Just got back from a cannabis trade show, and you need to find your next step? Following up with cannabis trade show leads should be your first step.
Here are the ins and outs of sending follow-ups to conference leads.
1. Let’s Start With Email Advice
We need to start with the basics first. Most cannabis industry follow-up emails just miss the mark. A generic, boilerplate email won’t be grabbing anyone’s attention. You need to write like you’re sending a friend your best firecrackers recipe.
Your email needs to be a mixture of professionalism law still being completely bespoke for the individual you’re sending it to. Mass, chain emails don’t catch you anywhere when you’re networking with a new crowd. Your email should reintroduce yourself and restate your desired call to action.
One important thing to keep in mind is that these emails are often more about building relationships than they are about landing sales. You might get lucky and have a prospective client email with an immediate offer, but odds are this will act as a first contact reintroducing yourself, your business, and reminding the prospective customer of why they got to like you at the cannabis conference in the first place.
2. Prioritize Your Leads
You need to have a good strategy when you’re emailing your leads. Sending emails to each and every lead is going to take time. This means you should prioritize leads that are going to help you with your goals before beads that are going to help you down the road.
One way to go about this is to consider your interactions at the cannabis trade show or conference. Think about which representatives and which company liked your presentation or display. The IRL of interactions you had are going to be the ones that are strongly shaping who’s going to be most receptive to a follow-up and who’s going to need a little more work.
You can also prioritize based on where you’re at with your business. Let’s say you’re in the early stages of putting together your own edible production operation. This means you want to connect to businesses that can help you in those early stages and reconnect with businesses that can help you with other goals once your own company has grown.
3. Consider The Buying Cycle
The buying cycle is a lot like a firecrackers recipe. You need to know the ingredients and the timing of the recipe to get it right. The buying cycle considers both where your company is and where your clients, customers, and colleagues are.
This is the start of the buying cycle. There are times when the companies you work with are ready to buy your goods and services and times when you will be looking elsewhere to take care of other business needs.
Let’s see your business Works in creating compelling marketing campaigns for cannabis companies. Potential buying cycle for you might be the lead up to a new product launch while the buying cycle might not work out during the R & D stages for your clients.
There’s a lot to consider when thinking about emailing during the buying cycle. You can always reach out when it’s not time to buy because many companies line up purchases well ahead of where they are on the cycle.
You should also consider where your business is. Are you ready to buy or are you just connecting to stay ahead of the competition? In the world of sales, timing is everything.
4. Think Before You Follow Up
You need a good strategy for who you’re going to be sending your follow-up emails to. Broadly speaking, you can divide your prospects into three different categories: hot follow-ups, warm follow-ups, and cold follow-ups. Then there are also follow-ups that you should ignore completely.
Hot follow-ups need to get right into the hands of your sales team. These people are ready to buy and you should be striking while the iron is hot. Warm follow-ups could be ready to buy soon, but they need time. They are best in an email campaign that will nurture the opportunity and keep them informed until they’re ready to go.
You should skip follow-ups that aren’t in your demographics. Competitors, companies your work doesn’t interface with, or anyone with whom you’d have negative engagement.
One Last Thing To Keep In Mind
Whether you’re looking for firecrackers edibles or sending follow-ups, success takes work. Repeat your contacts with your follow ups to make sure you stay fresh in their minds. It might not pay today, but this work will be paying for itself in time!