You’ve worked hard and ground marketed to your local community. From fitness facilities to small businesses and everywhere in between, you’ve done the work and collected a huge list of leads. Congratulations!
That’s an amazing accomplishment that you definitely should celebrate. But then you’re left wondering… what’s next?
Don’t get me wrong - collecting leads is an important part of ground marketing. It’s the whole reason why you’re attending events, networking, building pipelines, and providing your community with value. But what truly matters from all of your hard work is how many of your leads are actually coming through your door?
So if you’ve gathered 100 (or maybe more) leads and you’re wondering, “how do I convert them into actual patients?”... keep on reading!
So You've Got Leads. Now What?: How to Convert Your Ground Marketing Leads into Patients
The most important thing to do once you’ve gathered all your leads is way simpler than you might think…
Just. Follow. Up.
While the answer might seem obvious, you might be surprised with how many people don’t take the time to follow up. There’s a multitude of reasons why people don’t follow up with their leads, from feeling like a bother to not feeling confident enough to reach out.
But this article will prepare you to convert your ground marketing leads into patients with these 9 simple tips. Starting with…
1. Recognize What Your Leads Are
What’s holding you back from calling your leads? Depending on who you are (and who is in charge of following up), there could be a multitude of reasons why you might feel uncomfortable reaching out to the leads you’ve collected.
But leaving your leads hanging is practically leaving money on the table. Remember, you’ve worked hard to collect these leads. Don’t let your ground marketing efforts go to waste, and follow up with them. And if you’re still worried and nervous about making that follow-up call, here’s tip number 2…
2. Be Comfortable
Most people tasked with following up with their leads feel uneasy making the call because they feel like they’re a bother. They get it in their heads that a call from them annoys their lead. But here’s the thing…
Your leads gave you their number and contact information.
Therefore, they’ve given you permission to reach out, follow up, and give them a call.
If that isn’t an invitation for you to dial their number, I don’t know what is. So be comfortable and don’t feel bad. They’ve given you their number for a reason.
3. Always Be Positive
Your attitude is incredibly important as you prepare for your follow-up call. While anything could happen on a call (meaning there’s a chance of you catching someone in a bad mood), you shouldn’t let that get you down.
Remember, a positive attitude and mindset go a long way. After all, they’ve given you the green light to reach out, they were clearly interested in the value you’re offering, and you are ultimately going to provide them with a service that they need and are looking for.
4. Be Confident
When you’re contacting a lead through a call, your first impression hinges on the way you sound. Sounding confident will make you appear self-assured, which will make you appear trustworthy to your lead.
5. Don’t Worry About Making Mistakes
Speaking of confidence, the number one reason why you might not feel confident, to begin with, is because you’re worried about making mistakes. The truth is, the thought of stumbling over your words is something many people get nervous about.
But you’re human, and it’s bound to happen. However, you should not worry about making mistakes because it happens to everyone. In fact, it makes you more relatable and you come off as more human. So don’t worry about it too much.
6. Remember Your “Why”
Something else that could boost your confidence while helping you convert your ground marketing leads into patients is to keep your “why” top of mind. Why did you go out ground marketing to collect leads in the first place? And more importantly, why are you following up with your leads? Whether it’s to reach a new financial goal or patient goal, keeping your “why” top of mind will help you stay focused on what it is you need to say and how you’ll conduct the call.
7. Schedule Your Calls in Blocks
One of the biggest mistakes I see when practices follow up with their leads is that they don’t set aside a specific time to call and follow up with their leads. Instead, they’ll scatter a few calls here and there, slowly following up with each lead.
However, it is more efficient to batch all your calls into a designated timeframe to stay organized and approach each call with a gathered mindset.
The only case in which you can have your calls scattered is if your leads request for you to schedule their calls at a certain time. Even so, you should try to reschedule these special requests in a specific timeframe so that you can stay in the zone.
8. Change Up Your Call Times
Changing up your call time is a great strategy if many of your leads aren’t answering. From experience, we’ve noticed that calls made in the early evenings have the highest responses. Think about it - if your leads work at a typical 9-5, they won’t necessarily have the time to answer during the day. So get creative and call them outside office hours. No matter what, if your calls aren’t getting answered, change up your call schedule!
9. Explain Why You’re Calling
Last but not least, you want to explain to your leads why you’re calling. The more specific you can get, the better off you are! Remind them of where you met (which event), where you’re from (your practice), and why you’re calling them. Get as specific as you can until you hear a change in their tone of voice. Once you hear their tone of voice relax, it is time to continue with your call so that you can convert your lead into a new patient.
The Importance of Following Up
Remember, these leads that you’ve collected are very, very warm leads. But they still aren’t patients… yet. This is why your follow-up call is so important. So use these tips to help you sound confident and competent, as they will help you get in touch with your leads so that you can get them one step closer to stepping into your practice.
