You’ve created an amazing lead magnet and promoted it across all your channels, and it’s finally happening—you’re getting leads! People are giving you their emails in exchange for what you’re offering. Ah…living the dream!

So… what now? 

It’s time to figure out how to nurture a lead—without being pushy—so you can actually convert those people into paying customers and clients. When you’re successful, you can count on a healthy flow of new projects, sales, and revenue (music to your ears, we know!)

In this article, we’re breaking down:

• What a sales funnel looks like (and where you need to nurture a lead)
• 6 tips to help you nurture a lead without being pushy
• How to create a marketing strategy that helps

What is a Sales Funnel and When Do You Nurture a Lead?

First, your sales funnel is the journey that your customers make, starting from when they hear about your brand, and ending when they become customers.  

Typically, there are four general stages in a sales funnel:

• Awareness: They hear about your brand through your marketing channels or referrals
• Interest: They start to interact with your business by following you on social media, signing up for your emails, or researching more about what you offer. 
• Consideration: They start to compare you to competitors, look at your reviews and testimonials, and research more into your offer. 
• Purchase: Woohoo! They’ve officially purchased from you and have become your customers. 

Want to dive even deeper into these stages? Make sure to check out this article breaking down how to create a marketing funnel where we go into more detail! But when it comes to nurturing customers, you need to narrow down into what you can do during the Interest and Consideration stages. 

When customers are interested, they’re “problem aware,” which just means they know they have a problem, they just don’t know the solution yet. That’s your cue to show them how you can solve their problems. 

When customers are in the consideration phase, that means they’re “solution aware.” They're comparing different solutions for their problem so they can make the best purchase (that doesn’t always mean a direct competitor!).

Now, let’s jump into six tips to help you nurture a lead.

1. Start With a Strong Welcome Sequence (Automation is Key!)

Think of your email list as a party you’re hosting. Whenever someone joins, you want to make them feel welcome! In the email world, that can be hard to keep up with manually, so you need automations to become your party host. 

As soon as someone joins your list, an automated email sequence welcomes them and provides more information about your brand and solutions. 

Pro Tip: If you use a pop-up tool like BDOW to capture the lead, you can bring more information about the lead over to an email tool like Flodesk (like which blog post they were reading or what CTA got them to sign up). Personalization makes your email sequences so much stronger!

Along with introducing your leads to your brand, you can also start providing value to them. Share your past blogs, showcase your success stories, and yeah, pitch your business. Here’s an example of what your welcome email sequence might look like: 

• Email 1: Welcome + brand intro (no selling yet!)
• Email 2: Value-packed content (tips, freebie, or case study)
• Email 3: Overcome objections (FAQs, testimonials, myths)
• Email 4: Soft pitch with a clear CTA

2. Provide Value at Every Touchpoint

As your email list grows, you might be eager to push your offering to quickly get sales. Before you do, think of the emails you have in your own inbox. You probably already get a ton and new sales offers every week can stack up. They end up feeling a little too annoying, and you might even unsubscribe from them. 

And listen—that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t sell to your list. We know you have a business to run. But instead of pushing sales exclusively in every email, focus on educating, inspiring, or entertaining your email list. Your leads will end up looking forward to your emails if you’re offering something valuable and building a relationship with them. 

Here are some ideas:

• A quick tutorial on how to use your product
• A behind-the-scenes story about why you started your business
• A case study showing real customer results

3. Use Multiple Channels (But Keep It Consistent)

When you think of how to nurture a lead, email is the first thing that comes to mind. After all, that’s where you have the most information about your leads. And while email is great, we don’t want you to forget about your other channels! 

The truth is that your leads are also following you on social media, reading your blog posts, and hanging out in all of those other places they might find you on the internet.

For example, someone might download your free guide and get your email sequence, but you can also set up retargeting ads for anyone who visits your guide landing page to remind them of the solution you offer. Another example is if you see someone downloading a freebie who is also following you on Instagram. If they seem like a great fit, why not DM them to get the conversation started?

4. Address Their Pain Points & Objections

When leads hesitate to make a purchase, it’s because they have doubts. It might be because of their own budget, or it might be because they’re not sure if you’re the best fit for their needs. 

That means you need to meet them where they are and address their doubts head-on. Marketing is a bit like mind reading (we know, just what you wanted to hear), and it’s your time to flex that power by answering their questions before they even ask them! 

Start by considering what questions potential clients ask in your discovery calls or when they first purchase your product/service. Then, you can address those questions in your email nurture, blog posts, and social content. 

For example: 

• They think they don’t have time → Share a time-saving tip
• They think it’s too expensive → Break down the return on investment you provide (ROI), and real-life success stories
• They don’t think it’s something they need any time soon → Show them the ongoing value that your products and services can provide in the long run. Basically FOMO around what they might be not getting by not doing anything.

5. Create a Clear Path to the Next Step

One big mistake that business owners make is assuming that leads will figure out how to take action themselves. 

But the truth is that we forget how busy we all are, and how much content we’re constantly seeing every day. With 100 emails to get through, no one is going to take the time to navigate to your website, find the right page, and book with you. Even if they want to… it’s also too easy to forget!

Instead, leads need a reason to take action and clear instructions. Here are some examples that you could use throughout your sales funnel: 

• Low-commitment: “Reply with your biggest struggle, and I’ll send a free tip!”
• Mid-funnel: “Book a free consultation to see if this is right for you.”
• Bottom-funnel: “Sign up today and get [bonus offer]!”

6. Be Patient—Lead Nurturing is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

When it comes to learning how to nurture a lead, there’s one more thing to keep in mind—you need patience! With all the work you put into it, it’s normal to want to see your numbers grow immediately, but it is called a sales journey for a reason. 

Some leads convert in days, and that’s always a win, but others can (and will) take months to move through the funnel. Stay consistent, keep delivering value, remind them why they signed up, and don’t give up! Keep monitoring your marketing KPIs and adjusting your strategy based on what your leads are engaging with the most. 

Above all, make sure you aren’t ghosting your leads because your marketing isn’t “working fast enough.”

When our founder Tayler was a marketing consultant, she had some leads on her email list for years before they finally inquired about her website copy services! As long as you maintain your relationship and continue providing value, your brand will be top of mind when they’re ready to invest.  

Create a Strategy in Minutes so You Can Get More Leads

Now that you know how to nurture them, let’s get you more leads! If you sign up for a free trial with Enji, our marketing strategy generator can give you a straightforward list of tasks to help you nurture your leads and finally meet your goals! In just a few minutes, you’ll have everything you need to make your marketing efforts more organized and easy to manage. Get started now!