Increase Sales Conversion - The Importance of Web Leads

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Increase Sales Conversion - The Importance of Web Leads

In the trenches, I often find Sales Teams have no confidence in web-generated leads. Rumor in the ranks is that these aren’t serious prospects. A recent experience convinced me that this belief is a byproduct of poor lead ranking and slow response time.  

I needed to make a major purchase in a short timeframe.  I researched online, spoke with colleagues, and compared solutions. At 4 PM on a Monday afternoon I’d narrowed my options to three vendors and requested information online- it was late in the day and I wanted to get the ball rolling.  I fully completed each request with identical comments outlining my interest and time frame for purchase.  Each website claimed I’d get a response within one business day.

Within a half hour, I received my first call; I was still at my desk with notes at my fingertips and comparisons fresh in my mind.  John was knowledgeable about his product, applications, and competitors.  

The other vendors responded to my request on three days later.  The first left a voicemail responding to a request for information made yesterday. After five calls, two messages, and one email from him, I responded by email that I’d changed my mind. The final vendor emailed a proposal and followed-up with a call; but by then I had an established relationship with John.  

For two of the three vendors, I went from a high-potential prospect to a low-value lead before I was contacted.  

Consider these findings of an InsideSales.com/MIT Study:

1. 1. Your odds of contacting a lead are 100 times better if you call within 5 minutes vs. calling within 30 minutes.
   2. Your odds of qualifying a lead are 21 times better if you call within 5 minutes vs. calling within 30 minutes.

 (http://www.leadresponsemanagement.org/mit_study)

Improve your success with web-generated leads by taking the following steps:

1. Institute real time notification of web leads to Reps
2. Initiate a policy of immediate response to web leads
3. Kick off the initiative with a contest

This is powerful data, but it's results that convince sales teams.  Get the team excited to work the leads using incentives, and make sure that quality web leads with authenticated contact information are dropped in their "immediate contact" funnel.  It's just possible you'll find some hidden treasure!