers. 

Get to work and segment your mailing lists, tailor your message and use formulas to personalize the names and company names of the companies in your database.

5.- Strengthen trust  

Remember that you have accompanied your leads throughout the entire buying process, educating them and preparing them for the sale. 

This is why you have established a connection and a very close relationship with each of them. Do not spoil it and nurture it every day.

6.- Use a good CRM

The CRM will help you automate your entire sales funnel, extract data to improve the process, and optimize your funnel.

After all this information we can only tell you that, if you need to focus on other business areas, but you are aware that you need to define a prospecting strategy; we are here ready to give you a hand.

We will be waiting for you back here! (and also in the comments in case you have any doubts).