If you are a business that doesn’t have an endless amount of time and money (and what business does?), deciding which leads to pass on and which ones to pursue can have a huge effect on your bottom line. After all, if you are fairly certain a lead is going nowhere, there is no sense wasting your time on that lead. Conversely, failing to follow up with a lead that seems to be very interested can mean the loss of a big sale.

It would be nice if all leads fit neatly into two categories – dead ends and certain to convert – but that’s not how it is. In many cases, a lead seems like it could go either way. As a result, you don’t feel comfortable tossing any lead aside but by the same token you are worried about wasting too much time when you don’t know if a lead will convert.

Fortunately, there are some ways you can approach leads to better gauge their potential before you decide whether or not to pursue them.

1. Carefully track all leads. It is important to meticulously track all leads that come to your website. This can be done by using marketing automation software or simply providing a place for visitors to enter their information.
2. Incentivize leads. Many people are leery of giving out their information unless their interest is really piqued. Offer white pages on different topics and you will know what your leads are looking for.
3. Reach out periodically. If you have information on a lead, follow up periodically so that you can find out if they will take the bait. For example, call or email just enough that if they are interested they will welcome your interest but not so much that you become annoying.
4. Continue your content marketing efforts. Content is still king. The more interesting and useful the content you publish, the more likely it is that a lead that was on the fence will decide to finally make a decision to engage with you.
5. Use ads. When ads are used with marketing campaigns or other outbound lead generation efforts, leads may opt in after a while.

It is important that you engage with leads so that you can always have the chance to convert them. But the truth is, sometimes a softer approach is the best way to reel in leads that are on the fence.