Converting Leads into Interested Parties
Posted by aonenetworks On September 18, 2012
Every inbound lead has the potential to become not only an excellent sale for your company, but a satisfied customer and a good testimony, too. And do you want to know the main reason many leads never turn into sales (and then repeat customers)? Follow-up. That’s it. Most companies don’t bother to follow up on their leads and thus don’t get the business they could have gotten. Over half of leads are never followed up on. You may think that following up is simple, but most – if not all – companies have trouble getting it down pat.
Here are a couple of essential steps in converting your leads into potential business and, eventually, happy customers.
Follow Up on ALL Leads
It doesn’t matter if it’s a lead that came from your website, a friend, or someone that signed a list for your event. The important part is that you follow up. Let’s treat every single lead you get as a scratch-off lottery ticket. Do you know what you’ve won before you grab a penny and scratch off the foil? Absolutely not. Even though most of the tickets wind up being duds, you don’t know that – and shouldn’t assume it – before you take a moment to scratch the surface.
Don’t Delay Answers
Some inbound leads are nothing more than an inquiry. “How does this service work?” “How can I find prices for these services?” And that’s all you get. You have to be responsive to these questions, and you need to respond quickly. But don’t give an incomplete answer because you’re rushing. Take the time to really write it out and explain the product in question to your customer. Make sure that, if you don’t get an answer back from them within a few days, that you follow up to that, too. Ask them if they’ve made any progress in their decision and if you can help them in any way.
