Top Seven tips for successful lead follow-up

In an ideal world whenever you got a sales lead they would be ready to buy at the same time! However we all know that is not the case otherwise we would we would always follow-up straightaway. So whilst someone in the marketing department has sweated blood to produce a high quality lead, to the recipient maybe it’s just another email. So should as much effort be expended on following up the lead as it was in creating it in the first place? You bet it should! Hot leads cool very quickly. Luke warm leads may only be luke warm by virtue of timing rather than intent. The potential buyer is not ready now but will be in 3 months.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                So what should you do with every lead you acquire? Well follow-up all of them immediately is the obvious answer.

But we came across a post by Patricio Robles (a tech reporter at Econsultancy) who has compiled a list of 7 tips. You can read the post here:-

For companies looking to drive business online, lots of time and money is invested in lead generation. But what happens when the leads start flowing in?

Unfortunately, it’s easy to perform reverse alchemy on leads, taking a golden lead and turning it into lead. What’s worse: oftentimes, this happens almost immediately.

The good news: it doesn’t have to be this way. Successfully following up on a lead and starting the process that will take it to a sale doesn’t have to be a trying and disappointing process.

Here are seven tips for following up on leads effectively.

1. Strike while the iron is hot

In many cases, a lead is an asset that depreciates in value very, very rapidly. As such, it’s worth trying to respond to qualified leads as soon as humanly possible because your response time will often determine whether you close a sale or lose a sale you could have easily closed.

2. Read the lead

Common sense: it’s important to read a lead so that you know who you’re dealing with and what your opportunity may be. Fact: this doesn’t always happen. To avoid looking unprepared or lazy, it can help to create a checklist that your inbound marketers use as part of the lead follow-up process.

3. Have the right person respond

To make the most of a lead, ensure that the person best capable of following up on it is the person who responds. While new prospects may necessarily have to deal with several people throughout the sales cycle, it is often desirable to ensure that their first point of contact is someone they can start to build a rapport, if not a relationship, with.

4. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone

Thanks to technology, phone calls are more and more infrequent for many individuals, particularly younger members of the workforce. But the phone is still a powerful sales tool and if your lead contains a phone number, make a habit of picking up the phone and dialing it.

5. Get on the same page

When speaking with a prospect, walk before you run. Even if your lead came with a lot of detail, it’s important to confirm that you have a good understanding of what the prospect needs and haven’t made any assumptions that could unnecessarily limit your opportunity, or ruin it altogether.

6. Set expectations and timeframes

In just about every aspect of sales and business, expectations are everything and it’s never too early to set them. If an initial conversation with a lead confirms that there’s an opportunity, take control. Once you’re on the same page with the customer and understand her needs, you should at a minimum lay out what you think the sales cycle will look like. This includes proposing dates for key milestones.

7. Always respond

Not all leads are created equal. Some, unfortunately, are less-than-desirable for a variety of reasons. But provided that the individual who submitted the lead is a real person, a response should always be provided. Not only can this help maintain your reputation in the marketplace, it could ensure that you’re kept in mind for future opportunities that may be a better fit.