#AskTheExperts: How to follow up on sales leads?

Usually, the potential customer opens 5-10 websites. After taking a quick look, they start filling out the lead forms, which are followed by phone calls from the companies.

The company that calls the potential customer first manages to get their attention for about 10-15 minutes and provides all the information to get an offer.

However, when the second company calls, the lead already starts to lose interest in answering the same questions all over again. Holding your lead’s attention in speaking to the third company becomes even more challenging. You can imagine how excited your potential customer would be when their phone keeps ringing off the hook because more companies are trying to reach them (not so much 😵).

Thus, it’s crucial to be the first person who makes the phone call because increased response speed has now become everything. This is where a CRM system comes in handy. - Alexander Zhitmarev Founder of crm1.biz

Speed is critical when following up on inbound leads, but authenticity is just as important.

Consider adding or better configuring a CRM. It should do so much more than hold data. It should drive engagement, warm and nurture leads — get them on the phone or the calendar. And, it should do a lot of that automatically.

What I suggest is automating the first few steps in your follow up process. Send a text acknowledging the submission and hinting at the next steps. Send an email shortly after with additional details and a request for a call or meeting. If possible, let them see your face. People like to see whom they’re working with.

If they don’t respond (or if they haven’t yet sealed the deal) send follow-ups from multiple sources such as SMS, messages, emails or phone calls. Also, make sure they start seeing more of you and your business online, including what you do and how you’ve performed in the past (testimonials) via a PPC retargeting campaign.

There are so many distractions competing for their attention. Great salespeople working in lockstep with a powerful and authentically automated CRM can tip the scales in your favor - Phil McKeown CEO of McKeown MarKeting

Regarding how to effectively follow up on sales leads — speed definitely matters. If we got a lead through a webform, it means that they have requested information, and there is a chance that they would wait for us to respond.

The problem here, however, is that the sales reps are heavily reliant on one source (for instance, inbound) for their lead generation efforts. As sales reps, they should have the pipeline filled with leads from multiple sources. They should have a mix of outbound, inbound, paid, and partnership lead generation. This would keep the team busy, and the cost of labor justified as well.

To put it short, the answer is:

1. You need a bigger pipeline, so you won’t keep worrying and thinking about the leads that you haven’t converted.
2. You need to fill your pipeline with leads from multiple sources to justify time spent and the cost of labor for sales efforts.

The rest (i.e., conversion) would happen automatically since sales ultimately is a probability game. - Vijay Narayan CMO & Founder at Business Dynamiks