39 \\ What Most Entrepreneurs Get Wrong About Qualifying Leads and Customer Retention

Many businesses get excited when they first capture a lead, and then, you know, then they forget about them after a couple of messages. This is a huge mistake, and this is something that I learned way early on in my career as an entrepreneur. That's why I started to be a note taker, and it really changed the game. Are you tired of showing up online, posting your heart out and still hearing crickets? Are you doing all the right things, but wondering why your content isn't converting? Your DMs are dry and your audience isn't buying? You're not alone, and this podcast is exactly for you.
Welcome to Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses where strategy meets soul and connection. Well, that's the secret sauce. Hi, I'm Cheyanne Cleyman, a wife, proud mama of three, former actress and fitness trainer turned serial entrepreneur and online relationship expert. Over the last decade, I've built my own brands, helped dozens of others grow theirs and discovered one powerful truth, connection is the real currency. If you're a service-based business or high-ticket brand that wants more leads, trust and sales from social media without the burnout or fake hype, you're in the right place.
Each week, I'm bringing you short, powerful impact episodes that feel like a coffee date with a best friend and biz coach all in one. Let's turn your followers into clients and content into connection. This is Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses, and it's about to change how you show up online. Let's dive in, boss, if your lead gen pipeline feels a little more like a leaky bucket, well, then today's episode is exactly what you need. I'm gonna walk you through the three biggest mistakes that could be draining your pipeline, and I'm sharing the exact steps to fix them.
Who am I? Well, I'm Cheyanne Cleyman, owner of a lead gen specialist agency called Julianna Connect. And I am so thankful that you're here and ready to dive into another episode of Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses. Are you ready to plug those holes? Let's jump in. So if you've never listened to my podcast before, you might find yourself pretty surprised that my episodes are bite sized, that's right, they're usually no longer than 10 to 12 minutes. And I do this on purpose, because I'm speaking to you. You are a boss. You are probably an entrepreneur or a small business owner who is looking for tactical, tangible, actionable steps to move them forward with their business online. And that is what I'm here for. So we're going to jump right in and get you in, and get you out, and get you actually applying these steps that I'm going to tell you today by the end of this episode.
So I share with you that I'm going to share with you, three biggest mistakes. Let's jump in with the first one. So the mistake number one is not qualifying leads properly, right? Very often, what happens is, when it comes to lead gen, and I know this because I've helped people through it, and we've actually made this mistake ourselves with a couple of our businesses, is that you're wasting time on leads who just are not ready to buy. Or what I see a lot is that are just not a good fit for you. So when you don't qualify your leads early enough, it's like you're trying to fill a bucket with a hole in it, eventually you're going to be empty.
So what is an actionable step? How can you fix this? Well, before you even start reaching out, first and foremost, you really want to know your ideal, what they call out there avatar, right? It's basically your ideal client. Who would you want to work with? List out their traits, what qualities, what needs or behaviors make someone a perfect fit for your service. Something we do when we onboard our new clients is we actually ask them who are people you don't want to work with, because sometimes that's just as important to really define and know as the perfect person that you want to work with. So when you're engaging with leads, ask yourself, Does this person meet my criteria? If they don't, I cannot emphasize enough, move on, move on. But if they do meet your criteria, then make them feel heard and seen. Double down on those people, make them feel understood.
Qualifying at the beginning saves you so much time later on. One little quick second, little actionable step before we move on to mistake number two, a little free advice, is that I go ahead and qualify my calls before I ever jump on a connection call with someone. Now, my husband and I never used to do this, but we started doing it when we realized that we were having a lot of people book a call with us, and they just weren't simply ready to work with us yet, or they just were looking for totally different help. So we created a document, a Google Doc, where we just have some simple qualifying questions, and instead of feeling bad about it, because I used to, I used to feel bad about it, it was a way that I could make sure that I wasn't wasting my time, but also the person's time. Because it's a waste of time if we don't properly qualify our leads and let them know from the very beginning what the expectations are, because then you're also wasting their time, and you can always give them something of value. If someone doesn't qualify for a call with us, we always send them a personalized email, and we give them a podcast link to this podcast so that they can binge these episodes and start applying a lot of the things that we teach and that we do for our clients. And then we also send them a freebie with some value. So it's something that they, if they're DIYers, they can apply right away.
So if that's you, or if you're wondering if that's you, in the show notes, I have some valuable stuff for you, but please don't go there yet, because we're about to dive into mistake number two. So mistake number two is not nurturing leads consistently or not consistently enough. Many businesses get excited when they first capture a lead, and then, yeah, it's kind of totally something understandable, but you know, then they forget about them after a couple of messages. This is a huge mistake, and this is something that I learned way early on in my career as an entrepreneur, especially when I was working in the health and fitness industry. Health is very personal to people, right? And maybe you're listening. Maybe you're a nutritionist, a dietitian or a fitness trainer, and you know how it is, it takes people a lot of faith and trust in you to put your health in their hands. And so I would start keeping track of my leads, because I noticed that I was having a lot of conversations all at once on different social media platforms, whether it was Facebook messenger, Instagram, text messages, sometimes even in public forums. And I noticed that I could very easily get lost or just forget what I was talking about with someone. So that's why I started to be a note taker, and it really changed the game.
