Be Quick, but Don’t HurrySometimes a Rushed Response Can Waste Time and Money

By Chris Edwards
The AdTrack Corporation
www.smartlead.com

Marketers and sales managers agree that a speedy response to an inquiry is more likely to result in a sale. The early bird gets the worm, right? Well, not exactly. A rushed response can waste a company's resources if a sales person immediately jumps on the phone the minute the inquiry comes in. There is a tremendous difference between being "quick" to respond and "hurrying" to simply react to an inquiry. Here's a real life example that demonstrate why "hurrying" isn't always a plus and tips to avoid wasting your company's money by pursuing non-qualified leads.

Web Search Uncovers a Free Offer

Recently, our company's marketing director conducted a Web search to more closely examine news in the lead management industry. In her search she stumbled upon a Web landing page that offered a download of an appealing free white paper about lead response times for Web-generated leads.

The offer's Web landing page contained only information about the white paper's content and little clues about the company making the offer. The landing page said the study was conducted on behalf of a well-known business management consulting firm and what looked like a Web site for a sales-related magazine.

Although she wasn't sure who published the white paper, she was still interested in it, so she completed the online registration form. As is normal practice for lead generation registration forms for downloads of free white papers, her phone number and email address were required, as well as the name of our company, AdTrack.

Immediately after hitting the form's "Submit" button she received a personalized email from a sales person for the Web site that offered the white paper. But, hmmm, she was bewildered. After reading the auto-generated email she was surprised to discover that the website was not the Web home of a magazine about sales but actually a company that sells a lead management CRM software suite. "Huh? The company contacted me even though they offer a product that peripherally competes with our company's lead management services," she thought. Surely, they wouldn't continue to follow-up. Wrong.

Free Offer Results in Speedy Sales Call – from a Competitor

Imagine her surprise when two minutes after receiving the email she also received a call from the sales person, who left a voice mail message touting the features of their lead management software system. "Why would he bother to call me when my company is also in the lead management business? Didn't he research the inquirer? Doesn't his lead management system filter out competitors? Didn't he at least Google our company name to find out what we do?" she wondered.

"Well," she thought, "the email said the company prides itself on being responsive, after all part of their software suite measures ‘responsiveness' to inquiries."

Not So Fast

Reactive, yes, they are. It's clear that the company follows a set formula to contact an inquirer within a few minutes of an inquirer hitting the Web page. But the company or its sales team hasn't researched the inquirer or put any automated screening processes in place to see if it's worth their money, time and resources to call this inquirer. And they haven't set up rules to filter out competitors from clogging their lead management system.

The point is that reacting quickly is admirable and desirable. But remember, it's not how fast a sales person contacts an inquirer; it's whether or not the sales person is contacting the right inquirer at the right time.

Tips to Contact Only the "Right" Prospects

Here are tips to ensure that your company's marketing and sales resources aren't wasted and are clearly focused on following up with the right inquirers:

1. Qualify the inquiries before a sales person makes initial contact. Let a call center contact the inquirer to research the inquirer's needs, or utilize an automated process to screen the leads based on submitted information. Funnel only the most qualified leads to your sales team. This method is more cost-efficient than having a higher paid sales person make the initial call.

2. Filter out competitors. Your sales team doesn't need to spend their time chasing competitors. Implement triggers in your lead management system to toss out competitors before their contact information gets to the sales team.

3. Establish rules for lead follow-up. Setting up rules and guidelines for what actually constitutes a good lead for your company takes time up front, but in the long run it saves more time and money. What characteristics should a company have in order for your sales team to follow-up? These might include: revenue thresholds, number of employees or the date of the inquirer's anticipated purchase.

4. Don't hide who you are. If you're proud of your brand and who you are, why hide it when you make an offer? Revealing who you are to inquirers will increase the likelihood that only the right people will respond and reduce the number of non-qualified inquirers. Additionally, hiding who you are only diminishes the trust people will have in your brand.