Speed, Process, and Persistence
There was a good post yesterday on Lead Critic called 3 Golden Rules of Lead Management. It starts with the realization that most lead buyers “do not always have the clearest idea as to what to do all the time.” He then explains his 3 golden rules of lead management. It is great to read posts like this that take a step back and look at the process of lead management from 30,000 feet view. It’s important to take this view occasionally; because when spending a lot of time looking at lead management from up close it’s possible to lose the forest for the trees. The Lead Critic 3 Golden Rules are:
Be Fast
Be Smart
Be Nurturing
The application of these rules is explored in the Lead Critic post (which is recommended reading). What’s more is that these rules and supporting techniques mesh very well three core principles around which Leads360 was built and around which Lead360 is continuously being refined.
Speed
Process
Persistence
According to Leads360’s analysis of 25 million data points, speed is the single most critical component to lead conversion. Conversion rates are 391% higher when the lead is called within a minute of their inquiry; 120% within two minutes; 98% in under three minutes; 62% in under 30 minutes; and 36% in under an hour.
Clearly, speed is important. But what about Process and Persistence? Leads360 research has revealed that lead quality is only a little better than half responsible for close rates. Lead conversion is determined 57% by lead quality and 43% by sales process. Who doesn’t love a one call close? But leads that don’t close quickly still have a high chance of closing and will be most likely to do so if a smart, strategic workflow is in place for working aging leads. A best practices workflow for your sales team is a great concept but it’s only a concept unless it’s enforceable, repeatable, and able to be refined. With Leads360 it is.
There are many examples of how following a strategic process results in higher close rates. Some elements of your process will be come from your own expertise. Other best practices are recommended Leads360: Developed from our research and analysis and programmed into the software for easy adoption. One such example is the Lead Prioritization feature. The rules that govern the prioritization of leads in Leads360 are based, among other things on Leads360’s six call strategy.
The six call strategy comes from an analysis of call patterns that have resulted in successful sales. Calling leads six times is the best way to achieve the highest conversion rates. The six call strategy automates effective lead follow-up by insuring not only that leads are called six times, but that they are called at strategic intervals.
Whether you’ve got three golden rules, or the three principles of Leads360 it’s good to have a few core concepts to guide you when you have one of those moments of “What should I do next?” It’s good to have a few good core concepts and even better to have tools that were built to help you incorporate those concepts into your workflow.