Internet Leads

Make the most of it

Recently, I had the experience of calling three companies about three different products. I found all the three companies through Internet search, and after three days not one called me back, not one! As someone who owns a business that provides sales training to businesses you can imagine how I was frustrated, yet excited I was about the opportunity this presents. I started looking into this problem and it is massive. Did you know 48% of all sales people never make even one follow up call and 65% of all businesses admit they don’t nurture leads? Did you know that companies that do nurture sales leads with follow-up have 47% higher profit margins than companies that do not. Why do sales people and organizations fail to follow up? Well, the reason isn’t that obvious and the solution is simple. My company took the time to survey over 800 sales people and 500 businesses that said 1) they can’t get the customer back on the phone and 2) they have no organized process for follow-up. With all the CRMs, applications and software available today, you would think this is the last problem anyone would have. However, in reality, if a salesperson does not know what to say or how to get the prospect back on the phone, then how can you expect them to make a second call, much less the five to twelve calls necessary to close a deal? I decided to tackle this problem. I went to work to create exact strategies for every possible follow up call. For the last 12 months, I’ve been researching this subject and beta testing strategies to help retailers with follow up. The information we discovered is amazing. For instance, it took eight follow up attempts to get the lead back on the phone. Also, when the lead was responded to with three text messages, the response rate jumped over 300%. Additional facts about follow up include:

• Average response time for Internet lead is 44 hours.
• 65% of all companies don’t nurture the lead.
• Only 25% of all salespeople make two contacts.
• 80% of all transactions require 5 to 12 follow-ups.

Follow up is a massive problem across all retailers, and an even bigger opportunity for those that commit to exploiting it. Did you know that the first company to follow up the customer gets almost 50% of all the transactions? Salespeople must learn exactly what to do with every possible call. Let’s face it, you only have a few things that separate you from others, and it’s not your product, pricing or advertising. The single thing that can set you apart is how well your people do following up your customers. Ignore the lead and it will cost you money. SSE sales and service excellence essentials presented by HR.com To access the digital issue of the magazine, click here. To access the PDF version, click here.