Capture Sales Leads and React Effectively
Ask the right questions.
When a new lead is captured through your web site requesting your company’s services it is important to consider how much or how little information you require to know before engaging the potential client. Be sure to ask for vital information up front, it is important to know who their point person or decision maker is for this potential project. Have your sales lead state what the problem is that they are looking to solve or processes in which the hope to improve upon. Consider capturing with your online forms whether or not they have established a budget and if they have considered a time frame. Inquire to know what their products and services are? You can also learn more about there company by knowing who their immediate industry competitors are. In order to improve the success rate for a complete form submission you should avoid asking questions that might be of a technical nature or irrelevant to their over all needs.
Offer a Free Consultation.
An initial consultation in most cases should be a free service to your potential clients be sure to project this belief within your marketing materials. Time is money, so try not invest no more than thirty minutes in research time and an hour directly engaging the client. Once a sales lead has submitted their information the potential client should get immediate feedback within the web page acknowledging that their submission has been captured successfully and what the anticipated turn around time for a consultation might be. Avoid using terms like sales associate or sales person, try using terms like consultant or specialist, the client will feel more like there going to be engaged by someone with a greater background of field experience and would be less likely subjected to a pushy sales pitch. An auto-responder is critical to keep the ball rolling while you investigate the lead. An auto-responder should reflect your company’s branding, have an appropriate subject heading and provide a copy of their form submission, the submission should also have the complete contact information for your business. Furthermore, being able to post this captured information dynamically to a database is ideal for following up and following through with a sales lead. Have these records accessible when you attempt to contact the lead direct.
Know Your Facts.
Invest a predetermined amount of time into gathering your facts based off the initial form submission. Qualify your lead, be sure that your the right solution for the client, otherwise be ready to offer up alternative solutions or suggest turning over the lead to a qualified affiliate. This case scenario can improve your networking circle and you might still be able to profit from the experience as a consultant or benefit from a lead referral commission. Write up a list of potential questions you might have in order to be able to moderate an engaging experience, make your first impression a lasting impression. Following up on a sales lead is always a time sensitive matter. Always keep in mind that a qualified lead is shopping out your competitors as well.
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