When generating leads via the internet – Timing is Critical
I was just contacted by a Sales Rep who was following up from a website lead form that I submitted back in Febuary of 2011. This was more than 2 months after the fact and more importantly for you to know, did not convert into a sale.
When generating leads through internet marketing, timing of the follow up communication is the most important factor after the thank you page the lead will see after submission.
Poor responses times are very common amongst websites and there is absolutely no excuse. Websites can send leads to administrators, sales CRMs, or to your inbox within seconds after submission. The lead should immediately be qualified, scored, and then tasked to one of your reps for a call back and personalized email within 30 minutes.
For every minute that passes after lead submission, the less likely you are able to convert the lead into a sale. In a recent lead response research study, Dr. Oldroyd from LRM found that the odds of qualifing a lead “decreases by over 6 times in the first hour. (1)”
“After 20 hours every additional dial your salespeople make actually hurts your ability to make contact to qualify a lead”
Did you know that in 1860, the Pony Express could deliver your package from New York to San Fransisco in only 10 days.
Customers think you are Unprofessional. Do you really think a potential customer would buy something from you when they learn that your response time sucks?
Whether it was the lead slipped through the cracks, a careless employees oversight, or more simply you just lost my information. Regardless the reason,
“your company clearly demonstrated how it will be working with you moving forward and I want nothing of it.”
-Actual Customer Response
If you are in the business of internet lead generation, you must ensure that the inbound leads are handled promptly. Consider how easy it is for the user that just submitted the lead inquiry to hit the back button and find your competitors website and get 3-4 more quotes.
-Alex Fender
If you are having trouble getting enough website leads, Call Funnel Science at 877-301-0001
