If your company sells to big, slow-moving organizations, you already know that “lead nurturing” is more than just spamming a few emails. Enterprise deals are long games. You need campaigns that don’t annoy busy executives—but don’t let them forget you, either. If you’re using Leadliaison and want to actually move the needle with custom nurture programs, this guide is for you. No fluff, just a step-by-step blueprint for building campaigns that make sense for real enterprise sales.
1. Understand What Makes Enterprise Nurturing Different
Before you even log in, get clear on this: enterprise nurturing is not the same as B2C drip campaigns or SMB blast-and-pray tactics. Here’s what you’re actually up against:
- Longer sales cycles: 6-18 months isn’t unusual.
- Multiple buyers: You’ll deal with committees, not just one person.
- High stakes: Messy or irrelevant messaging can get you blacklisted for good.
What works: - Highly personalized, low-frequency touches. - Content that helps buyers champion your solution internally. - Mapping content to real buying stages, not just “awareness/consideration/decision.”
What doesn’t: - One-size-fits-all templates. - Over-automation (“set and forget” is a fantasy). - Aggressive, salesy messaging.
If you take away nothing else, remember: quality over quantity. Less is more.
2. Map Your Lead Stages and Buyer Personas
Don’t build a campaign until you know exactly who you’re nurturing and where they are in the process.
How to do it: - List out your typical buyer personas—think roles, pain points, what matters to them. - Map your sales stages: e.g., “New Lead,” “Engaged,” “Qualified,” “Champion Identified,” “Decision Pending.” - Figure out what each persona actually needs at each stage. (Hint: It’s usually not another whitepaper.)
Pro tip:
Talk to your sales team. Find out what questions and objections come up at each stage. If you skip this, your nurture will always feel generic.
3. Organize Your Content Assets (and Spot the Gaps)
You can’t nurture without decent content. This doesn’t mean you need a 50-piece content library, but you do need assets that speak to real enterprise concerns.
Start here: - Inventory what you already have: case studies, ROI calculators, battlecards, technical FAQs, etc. - Map each asset to personas and sales stages. - Be honest: is this content any good? Does it help buyers make progress, or is it just “thought leadership” fluff?
Fill the gaps: - If you’re missing something crucial (e.g., a technical one-pager for IT), flag it now. - Don’t wait for perfection. Start with what you have and improve as you go.
4. Build Segments and Lists in Leadliaison
Now, finally, get into Leadliaison and set up your foundation.
To do: - Create smart lists based on persona, company size, existing engagement, and sales stage. - Set up dynamic segments where possible (e.g., “All VPs at Fortune 500s in active opportunity stage”). - Keep lists clean—no sense nurturing dead leads.
What to ignore:
Don’t waste time with generic “all leads” lists. Segmentation is what separates real nurture from spam.
5. Design Your Nurture Workflow
Here’s where you use Leadliaison’s campaign builder to map out the actual journey.
Steps: - Sketch out your workflow on paper or a whiteboard first—trust me, it’s easier. - For each segment, decide: - Number of touches (keep it low: 1-2 per month is plenty for enterprise). - Channel mix (email, LinkedIn, direct mail, phone—don’t rely on just one). - Content for each step (make it relevant, not just timely). - Use Leadliaison’s “Automated Workflows” feature to sequence emails, assign tasks to reps, and trigger alerts.
Tips: - Build in pauses and checks: if someone replies or books a meeting, stop the nurture—don’t keep blasting them. - Use conditional logic to branch the flow (e.g., if they click a technical FAQ, send IT-focused content next).
What to skip:
Don’t overcomplicate with a maze of branches for every possible scenario. Start simple. Enterprise buyers appreciate clarity, not complexity.
6. Personalize (But Don’t Get Creepy)
Personalization isn’t just “Hi [FirstName].” For enterprise, it means referencing real company challenges or industry trends.
How to personalize in Leadliaison: - Use merge fields for job title, company name, industry. - Reference recent news or company initiatives (if you have the data). - Tailor CTAs: “Share this with your IT lead,” or “Here’s a case study for healthcare organizations like yours.”
Avoid: - Overly personal details (e.g., commenting on someone’s recent LinkedIn post if you’ve never spoken—it feels weird). - Generic, boilerplate intros. If you can’t say something specific, keep it simple and professional.
7. Set Up Scoring and Alerts
You need to know when a lead is actually getting warm.
In Leadliaison: - Set up scoring for key actions (opening an email = low points, downloading a technical doc = more points, replying or requesting a demo = lots of points). - Configure alerts for reps when someone crosses a scoring threshold. - Use “tasks” to trigger personalized follow-ups from sales—not just more automated emails.
What works: - Tight integration with your CRM so sales can see activity in context. - Regularly review and tweak your scoring rules. They’re guesses at first.
What doesn’t: - Relying only on opens/clicks. Focus on real buying signals (meeting requests, heavy content engagement).
8. Test, Measure, and Tweak
No campaign is perfect out of the gate. The best teams treat nurture like a living thing—always evolving.
How to keep improving: - Monitor key metrics: reply rates, meetings booked, deals influenced. - A/B test subject lines, content types, and timing—but don’t get lost in micro-optimizations. - Talk to sales about lead quality (not just volume). Are nurtured leads actually closing?
Pro tip:
Cut ruthlessly. If a step or piece of content isn’t performing, kill it. The simpler your nurture, the easier it is to manage.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Building custom lead nurturing campaigns in Leadliaison isn’t rocket science, but it does take discipline. Don’t chase shiny new features or try to automate every possible scenario. Start with clear segments, real content, and a workflow that makes sense for how enterprise buyers actually buy. Keep it simple, watch what works, and improve over time. That’s how you build nurture campaigns that actually help your sales team—and don’t just annoy your prospects.