Best Practices for Following up with Leads

The marketing funnel is incomplete without leads. In fact, leads are the main focus of the sales strategy. Without having access to properly qualified leads, the whole strategy and marketing funnel tumbles.

You can’t rely on chance or fortune to bring business. You have to strategize your game plan and create a roadmap that takes you across. Planning out the activities of the sales funnel and fostering leads is the only way to gain reliable consumers that add value to your business.

However, gaining and nurturing leads is not necessarily an easy task. It requires continuous attention and time. It can also be challenging based on the industry and consumer segment you’re targeting.

In order to make the process more efficient and worthwhile of your efforts, you need to make a strategy and then stick to it.

Below we’ve shed light on some practices for following up with leads. Adding them to your plant may help in gaining more valuable customers at the end.

Make a Follow Up Schedule

Consistency and timely follow ups are necessary to retain and nurture leads further. Don’t leave it up to chance to gain a customer. Many salespeople don’t spend enough time setting up a schedule determining when to contact which potential lead.

At the end of the day, the goal is to maintain an appropriate follow up. Whether they are ready to make a deal or they want more time to make up their mind, you still need to catch up with them to let you know you’re interested.

The schedule depends on whether the lead is active or passive. Map out the frequency of the communications based on how interested a lead is.

Use Different Forms of Contact

Besides email, there are many ways you can reach out to leads. Using different ways is important because various clients respond at different rates and prefer different forms of communication.

You can use email, phone, snail mail, text messages, social media, etc. The goal is to reach the lead promptly and get their response to queries as soon as possible.

The following statistics might be of help:

• Only 20% of the emails are opened
• 98% of text messages are opened and read
• 29% of tweets are read
• 12% of Facebook posts are read

In addition to that, contact leads at the right time. According to an MIT study, the best day to call or email somebody is on a Thursday, between 3 and 4pm. The worst day for calling is a Tuesday and Monday for emailing.

Contacting at the right time will increase the likelihood of you getting a response from the lead.

Make an Email Template

The best way to cut time and be more efficient when following up with leads is to use pre-made email templates. Instead of wasting a lot of time on having to write up an email from scratch each time of contact can be time-consuming.

Having a template makes it easy to just insert relevant information and click send. This is especially important for routine emails or repetitive emails that can be sent to all leads with minimal customization and personalization.

For instance, you can have templates for initial introductions, meeting confirmations, post-meeting follow ups, document requests, etc. They can be edited to adjust names, dates, times, and documents.

Invest in a Good CRM System

A customer relationship management system is key for the sales team. If it is used properly and regularly, it can make the job easier and much more efficient. It will automate processes, allowing you to track lead actively and save time.

Reputable CRMs offer lead management system where you can track actual contact attempts along with details such as the lead’s contact information and the details of the contact.It will also allow the sales team to use call down lists and then schedule the next batches accordingly.

Agree on Next Steps

Lastly, agree on what needs to be accomplished. If the lead shows absolutely no interest and wants you to stop contacting them, do it. By being persistent with this type of lead can actually damage a good contact for the future.

With leads that are interested, set up a schedule such as a meeting date or next email/call. Also, ask for their permission for following up after a certain time period. This way, you can build respect and a good rapport between the lead and the company.

Lead nurturing is essential to keep an influx of valuable customers. If you have questions about improving your follow up strategy, you can contact Print and Web Designer at 919-891-0545 or email us at