Your sales reps always want more leads, but adding more leads doesn’t always garner more revenue. So how do you create more opportunities with the leads you have?
The Need for Speed
The odds of contacting a lead if called within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes are 100 times greater
– The Lead Response Management Study – MIT
Yes, that’s right – within 5 MINUTES your odds of connecting with a prospect are 100X higher. The same study found: “Your odds of entering the Lead into your sales cycle increase 21x if called within five minutes compared to 30 minutes”.
Your prospects are looking at your website and your competitors – 80 per cent conduct some amount of research online. You want them in your pipeline, not your competitors – so get to them fast – and first!
Can your sales reps meet the 5-minute challenge? If they are busy with product demos and other prospect calls, it is unlikely they can meet the 5-minute window. Consider introducing a business development role, with sole responsibility to call leads as they come in, qualify and set introductory meetings with your outside sales reps.
Connecting with a prospect quickly gives you the advantage of time, adding qualified opportunities into your pipeline. Their need is fresh in their mind and beginning the dialog to solve their need increases your chances to successfully close. Procrastination kills deals, prospects forget why they contacted you, or worse – your competitor gets there first.
What if they don’t answer within 5 minutes? Watch for our next blog post: The Persistence Payoff: Call Fast, Call Often