What does your business do when someone asks to know more about your products or services? Is there a set process in place or have you never thought about it? Well, perhaps you should start thinking about the money your business is missing out on when you or someone else at your business fails to follow up with a potential lead. Here are our Top 5 Tips for contacting leads:
1. It’s estimated that around 75% of people who send emails or other communication to companies never hear anything back from them at all. So, just by having a set process in place by which someone in your company will follow up every possible lead, your business is actually ahead of the curve.
2. Assume that if someone is contacting you, they are not yet ready to buy. They may have nagging doubts or confusion about your products and services that you will have to clear up to their satisfaction before they decide to take the plunge.
3. It helps to gather as much information as possible about a potential lead. That’s why so many businesses ask customers to fill in a form rather than email directly – they can ask them to answer all manner of questions (such as where they first heard about your company) before their message gets through. If you decide to go down this path, make sure you don’t irritate the lead with so many questions and forms to fill in that they get frustrated and go away.
4. Find a way to manage and sort all of the data that comes in from potential leads, whether this is via CRM software or in a spreadsheet. Not all leads are created equal so you will want to separate the time-wasters from the potential buyers early on before you waste too much time on them.
5. Don’t forget about a lead just because the dialogue has ended. If they have opted-in to let you contact them, make sure you follow-up at a later date if you have company or product news to share with them.
