A lot of teams tell me that not having enough leads is their biggest issue and they want more leads. If they could just have more leads, they’d make more money. While having too many leads may seem like a good problem to have, here’s what I’ve found.
Generating leads is generally not the issue. Matter of fact, a bigger issue is how do we convert more of the opportunities that we have? Today, we have a variety of different lead sources. We have call capture systems—we call that IVR. We have leads that come from open houses and leads that result from working around our listings. There are so many leads that come in from so many sources. The challenge should never be, “I don’t have enough leads.” The challenge should always be, “What can I do to convert a higher rate of the leads that come in?”
The secret to being successful in lead conversion for teams is understanding the buyer’s preference and understanding where they are in respect to their timing. When are they ready to go? Once you qualify a lead and you understand their timing or their urgency, you then have to put them into the appropriate follow-up plan.
It’s not about generating more leads. it’s about following up with your leads.
You know that 48% of salespeople never even follow up with a lead? Forty-eight percent never even get a call back. Twenty-five percent of salespeople only make the second contact and then they stop. You know why? Because we have an automated system, and they think that’s good enough. We wait for people to call and turn themselves in. That’s not being in sales. That’s a bunch of order takers.
“Man, I sure wish my phone was ringing today.”
Twelve percent of sales people ever make the third contact and then they stop. That’s who you compete with.
Here’s where the money’s made. Only 10% of salespeople make more than three contacts. Now, watch this: 2% of sales are made on the first call, 3% are made on the second contact and 5% are made on the third contact. Where do most people stop? At two! The majority never make the third contact. So, now, we’re like in an elite arena with very few people that are continuing to follow up—10% of sales people never make the fourth contact.
The money is made on the fifth to 12th personal touch.
Eighty percent of your deals and closings are going to happen as a result of persisting without exception. We persist until we succeed. We can’t drop the ball. We can’t stop calling. Great salespeople will call until you buy or tell me to die. That long will persist. That long will I follow up. Would you like me to give you a system for converting a higher percent of your leads?
First off, you have to understand the difference between an A-, a B- and a C-lead. An A-lead is someone who’s ready to buy immediately. They’re ready to go. The way we define an A-lead is you have an appointment with them. Having a B-lead means they’re not ready to go for 30 to 90 days. And we’re going to put them on a follow-up plan, calling them twice a month during the weeks of the first and the 15th. We do a lot of high volume lead generation systems. To find out what a “C” lead looks like, head on over to our website and schedule a consultation today!
Verl Workman is the founder and CEO of Workman Success Systems (385-282-7112), an international speaking, consulting, and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and building successful power agents and teams. Contact him at Verl@WorkmanSuccessSystems.com. For more information, please visit www.WorkmanSuccess.com.