An actionable step for you to remedy the second mistake is to create a simple nurturing strategy that works for you and you want to include regular touch points. That's why, by the way, I just created a brand new lead tracker that actually my team and I use for our clients. We are now releasing it to the public, and you can grab your copy in the show notes below, because it's the way that we keep track of our leads. Because it's not just about a name or a profile link, but it's also about touch points. It's also about helping them feel seen, and also reminding yourself so in this lead tracker, and something you can do organically is set up reminders. Set it up to check in with leads every three to five days. And if you're struggling with, well, okay, Cheyenne, well, what do I say? Well, why don't you just start with something like, Hey, I came across this article and thought of you, or I just recorded this podcast episode, and I thought it'd be perfect. Or just checking in to see if you have any more thoughts on insert the blank, right, insert the topic? And by taking very good notes about these warm leads, then you'll know what to put in there. So consistency really is key in order to turn cold leads into warm prospects. And yes, it does take time, but it really does pay off and is worth it.
Here we go. We are on to mistake number three. Mistake number three is not having a clear follow up process, right? So a lot of businesses and business owners, they reach out once, and then just forget about that lead if they don't respond. And very often, I've been guilty of it too. You move on to the next one, and then the next one, and then you forget about someone who might have been a really warm lead. But if you don't keep track of it, it's really easy to forget. And leads really need follow up, and not just once. There's been studies out there, and without looking it up, I can't remember the number, but somewhere in the ballpark of 10,000 messages that we are inundated with every single day. So you have to imagine that your ideal client is bombarded with messages. So even when you feel like you're following up with them too much, I can guarantee it's not too much. In fact, they are looking, they're begging for you to follow up with them. You just have to do it.
So your actionable step number three, to fix this mistake is just to create a simple follow up sequence, right? Make something practical and simple, what you can do. And again, in our tracker, there's actually a spot for this is your first follow up. Should absolutely be one to two days after initial contact, you want to strike the iron while the iron is hot, right? Then your second follow up five to seven days. So within one week, you have followed up with them twice, and then the final follow up, or at least for some time, should be within 10 to 14 days after each message should add value or ask an open ended question. Get them involved in the conversation, make it back and forth and not transactional. The goal is to keep the relationship warm and not just sell right away.
All right, everybody, we are here almost at the nine minute mark, and before we end today's episode, I really want to make sure that I leave you guys with some good value, something to walk away with. So if you're struggling with content that just isn't converting the way that you want it to, don't forget to grab our free guide, Five Quiet Reasons Your Content Isn't Converting and What to Do Instead. It'll help you identify what's holding you back and get you moving forward. Also, as you've heard me talk about a lot in this episode, if you need a simple, organized way to keep track of your leads, go to our show notes and download our free lead tracker. It's the perfect tool to keep all your leads organized and in one place with everything you need to follow up and stay on top of your game. And lastly, if you're feeling stuck or you just need some help fine tuning your lead gen strategy and want to see if you could be a good fit for our team. Book a connection call with us. Let's chat about your business, and we'll give you personalized advice to help you move forward. You can find all the links to everything I just chatted about in the show notes below.
Well, again, boss, thank you for listening, and I am just so blessed every time you lend me your ears and your hearts and you are setting yourself up for success just by taking the step to listen to this episode. But don't keep it all to yourself. If this episode blessed you, please send it to another small business owner that you know, so that they too can stop making these mistakes and making sure that they are leading their leads down a healthy pipeline that's going to eventually help them convert into clients. And if this is one of your favorite episodes, please come tell me. Go over to Apple podcasts and leave a quick review, as it really helps me know what episodes really resonate and which ones to produce more of. Again, thank you so very much. Giving you a big Virtual hug, and I will see you on the next episode of Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses.
All right, my friend, that's it for today. Well, let me leave you with this. If your content is not converting, it's not your fault. Chances are you've been taught to prioritize the algorithm instead of the actual humans reading your words. And that, that ends right here. Go ahead and grab my free guide. Five Quiet Reasons Your Content Isn't Converting and What to Do Instead. It's packed with real talk, practical shifts and quick, immediate wins. Link is in the show notes below, and if you're ready to stop guessing and start connecting with ideal clients who actually buy from you, book a free connection call with our team at Julianna Connect. We don't do content. We do connection that converts because at the end of the day, it's not about going viral, it's about being valuable. Thanks for hanging out with me again. I'm Cheyanne Cleyman, and I'll see you on next week's episode. See you later.