Jonathan Diaz Explains How Fast Is Fast Enough When Following-Up With Sales Leads

Most people working in sales and marketing understand that time is of the essence when it comes to following up on a prospective lead. However, not all realize just how fast they need to enact that follow up.

While they may recognize that waiting a week is probably a bad idea, they tend to believe that as long as they follow up within a day or so of the lead expressing an interest in their company, service or product, that would give them a good chance of success. This is a misconception that Jonathan Diaz, entrepreneur and CEO of Rocket Dyno is here to dispel.

“Leads are people who’ve expressed an interest in an organization and who needs the products or services that the organized produces.” Diaz explains.

“Following up on those leads is essential to convert them into paying customers, persuading them to make a purchase that solves their problems. However, the typical answer to the question ‘how quickly should leads be followed up on?’ tends to be ‘as soon as possible’. That simply isn’t good enough. Sales professionals and marketers need to know how fast is fast enough, and that’s something I’m here to discuss.”

Solutions Are Just A Click Away

Gone are the days when consumers had to physically trail around stores comparing prices and researching solutions to meet their needs in person. Thanks to the power of the internet, solutions to any problem can be found in minutes and are just a single click away.

Add into the picture the wealth of competition out there in the online marketplace, and it becomes clear that speed couldn’t be more essential when it comes to following up on those prospective leads.

Response time has proven to be absolutely instrumental these days when it comes to closing sales. A recent survey revealed that over half of all companies failed to follow up on leads within at least 5 days, and when the response time is delayed by this length of time, it leaves competitors with all the opportunity in the world to strike while the iron is hot, leading to lost sales.

“Although a lot of marketers and salespeople out there will be reading this and thinking – ‘5 days! I’d never wait that long!’ it’s imperative for them to realize that even shorter delays can still result in sales lost to rivals.” Diaz points out.

Average Lead Response Times Are Shockingly Poor

In a recent survey of 700 different companies about lead response times, the outcomes were quite shocking. Under 5% of the companies followed up on leads within a day and the average response time came in at almost 37 hours. Almost half of the companies failed to respond to leads at all!

“Clearly, these statistics represent interesting reading.” Diaz says, “for companies who are dedicated to following up on leads rapidly, it’s great news. They can really get ahead of their competitors by simply following up in a timely manner. However, it’s essential that these companies don’t rest on their laurels. The early bird truly does catch the worm. This is something that we can confidently say about sales!”

He emphasizes that, although most companies that choose to follow up on sales within a 24-hour period will experience far more benefits than those that delay or, of course, fail to respond at all, the faster that companies follow-up on leads, the more likely they are to win the sale.

“Why wait a day when you can follow up in minutes?” He says, “That’s the true way to win customers.”

The 5 Minute Rule

Evidence has shown that leads are an impressive 21 times more likely to turn into customers if they receive a follow up within a 5 minute period. Responding to leads while they’re still in researching and purchasing mode is the best way to achieve your sales goals. The longer the time lag before getting in touch, the odds of the lead qualifying decrease exponentially.

“If you wait just 30 minutes after the initial contact, you’ll find that the chance of that lead qualifying drops by over a fifth.” Diaz says, “and worse, if you wait 60 minutes, you’re very likely to lose that lead entirely. Is that something that you really want to risk?”

How To Maximize Follow Up Potential

It’s clear, then, that following up with those leads within that 5 minute period is imperative, but there’s more to maximizing follow-up potential than that.

“Most salespeople will only make two attempts on average to follow leads up.” Diaz says. “Yet, it’s been proven over and over again that persistence is essential in marketing. It often takes several phone calls or emails for leads to become sales.”

That’s why he believes that the long-term approach is vital for success, and that’s something he has put into practice with his company, Rocket Dyno.

Rocket Dyno takes all the hard work out of following up on leads by providing an entire marketing team, 24/7 long-term lead nurturing over 6 months, and real human agents instead of bots or auto-dialers for a simpler and more effective approach.

“It’s the most affordable and most efficient way to generate and nurture leads,” Diaz says, “and because we follow up quickly, we can boost conversions by almost 400%.”

Now that’s something that every company can appreciate!