The Best Practice for Lead Response Management
James Oldroys, Ph.D, Ohio State University and David Elkington, CEO of InsideSales.com conducted the research which formed the basis of this article.
Background Study:
During this research, data spanning over three years were examined from lots of companies that responded to leads generated on the web. With over fifteen thousand (15,000) unique leads and well over a hundred thousand (100,000) attempted calls, the aim was to maximize the results achieved on the first call with minimal effort. The main focus was based on one question which is:
To obtain the best results, how should companies respond to their leads?
1. Best Days To Make Contact
This research reveals that the best days to make contacts is on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Wednesdays gave a success rates of 2,260, while Thursdays gave a success rates of 2,340. The difference being 49%.
2. Ideal Time To Make Contact
The best time to make contact is between 4pm and 6pm, while the next best time to make that call is between 8am and 9am. As compared to early afternoons (1pm – 2pm), late afternoons (4pm – 5pm) have a higher success rate with a significant difference of over 164%.
3. Response Time
The response time is the time lag between when a lead completes a web form and when that lead is contacted by a sales person. The recommended response time is 5 minutes. Increase in time difference significantly reduces the probability of conversion.
4. Persistence
Persistence is key here. Always make a minimum of six call attempts on leads. Some reps give up too early. Being result oriented is required here. A few more calls would make a striking difference.
5. Response Audit
This research provides some startling insights. In a bid to access response time of existing companies, false leads were used and the following were observed:
• Companies on the average make 1.5 call attempts.
• It takes 44 hours for the average company to respond to leads.
• Over 50% of companies do not respond at all.
It is observed from this analysis that companies miss business opportunities by defaulting in prompt response to leads.
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