When you've worked hard to build your site's content and it finally pays off, you've hit the bull's eye. Your prospects are finding your content worth downloading, which is a result of your detailed buyer personas; adequate research of your target audience that has you delivering interesting and valuable content to fit their needs. But, it doesn't mean you've struck gold. Not yet, anyway. Once a prospect opts in to your products or services, you need to be ready to make the next move. 
According to a recent article by Business.com, 50% of leads are qualified, but aren't ready to buy on the spot. Meanwhile, 25% of leads are unqualified and won't ever buy, and only 25% will make a purchase at any given time.
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So what do you do with a prospect in the meantime?
One thing is certain, you can't let your prospects slip through the cracks. Help guide them through the path to conversion as soon as they've initiated the first contact with you. But, before you make a beeline for their business, consider these follow-up tips.
Inbound Marketing Tips To Follow Up With Prospects
Not So Fast! Not All Prospects Are Sales Qualified
You might have an awesome product, but not all of your prospects are meant to be your customers. Think of sales as a matchmaking process; first define what a qualified lead is for your business, then pair up the most suitable prospects (those who have a need for your solution) with your product. Your solution should offer value to the right prospects. To determine qualified leads, evaluate their needs and expectations, and whether you can bring value to them. This can help in your efforts to close deals. 
Don't Let Your Hot Prospect Go Cold
Did you know that you're 9 times more likely to convert a lead if you follow up with them within the first 5 minutes? Whether a prospect has downloaded your white paper, checklist, eBook, etc., an immediate follow-up is the most effective and strategic approach, simply because your product is still fresh in their mind. The process of guiding them through the buyer's journey starts with an email (or call) containing more details about the product they've downloaded. As you follow up with prospects, lay the foundation of your educational/helpful position without being "salesy." You don't want to turn them away in the first stages of the interaction. Your goal is to gain their trust and distinguish yourself as a trusted resource rather than a sales person.
“You're 9 times more likely to convert a lead if you follow up with them in the first 5 minutes” (HubSpot) via @RspnsvInbndMktg. Click to Tweet 
Nurture Them With Relevant Content
Too often, golden opportunities in business are missed. Forbes reports up to 71% of leads are never followed up with. Tragic! The beauty of inbound marketing is its ability to engage and interact, creatively and decorously, without being annoying. Provide your prospects with rele
vant content and information until they're ready to make a purchase. Nurturing is about delivering a more personalized experience; that is, tailoring content specifically to each prospect, starting with a compelling email subject line. Avoid the "just checking in" routine.
Here are some effective examples to open up a follow-up email:
- "Here's an outsourced article I think you might be interested in..."
- "I thought it may be worth your time to check out this webinar/blog post/etc..."
Or try a more direct approach:
- "Thank you for downloading (insert resource here). To better gauge your interests, tell us which one of these three buckets you fall into:
- I am only educating myself on (insert resource topic) best practices.
- I am educating myself on (insert resource topic), and I am also interested in learning more about your solutions.
- Please call me as soon as possible in order to explore your solutions."
These kinds of techniques can pave the way to strategically creating a sequence of automated emails that will warm them up to your company/products/services, and facilitate the buying decision path. What follow-up techniques have you found work well for you?
