Why a Fast Lead Response Time Is Crucial for Sales
Before the internet, people more or less had to rely on the businesses in their area. If businesses nearby were out of stock, or booked, you were out of luck.
Now, we live in a world of bounty. There are dozens, hundreds, perhaps thousands of competitors for most products and services that we can access in a matter of seconds through our computer or phone. If one website has something out of stock, you can easily go to another website.
Because of these elevated expectations, it's a far less forgiving world for businesses than it once was. Time is of the essence. If you can't meet a customer's needs instantly, they'll leave and find another business who can.
With this in mind, we'll explore five ways in which swiftly responding to leads - that is, taking calls and inquiries to convert interested visitors into paying customers via sales meetings - can help generate more qualified leads and increase sales for your business.
How to Calculate Lead Response Time
You calculate average lead response time like this:
- Take the total amount of time between lead creation and first response for all leads.
- Divide this amount by the number of leads.
- This gets you the lead response time for a sales team member.
- To get the average lead response time for the sales team, add up each sales team member's lead response time and divide that by the number of team members.
Let's do some math to illustrate this concept:
Over the past week, Chris had 4 leads and Tucker had 2 leads.
Chris
Lead 1: 7 mins
Lead 2: 4 mins
Lead 3: 11 mins
Lead 4: 2 mins
7 + 4 + 11 + 2 = 24 mins.
24 mins / 4 leads = 6 mins/lead, or an average lead response time of 6 minutes.
Tucker
Lead 1: 5 mins
Lead 2: 6 mins
Lead 3: 4 mins
5 + 6 + 4 = 15 mins
15 mins / 3 leads = 5 mins/lead, or an average lead response time of 5 minutes
Sales Team Average
6 mins/lead + 5 mins/lead = 11 mins/lead
11 / 2 team members = 5.5 mins/lead, or an average lead response time of 5.5 minutes.
Keep track of these numbers per sales rep and per sales team, the goal being to get them as low as possible to increase the likelihood they'll convert into a customer.
5 Ways to Achieve Better Customer Response Rate
Automate your response
If you're not leveraging the power of automation to speed up your lead response time and streamline other business processes, you'll quickly be surpassed by the businesses that are.
Use scheduling software - like any of these when2meet alternatives - to capture leads from all channels by setting up automatic responses with integrated calendars. This will allow your leads to book an appointment and get more info even outside business hours.
Don't fall by the wayside; embrace new AI-powered automation tools to streamline customer support, data acquisition, outreach, and more.
Optimize your lead capture forms
Customers will want to leave their contact information in your lead capture forms on your landing page when there are clear and compelling reasons to do so.
Here's the best practices for your lead capture forms:
- Keep it short: Limit the number of fields on the form to only the essential information you need to capture. The fewer fields there are, the more likely people are to fill out the form.
- Be clear and specific: Use clear and specific language to describe what the form is for and what information you need. This will help people understand the purpose of the form and what they will get in return for filling it out.
- Make it easy to read: This should go without saying, but you should use a clean and simple design that is easy to read on both desktop and mobile devices. Make sure the form is well-organized and that the labels and fields are aligned.
- Use progressive profiling: If you absolutely need more information, make sure to use progressive profiling. This is where you ask for more information as the lead progresses through the funnel, this way you don't overload them with too much information at once.
Create a sense of urgency
Encourage customers to take action IMMEDIATELY rather than waiting. Every moment a customer spends deliberating or thinking "I'll sign up next time" is an opportunity wasted.
You've heard it on all those infomercials - CALL NOW! Limited time offer! It's popular because it works. The psychological power of the scarcity effect - especially as it pertains to marketing - is well-documented.
Consider including a limited-time offer, emphasizing the limited availability of a product or service, or highlighting the potential benefits of acting quickly.
Use multiple channels
You need to communicate with customers through a variety of different mediums, such as email, SMS, and social media. This is key because it allows you to reach customers wherever they are, in a way that is most convenient for them.
By providing multiple channels for customers to reach out, such as through a support account on twitter or a 24/7 chatbot, you can further increase the chances of customers reaching out when they have an issue or question.
With unified branding across multiple platforms, you'll have more avenues to attract leads to your landing page.
Make it easy to act
Provide simple instructions for customers to follow when they want to take action, such as making a purchase or requesting a refund. Even some of the industry titans don't always get this right. This is important because it reduces friction and makes it more likely that customers will follow through with their intended action.
A streamlined process also helps to reduce the number of customers who give up and go to a competitor. Like all the other tips, the end goal here is increased customer engagement and satisfaction, which leads to a better customer response rate.
Takeaway: Put yourself in the customer's shoes
The throughline here is that in order to get more leads in the door and in order to convert more of them into customers, you need to put yourself in the customer's shoes. Think to yourself: "What would make my experience as easy, as frictionless as possible? How would I like to be treated?"
Easy-to-read, responsive forms that look great. Flawless customer service. Simple processes for purchases, returns, and scheduling appointments. Fast response times. It all comes down to creating a great customer experience.
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