Tips for decreasing lead response time

The world of instant gratification has become our world—the world where we do business. With the evolution of digital media, we are more connected than ever. Whether family and friends or businesses whose products and services we use and like. We, as customers, expect our needs and desires to be fulfilled almost with a tap or a click, and we want it instantly. For businesses, such consumer behavior translates to revolution. Thus, companies everywhere are competing on finding new and effective ways to capture every lead and convert them into paying customers. Decreasing lead response time has become almost a mantra as the time to connect with the customer has proven to be one of the determining factors of making a successful sale. Let us review common and less common methods you can use to make that lead conversion journey as swift as possible.

What is lead response time and how does it affect lead conversion?

• Simply put, lead response time represents the time it takes you to follow up on a lead that engaged with your business in one way or another.

The follow-up depends on the channel of communication you are using and it is one of the more essential ways to amplify a lead conversion rate. You should start by evaluating your lead response time.  You have to distinguish the time it takes to respond to an email or reply to a contact form inquiry. Measuring your time of response will help you comprehend how to convert more leads into sales. With accurate metrics in place, you will have the data needed to decide what’s next. Leap into the project of decreasing sales response time to a point where your leads get an immediate follow-up.

As experienced sales professionals still believe phone calls are the best sales technique, measuring the time you need for call-back is crucial. Some surveys state that responding to a lead in less than a minute will increase your chances of conversion by 391% higher. However, do not be surprised if your evaluation results determine a high percentage of leads that remain un-responded.

After all, statistics show that more than 50% of companies take more than five days to follow up a lead. Meanwhile, almost 12% do not reach out at all. Use this data to push yourself into investing in proper click-to-call software, as you certainly don’t want to be among the 30% of companies whose leads go to a competitor due to long response time.

Explore these three viable options for decreasing lead response time

There are many options to look at when searching for effective ways to minimize the downtime between a lead comes in and gets answered. Depending on the type of business you are running, service or products you are selling, and the goals you set, you will most likely benefit from these techniques:

1. Qualify your leads properly
2. Automate the call back process
3. Motivate your people

If you wish to have feasible results, you will most likely implement all three steps and focus on improving lead generation through phone calls. After all, study reports show that calls still have 30-50% better conversion rates than clicks.

Qualifying leads means prioritizing your work

A qualified lead is someone who meets all the criteria for purchasing your product or service. The process of determining who among your leads is a potential paying customer is a crucial part of your lead conversion. Do not waste your precious time and resources on contacts that do not have the purchasing power or willingness to invest in what you are selling. Thus, the first step in minimizing the overall response time is finding the people who want your product.

Secondly, try determining that they are the decision-makers, able, and willing to make the purchase. If all those criteria are met, you can proceed to classify your contact by priority. Base your approach on actual data and statistics rather than a mere “hunch.”

Automation of the call-back process will give structure and discipline to your follow-up strategy

One of the essential tasks in affecting your lead response time is giving your strategy some structure. Plan in advance and be realistic about how much it really takes for your sales representative to make a successful call. Invest in call-back services where you will have different immediate or scheduled call-back options or exit popup software for your website.

Also, you can minimize the number of inquiries you get from customers by including a FAQ type section on your website. This way, you can do all you can on your end and provide your sales team with the needed tools to capture the full potential of lead conversion. Most importantly, without losing precious time.

Finding the right approach to motivate your sales team is crucial for overall success

Finally, it is people who have the power to stimulate other people into making a purchasing decision. Keep this in mind while you motivate your sales team. Give them the necessary tools they need to access the potential of every lead. Remember to leave little space for judgment. Be realistic when making plans and assigning responsibility.

Always strive to make lead qualification criteria based on stats and data rather than subjective feelings. Creating working conditions where criteria are clear, and a proactive approach is valued is a secure path to having an organized and structured sales process you can successfully manage.

If you are not available, you will miss out on the opportunity to sell

With the market saturation in many industries, the race to convert more leads is more live than ever. Companies bombard today’s consumers every day with purchasing decisions. More often than not, traditional marketing channels will not have much influence. Our job as businesses is to divert the level of saturation and get that competitive edge through innovative technology solutions, investing in our people. Always looking for ways to improve conversion while decreasing lead response time. Maintaining a certain level of omnipresence on the market and wherever your potential clients are has become the only way to stay relevant.