Savvy Tips For Following Up With Sales Leads

In order to convert leads into sales, you need to follow up with them. Period. Exclamation point. We cannot stress the importance of following up with your leads.

But, following up with sales leads requires more than just sending them an email or leaving them a voicemail. It takes a little more finesse than that. Actually, a lot more finesse. 

The Key to Lead Conversion 

Following up with sales leads is the key to converting them into paying customers. But, did you know that it can take up to five follow-ups with a lead to convert them into a sale? 

According to Marketing Donut, multiple studies were conducted on this by different research companies over the course of several years, and they all came to the same conclusion: A whopping “80% of sales happen after at least five follow-ups.” In fact, only “2% of sales occur after the first time” a prospect connects with your company or sales team.

And, this means that 80% of sales leads will say, “Thanks, but no thanks,” to your sales spiel four times before saying, yes. 

And, the kicker is, according to Marketing Donut, “92% of sales people give up after four “no’s”, and only 8%” go for that fifth follow-up. 

So, yes, following up is vital. But, it has to be done right. Here are some tips we think will help you close those sales. 

9 Savvy Tips for Following Up With Sales Leads

1. Make sure you know where your leads are in the sales funnel.

In order to send your leads communication that won’t turn them off, you need to make sure you know where they are in your sales funnel, so you can adjust your messaging accordingly. This means you need to segment them into the three categories of:

• Hot Leads
• Warm Leads
• Cold Leads

2. Don’t wait too long to respond to their initial contact.

When someone fills out your site’s contact form, gives your business a call, or sends your company an email, you need to make sure you respond in a timely manner. This means you need to get in touch with the lead within 12-24 hours. 

3. Optimize different channels to communicate with your leads.

Gone are the days of just calling or emailing your leads. Nowadays, you need to reach people where they are. This means texting them as well. Some companies even leverage social media to reach out to their leads. If that’s an appropriate channel for your business, it might be worth looking into. HubSpot suggests utilizing LinkedIn if both your brand and your lead have a presence there. 

4. Pace your subsequent follow ups. 

Yes, you should reach out to your leads at least five times, but that doesn’t mean you need to bombard them with five contact attempts in a week. You need to pace your follow-ups and find a balance between being annoying and making them think you’ve forgotten about them. Because if the latter happens, they might seek out your competition. 

Consider spreading your follow-ups out over the course of a month at the very least. To get an even more accurate frequency, look back at some of your other sales  communications and see how long it took to turn those leads into customers. Maybe you need to spread your follow-ups out over the course of three months. Maybe six. 

You can also even ask your lead when a good time to follow up again would be. If you have just given them a bunch of information on your product or service, consider asking them when they’d like you to reach back out. You want to give them enough time to read through what you have given them and formulate any questions they might have. 

5. Make sure your follow-ups are personalized. 

Don’t just send your leads a generic email. Make sure it’s tailored to them. For instance, if they asked a specific question when filling out your site’s contact form, make sure you answer that question instead of just sending them a generic email telling them more about your business. You can even send your leads emails based on the different pages of your website they have visited. Think about Amazon. How often do you get emails from them about products you “might” be interested in? And, don’t forget to use their name in any texts or emails you send.

6. Provide them with useful information. 

Think of every follow up with a lead as a chance to nurture your relationship. When you do reach out, provide information that will show them how your products or services can solve their challenges. Ask them if they have any questions. Offer to answer their questions. WordStream suggests sending them useful information, like relevant: 

• Blog posts
• Videos
• Infographics
• Statistics
• E-books
• Case studies 

7. Don’t be too salesly.

When you follow up with your leads, make it clear you are there for them. Offer to answer questions or walk them through any demos your company offers. The trick is to be helpful, not salesy. 

8. Keep follow-up emails short and sweet.

If you are following up via email, keep it short and sweet. HubSpot suggests keeping follow up emails short and to the point, which means no longer than “six lines in total length.” And, if you connect to a lead via the phone, keep your call to ten ten minutes. 

9. Know when to fold ‘em.

In the words of the late great Kenny Rogers, “You gotta know when to fold ’em.” Sometimes it’s just not meant to be. So, it’s important to know when to let it go and stop following up with a lead. Sometimes it’s easy to tell when to stop contacting them, like when a lead unsubscribes from your company’s communications. They clearly aren’t interested. Or, if they haven’t responded to any of your five calls, texts, or emails, it might be time to back off.

According to WordStream, contacting leads after they have rejected your efforts, can actually “harm your business reputation.” Plus, it takes a lot of time and effort. Time and effort you can be putting into the leads that are actually interested in your business. 

Let EmoryDay Handle Your Lead Generation!

We can handle your lead generation efforts, so all you have to do is follow up with your leads! EmoryDay is a full-service digital marketing agency, and our team of marketing experts can help increase your sales leads.

Get in touch with us to set up your 30-day free trial. Or, if you have any questions about our digital marketing services, just fill out our contact form or give us a call at (866) 407-2075. 

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Sources

https://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/sales/sales-strategy/why-you-must-follow-up-leads

How to Follow Up With Sales Leads: 8 Best Practices to Land More Clients

https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/sales-follow-up-infographic