Don’t Waste My Time Making Me Wait

I was online the other day, on a SaaS provider’s website looking to purchase a solution.

I was interested in getting a demo of their service, so I signed up using their book a demo form, adding in all of my contact details as well as the information about my business they requested.

I pressed submit, and then I waited to get a reply.

And waited.

And waited some more.

I ended up getting an email response a full day later, which in online terms feels like ages.

We are in the day and age where if a website doesn’t load in 2 seconds, people bail!

So timing online is of the essence, and getting back to individuals quickly is paramount.

Timing online is of the essence, and getting back to your leads quickly is paramount

Get Back To Your Signups Immediately

Nearly every company has a contact us page on their website, and on these contact pages, there is a form that people can submit a request for information.

When people submit forms, they expect to hear back from you right away.

Think about it this way — if they are in the second stage of the buyer’s journey, the consideration stage, they are contemplating between many different companies by this point.

For the most part, they are not just submitting a form on your website alone, they are submitting a form on other company’s websites too.

How would it look to them if one of your competitors calls them back faster than you do?

Who do you think now has set the bar and standards in their minds about the service, pricing, and quality? Not you that’s for sure.

For you to appear more professional vs. your competitors, you have to get back to them right away.

That does wonders to help you get into your prospects good books by being the first one to get back to them.

Call People Back Don’t Just Email Them

Emailing someone back is more economical, scalable, and efficient, I get it, but that phone call back does so much more than you think.

It takes you and your business to another level of authority that makes you stand out from the crowd.

Like I have said it before, you have to be different, and if your competitors are emailing, then you are calling.

You always need to find a way to stand taller than them to get noticed in your industry as the leader.

The last thing you want to do when someone is moving down the buyer’s journey is to get lazier. This is your golden opportunity to stand up and prove why the prospect should be doing business with you.

Get out of the habit of just sending canned responses back to your prospects by email.

Pick up the phone and get them on the line right away. And if they don’t answer, leave them a voicemail, that way they know you made an effort and you called them back.

Then call them again a couple of hours later or until you reach them. Remember, they contacted you, they are a warm lead, so don’t miss out on an opportunity to show them why your company is the one they should be doing business with.

Unreal Stats On Lead Retention After 5 Minutes

The stats I am about to show you are jaw dropping.

In a study put together by LeadResponseManagement.org using data from the InsideSales.com system, you increase your contact rates by 900% if you call prospects back within the first five minutes of them contacting you through your web form.

Your odds of qualifying a lead in a matter of 5 minutes versus 30 minutes drop a mind boggling 21 times.

It’s nuts!

The first five minutes after you get a contact form or a demo request is crucial.

Your sales team should be on the phones like rabbits dialing that person back.

Calling to contact a lead decreases by over 10 times just in the first hour alone.

And the sad fact is that after 20 hours after the lead submits the web form, every additional time your salesperson calls works against you and hurts their ability to make contact to qualify a lead

And this is the problem I faced. I wasn’t contacted back for a near 24 hours later.

Don’t take this lightly, the first five minutes are critical, and don’t make excuses that it can’t be done because it can. And if you care about your business, you need to find ways to make it happen.

Let People Book Appointments With You Online

A way to help you save yourself from losing a lead is to offer on the spot online appointment bookings.

This is bar-none one of the most efficient ways to get a lead through your door.

When they want to book a demo with you, they can access your online calendar where they can choose a day and time that works for them, and you.

This way they are penciled in right away and your sales team didn’t even have to lift a finger to do it.

Set up an account on Calendly, which has a great system for taking consulting and meeting requests online, and it will take the users information and book them in right away

Accept online appointments, so people know at least that they have scheduled an appointment with someone to speak to a real human being at a given time.

Final Thoughts

When I signed up for a demo, I honestly felt that I should have gotten a callback. I even expected that callback to come that same afternoon.

Heck, I was booking a demo request, I was a solid lead.

But I didn’t hear back right away, and by the time I had received an email back the next day, I had already shopped around at other vendors.

Businesses crave warm leads, who doesn’t.

And when you have someone at your doorstep asking to be invited in, but then you show them the garage door on the side of the house, they may as well take their business elsewhere.

Don’t miss out on such low-hanging fruit like this. These leads are valuable to your businesses future growth.

Nurture these people, and they will give you a lot more return than you would have ever expected.

Have you had a similar experience? Tell me in the comments section below, I would love to hear about what you think is the best way to get back to your leads.