So you got your first leads. What now?
There are multiple methods for creating your inbound lead follow up sequences. But the two most common are:
- Persona based follow up sequences
- Lead Magnet-based follow up sequences
In this recipe, we'll go through each, as well as give you templates you can download to see specific examples for each.
Method A: Persona based follow up sequences
A mix of reusability and personalization.
Persona based follow up sequences means that you assign the follow up this sequence to a lead regardless of which lead magnet this person downloaded.
So it looks like this:
Lead Magnet Downloaded -> Thank you email (related to the lead magnet) -> Assign persona (based on form fields) -> Follow up sequence related to the persona (not the lead magnet).
The benefit of this approach is that you can build your sequence once, and reuse it for any lead magnet you produce.
If you plan to produce many lead magnets, we recommend this approach. It will allow you to build many different lead magnets without worrying about additional content for the follow up sequences.
Another pro is that you can optimize a single sequence, and the improvement will immediately apply to all your leads - regardless of lead magnet.
Later on, you can assign specific lead-magnet related follow up sequences to the most popular lead magnets. This lets you quickly produce many inbound sources, improve the quality of the follow up when you see which one works best!
Our recommendation: If you plan to produce many lead magnets (which you should!), start off with your foundational persona based follow up sequences. Later on, when you notice that a particular lead magnet is getting a lot of downloads, consider producing a specific follow up sequence for that particular one.
Method B: Lead magnet-specific follow up sequences
Best for personalization.
This method can be seen as "the premium version" of how to follow up on your leads. You produce a lead magnet, and you also produce a specific lead magnet to follow up all leads who download that particular lead magnet.
If you want to go even further, you can even use dynamic content to make specific emails adapted to personas, as well! (But this is really stepping up on the gas, and should be used only for your most downloaded lead magnets, to really optimize conversion rates.)
It looks like this:
Lead Magnet Downloaded -> Thank you email (related to the lead magnet) -> Specific follow up sequence for this lead magnet (customized for each persona if you want to really go all-in).
Our recommendation: Use this for your premium and most downloaded lead magnets so that you spend your energy on optimizing what's going to have the most impact.
Method C: A single, long nurturing sequence for all - but with dynamically adapted sections in particular emails
Best for reusability.
This method can be used when you want to optimize for reusability - i.e. build a single flow that applies to all your leads.
Its strongest benefit is that any improvement or addition you make to the sequence will immediately apply to all your leads. This benefit is so strong that it might outweigh the lack of personalization.
It fits best if you have a single service to sell, and it's similar for all customers.
However, you can use dynamic content to personalize even this. You can then customize the individual emails in the sequence to the persona of the lead, or to their biggest interests / needs, or even the particular lead magnet they downloaded. This lets you make certain emails "same for all" (for example when you talk about common problems that all your leads share), while you customize certain emails to individual leads (for example when you describe the benefits of your solution, those emails can be customized to the title, interest or persona of your lead).
Having a single sequence is also great for building a longer sequence, rather than many short ones. This is especially good for complex B2B sales, where a sale might take months or even years to complete or fulfill.
Our recommendation: If you have a single product or service that all leads will eventually buy, this is the method we'd recommend. The benefits of being able to apply the same improvements, additions and optimizations to all your leads, and being able to focus your attention on improving the single sequence for all leads rather than spending time building new sequences for different leads, is well worth it in those cases in our experience!
Download our example recipes
We have compiled a set of recipes for various forms of nurturing sequences for B2B. Download them here and customize them for your own use:
Contact us to discuss and adapt for yourself
As always, consultation and help to build these sequences is included for any FunnelBud customer. Don't hesitate to contact us for that.
If you're not a customer, but interested in learning more, request a demo now and we'll be glad to discuss your needs.
SKU: 2211252322