Now...This is Automation (Lead Generation)

[Collin Goodwin]

Greetings! 

I want to thank everyone for reaching out about my last post regarding Podio Automation... The response has been overwhelming and humbling. Thank you!

Since that time, I have had the opportunity to work with several investors from BP and just wanted to take a moment to share some of the things we have been able to do.

When it comes to "Automation" there are a lot of misconceptions because the term is so broad. Yes, Podio is a great CRM, and great with "Deal Flow", but to be honest, its not great at Prospecting or Lead Generation. 

Since this is likely one of the most popular topics on the forums, I would like to get as much feedback, and provide as much help as possible in the hopes that it will, at a minimum, show the possibilities...

First, let's distinguish between Prospects and Leads. 

Simply put, for the context of this post, prospects consist of a broad audience or group of people who match your pre-defined criteria, and leads are prospects who actually qualify for your services. In other words, prospects are cold/warm and leads are hot. 

When it comes to marketing our services to prospects, we choose a plethora of mediums: direct mail, social media, signs, organic search, print ads, etc... 

The entire point of this is to clarify that automation can be used for both prospecting and lead generation, but are completely separate functions. 

So, lets say we go to the courthouse, acquire a list of prospects, and send a mass direct mail campaign. 

In our mailers, we will typically use a Call to Action (CTA) such as a phone number or website address. 

Whichever method you use is your choice and preference, but this is where the automation typically starts. 

Say the CTA was to visit a website and fill out a form... 

Based on the criteria provided, we can use resources such as Podio, ActiveCampaign, Infusionsoft, etc... to pre-qualify our leads, based on the information that they input! Yes, you can use "robots" to filter your leads and set a pre-defined criteria that rises the "hottest" leads to the top. 

Once that is complete, we now need to reach back out to the lead and do one of the following: 

1. Get more information

2. Close the deal

Both of these processes can also be automated. When a lead reaches a certain criteria (you can do this by scoring or setting campaign goals based on specific actions), our software now knows it's time to take action and take care of items such as: scheduling walk throughs, showings, sending contracts for esignature, scheduling closings, etc. 

Once these are complete, then the job is done, or we need to follow up with those who did not take action. 

Here is how I currently have the model setup: 

1. A prospect fills out an online form through a sales funnel

2. Based on the criteria they input, they are advanced in the sales funnel to a series of videos where I explain our services and how we can help (saves tons of times and builds instant credibility)

3. After they are pre-sold (step #2), I ask to do business... either through an automation, or phone call. 

4. Once we have an agreement, I the status is changed (manually or through automated triggers) and the on-boarding process begins where we schedule an inspection, sign the electronic contract, schedule closing etc... all done in sequence with automations. 

5. In the event that the lead "falls off" at anytime, we enter them in a follow-up sequence that will retarget them. 

Now that we have defined the process, its time to start with the fun stuff...

As investors, we try multiple techniques to turn prospects into leads,  and ultimately customers... In our specific funnel, once a prospect shows interest in our services, and ultimately matches our criteria, let's just say we don't let them slip through the cracks...

Once in the funnel, we automate our communications with them until they become a customer... this includes direct mail (yes, you can automate usps direct mail), Ringless voicemails, texts and emails. I have attached a photo below of a how flow works once a lead enters the pipeline (the two purple actions represent a sly broadcast and direct mail letter sent through the automation sequence)

Feel free to post specific questions on how to implement this in your business!