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Best Practices in Lead Management
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No one would argue that leads are important. In fact, many businesses and independent entrepreneurs spend considerable time networking, prospecting and otherwise trying to drum up leads. The problem is that most research indicates that leads are simply not well developed. Many potential customers wait by the phone for someone to contact them, while professionals pursue a very narrow range of very likely leads. Some research studies indicate that much business is lost because information about leads is simply not forwarded to the correct person at the right time. What is needed, obviously, is better lead management that would not only uncover new leads, but would also organize and nurture those leads so that they became paying customers and eventually return customers.
Lead Management is not Just a System
While there are many software programs and computer systems that promise to automate lead management, most marketers agree that lead management begins way before a good program. It begins with a philosophy. Best practices in lead management obviously need to include pursuing leads. However, businesses also need to do much more than just network and advertise. They need to spend more time on lead management and nurturing than just generating. Generating alone is not the activity that produces the profit. It is converting a lead into a customer that creates actual conversion and actual revenue. The first thing that businesses need to realize, then, is that more time and effort needs to be dedicated to cultivating leads, not just gathering them endlessly.
Working Online Leads
The second thing that companies need to take to heart is that every potential lead - whether that lead is online or in person - needs to be cultivated. That means follow-up calls, emails and contact. An automated follow-up processes is best, because it allows employees to have a clear vision of what they should be doing with a lead. Knowing what the next best step is allows employees to focus on doing and automating the process takes much of the guesswork out. It doesn't hurt that a clear process cuts down on mistakes that let potential customers slip through the cracks.
How Many Leads?
Most experts agree that when it comes to online leads, most professionals should try to aim for 100 or less. Those who try to manage more than that individually, generally get overwhelmed and end up under-performing. Even though companies want to be as cost-effective as possible, the best thing to do is to hire employees that are more able when individuals start to have to manage too much. In fact, research suggests that most salespeople and brokers do best when they have between 80 and 100 leads. Salespeople and brokers should also be taught persistence. One reason why juggling this number of leads is important is because the length of follow-up processes is longer with the Internet. Whereas before customers would spend a week shopping for a big-ticket purchase such as a car, that time is now stretched out to 60 or even 90 days. With 80 to 100 leads it allows brokers and salespeople to close some sales regularly while also still being able to offer personalized attention to each potential customer. |
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