Cold & Warm Calling Sales Question:
“How many attempts should a sales rep make to contact a lead? Our leads come from various sources including conferences, website visits, webinars, Google AdWords, LinkedIn etc. How many times do you call a lead before sending an email? How many times do you call a lead before you consider them “exhausted” and put them into the marketing “fish bowl” for email campaigns? Also, do you really believe leaving voice mails work?”
Answer:
Ok we have several questions wrapped up into one here, so let’s break it down.
QUESTION 1: How many times do you call a lead before sending an email?
Answer: Why not send an email after the very first call attempt? If you made contact with the prospect, a quick email after the sales call recapping what was agreed to and what the next steps are to be and when you are to speak again just makes sense. If you got their voicemail, sending an email with the subject line: VOICEMAIL is almost guaranteed to getting it read and as long as you left the proper voicemail message and have the right message in your email, your responses will climb dramatically.
QUESTION 2: How many times do you call a lead before you consider them “exhausted” and put them into the marketing “fish bowl” for email campaigns?
Answer: This will depend on several factors such as the source of the lead, the potential opportunity size and the role of the person you are seeking.
Example:
If a CEO of a large company with a world wide inside sales team attended one of my webinars and requested to be contacted, I will make more attempts to connect with this prospect than I would an individual sales rep of a small company who also attended the same webinar and asked to be contacted.
Time is our number one threat to our livelihoods as it waits for no one and so we have to respect it and make decisions that will get us the best results. In short, there is no one-specific answer other than to take in and consider other factors before deciding how many attempts you should or should not make.
As far as the “fish-bowl” comment, I assume you are referring to a strategic drip-marketing campaign. My question is, “Why wait to start a drip campaign”?
If done right – meaning: you aren’t bombarding the prospect – an effective drip-marketing campaign can be used in conjunction with your outbound sales call efforts.
QUESTION 3: Also, do you really believe leaving voice mails work?
Answer: As opposed to what? Making a sales call and then just hanging up? Before you do that again, remember this:
You miss 100% of the shots you never take!
If your callbacks from voicemail messages are below your satisfactory level, the problem isn’t voicemail; it’s the message you are leaving on voicemail. And if your voicemail message is off, I’m willing to bet your opening value statement (what you say after “Hello, My name is…”) is off as well. And if that’s the case, it won’t matter how many times you call the prospect if what you say makes them respond with “No, Thanks”, “Not Interested” or “We’re All Set” responses when you finally do connect.
By Michael Pedone
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