When was the last time you evaluated your lead generation process—specifically, your lead follow-up? If it’s been a while since you’ve reviewed your sales strategies, it may be time to ask some crucial questions, such as:
You understand that lead generation doesn’t end after the first touch. Successful sales require strategic follow-up—often a significant lift for an already busy business development team.
To develop an effective lead follow-up strategy, you need to define:
If you have been assessing your lead gen strategy and are disappointed by metrics like your conversion rates, response rates, and return on investment, it’s time to shift your efforts.
That’s where partnering with an outsourced call center can help take this big task off your team’s plate. Sure, you can handle it internally, but is it best for your company? Let’s explore how handing off your lead follow-up to professionals who do this for a living can benefit your business and boost sales.
Particularly when it comes to B2B contact lists, following up with leads multiple times is what gets conversions. Your prospects simply need more time and nurturing! Take these compelling statistics that show the payoff of persistent lead follow-up:
Prospects aren’t always ready, but it doesn’t mean they’re not worth pursuing. They also want to get to know your brand and understand the value of your solution.
Of course, this all requires a lot of valuable time and energy from your team. That’s why many companies that outsource call centers enjoy higher productivity and success!
Now that you understand its importance, let’s look at seven of the best lead generation follow-up strategies.
As the stats above show, you never know what you’ll get with each lead until you speak to them! Every prospect has potential. Use your CRM to track leads daily and ensure they are followed up appropriately.
Be speedy with your follow-up! You’ll make a solid first impression by showing that you’re responsive. The Harvard Business Review found that companies that try to contact prospects within an hour of receiving inquiries are nearly 7x more likely to have meaningful conversations with key decision-makers than those that try to follow up even an hour later!
Use every lead follow-up to give thorough, straightforward answers to keep building the know, like, and trust factor. Continue creating value by reminding them how your product or service will help solve their problems, improve their lives, and achieve their goals. Ask follow-up questions about their other challenges. Prospects will appreciate that you value their time but still understand and respond to their needs.
Your consistent follow-up process with every prospect should include efforts to build a personal relationship. Make them feel seen and heard with thoughtful touches in each conversation or lead follow-up email. You’ll be more memorable by showing your human side and creating a strong rapport.
Use a combination of calls, emails, text messages, or whatever other methods work best for your ideal customer. Follow up each phone call with an email—this is also a great way to recap the main points from your conversation and note the next steps or additional questions.
Speaking of the next steps, you’ll want to end every follow-up correspondence by explaining to your client what happens next. Note what you need from them and what they can expect from you. Keep the process moving by booking the next meeting or giving them an action item.
One key point we can take away from the earlier mentioned stats: Hanging in there with lead follow-ups is VITAL! The sales process takes time. Prospects often need reminders and guidance to keep things progressing. Other times, their needs or situations change. You can be persistent without being pushy by maintaining a friendly, authentic approach that puts the client’s needs first.
All of the above best practices are time-consuming—but your employees don’t necessarily have to shoulder them! Your business can partner with an outbound call center that can conduct your lead generation and follow-up marketing much more efficiently and effectively.
Hiring the right provider is more manageable than it sounds, too. You can find the best fit for your business and budget and experience tremendous ROI. The benefits include:
When you consider the extensive process of lead generation and follow-up, the benefits of outsourcing far outweigh the outsourced call center cost!
If your business is not using a strategic lead follow-up process or working with a call center outsourcing company, you could be losing significant opportunities and revenue. It could be the make or break point for getting your business to that next level.
So, you understand that speedy, consistent, and persistent lead follow-up is essential. Will you be measuring and reviewing your company’s lead gen? Or maybe you have already, but you realize your team simply doesn’t have the bandwidth to manage it successfully. It may be time to hand it off to the pros—and start closing more sales!
Are you ready to take the next step toward growing your business? Discover how seamless and profitable working with an outsourced call center can be! Reach out to learn more about Chameleon Group’s services.
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