How can you build relationships with prospects who are not yet ready to buy?

Understand your buyer's needs and challenges. What are their goals? What are their pain points? What are their decision-making criteria? Once you have a good understanding of their needs, you can provide them with content and resources that are relevant and helpful.

I recommend you work with an agency to develop your buyer personas. I remember the time when I interviewed a supposedly happy customer. He really opened up during the interview about his frustrations. He would not have spoken so openly to my client directly. In the end, my client really listened to the feedback and it enabled him to develop a new service offering.

If you’re not taking the time to understand your audience or not wanting to connect with them on a human level, you will fail miserably. When it comes to social media, being social is key. Engaging with your audience lets your audience know you’re real, and human traits make a huge difference when it comes to building a relationship and trust.

I highly recommend you develop a list of frequently asked questions and provide answers. Prospects love FAQs because it's short and sweet. Besides, it can really help your salespeople overcome objections. We're all competing for attention.

What you don't need to do: create one content. What you need to do: choose one audience, choose 1 message, analyze 1 insight, write the explanation, and format the content: Need to know more about a problem → Educative video Need to know more about a solution → Case study Need to know more about risks → Comprehensive guide Need to know more about the price → Pricing grid Need to know more about features → Features overview Need to know more about the next steps → Action Plan Businesses that have the best content often win more deals. Even if they are more expensive. It’s because they cover every touchpoint and answer exactly what prospects need to know.

Providing content aside, keep this in mind. Do not approach them to sell. Do not distribute content which promotes. Create content that educates and enlightens. Look beyond your need to earn money from the sale, and build a rapport that stems from mutual pain points and stories.

When it comes to your content, if done right, it can lead to the development of material which attracts your target audience and inspires them to take action. Does it mean that people will read your content and instantly turn into a hot lead or sale? No. The goal of your content is to educate and inspire them to trust you, to reinforce your reputation and establish yourself as a thought leader. All of these allow you to build relationships that are nurtured towards your sales and growth.

Give valuable content and resources. This could include blog posts, free video courses, white papers, case studies, webinars, and more. Your content should be informative, engaging, and relevant to your target audience.

Stay front of mind. Don't bombard your audience with endless sales messages and ads, but if you are truly taking the time to understand you audience and create content that is for them, then don't be afraid to reach out to them regular. Whats more, ask there opinion, you have an opportunity to show that your business and brand is human so you can engage in conversations with them via chat bots, whats app groups and even social media.

Automation can help save time but it can backfire easily if the message is too generic or irrelevant to the person. Take the time to research, segment, and tailor custom content to everyone, or just revert back to manual touchpoints (everyone can tell the difference between an automated email and "normal" one).

I usually segregate leads and put them under separate lists and mark them based on frequency. In my initial calls with them, even if they are not ready to buy, I try to get an understanding of how often they can be bothered with branding emails. This is largely based on my experiences. Now that I have different lists segregated, I automate my email campaigns and send branding emails that majorly focus on my company's prosperity. Trust plays a major role in converting a warm lead into a very hot lead.

Build relationships with key decision-makers. Get to know the key decision-makers at your target accounts. This could involve attending industry events, connecting with them on LinkedIn, or sending them personalized emails.

1.Make it easy for them to tell you what they are interested in and what they need to drive growth. 2. Prioritise showcasing customer success and thought leadership over your favourite or best selling product features 3. Show off your company personality and people 4. Keep them updated on where your people are, will be and are saying (events, content, community activity)

Listen. If you are truly taking the time to understand your audience then you will be able to serve them. Ask them questions, try to find out there paint points, try to help them when it comes to over coming these. Youc an do this through advice, being consultative, being helpful and providing them value. All of this will help when it comes to building trust and rapport. If you are soley focused on selling then your audience will be put off. Not everyone is ready to buy so its important that you stay front of mind and until they are ready to buy you are seen as the go to for there solution. For this to happen all of your touch points need to be tailored and adding value to your audience.

This is very pre-2010. Urgency might still work with consumers in B2C but definitely not in B2B. Buyer journeys are getting longer and longer (up to 8-10 months) and no one will jump on a high-ticket project just because they get a limited-time discount or a free extra. Focus on adding value and paying it forward instead.

Don't do this! Be an ethical marketer. Never pressure your audience unnecessarily, and be prepared to give before you get. Your offer should be compelling enough, your content tailored enough that people happily walk through each next stage of their lifecycle. Content is currency in B2B. Organize your content repository by persona and buying stage, segment your list, and then only talk to your audience when you have something worth their time. Note any unsubscribes and take those learnings into adjusting frequency and content.

I don't recommend using scarcity tactics or anything of this nature. You need to remember you are dealing with people, we all have emotions, we all can sense when we are being pressured and thats not a feeling or experience you want. Focus on staying front of mind with all of your touch points being tailored to your audience in a educated, entertaining and emotional way. Every touchpoint with your audience is like putting money in your savings account, eventually if all of those touch points are positive when it comes to cashing out they will come to you first.

I practice what I preach to my clients, too. I’m not going to push people into buying things; for me, it’s about drawing them in to listen. I focus first. I focus on my purpose, my ‘why’ (thank you Simon Sinek), and once I have this focus, I can start to focus (I said it again) on pulling the right people towards me. How? By providing value. Don’t focus on your product or its features but more about your experience, the emotion, the empathy, how you make them feel about your offering and themselves. When I produce content in whatever format I always stick to these rules: Be myself Offer value Be authentic Create content for a purpose

Be patient. It takes time to build relationships and close deals. Don't get discouraged if prospects don't buy from you right away. Stay in touch and continue to provide them with value.

To build relationships with prospects not yet ready to buy, focus on value. Provide valuable content through blogs, webinars, and ebooks. Engage on social media, addressing queries. Nurture via email campaigns, offering insights without hard-selling. Personalize interactions, showing genuine interest. Offer free trials or samples to showcase your product. By being informative, attentive, and empathetic, you establish trust and credibility, laying a foundation for future sales.