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Contractormag 12125 Littlearrows
Contractormag 12125 Littlearrows
Contractormag 12125 Littlearrows
Contractormag 12125 Littlearrows
Contractormag 12125 Littlearrows

5 Steps to Close the Lead Management Gap

Dec. 21, 2018
Better your lead services by following these five steps to a better lead management process.

By Marcia Barnes

In the plumbing and heating contracting business, consumers are typically reaching out to professionals because they have an immediate need. Perhaps they are seeking a plumber to fix a burst pipe or an HVAC professional to install air conditioning in mid-summer. Typically, if attention to the problem is not received, the problem can become worse or the fix costlier. Because of this, it is essential that contractors respond quickly – ideally, nearly instantaneously – when potential customers (i.e. leads) inquire about their services. Unfortunately, this very rarely happens.

A lack of quick response from a contractor is commonplace, despite the fact that we live in the digital age when constant communication is easier than ever. Research just released from performance marketing agency Valve+Meter indicates that as many as 40 percent of home services companies are not responding to customer inquiries within five days of receipt, essentially ignoring the potential customer and their potential income. As part of the study, Valve+Meter contacted more than 450 home services companies (including lawn care professionals, plumbers, HVAC professionals, electricians, and more) via forms on the company’s website. Response times were tracked. Only 60 percent of contractors responded to the inquiries, and 55 percent of those that responded did so after at least one full day.

When it comes to closing the lead management gap for home services contractors, more thought must be given to the consumer’s needs. And – in today’s competitive landscape – the consumer’s expectations are higher than ever. Better your lead services by following these five steps to a better lead management process.

Track lead response time

There are two major problems that typically stem from poor lead response time: most companies do not actually know how quickly sales representatives are responding to leads, and most company leaders assume they respond faster than they really do. According to a study from Harris Interactive, the odds of connecting with a new lead increase 21 times when calling back within the first five minutes of receiving an incoming call, versus 30 minutes. And inbound marketing leads, like those generated via a company website, close 22 times more often when contacted within five minutes.

Companies that implement an automated lead follow-up process saw a more than 25 percent jump in lead-to sales conversion rate year-over-year.

The first step to improving speed to lead is understanding the actual baseline call response time. Record the amount of time it takes and document it for a number of days before analyzing the results. Remember: five-minute response time is optimal.

Automate your response

The way in which contractors respond to leads should be uniform every time someone inquiries about services. According to Aberdeen Group, companies that implement an automated lead follow-up process saw a more than 25 percent jump in lead-to sales conversion rate year-over-year. Whether contractors use a customer relationship management (CRM) system, an outsourced sales development team or internal staff, the process should remain the same, every time, and there should be no questions. After deciding if a faster lead response time is needed, determine the best approach to automate the process so every lead is receiving a fast response.

Contact leads multiple times

Whether it’s busy work or a lack of discipline, there are a multitude of reasons why sales professionals quit calling leads after one attempt. But, giving up after one call-back is a way to lose business. Institute a response cadence for all inbound leads. For example, schedule calls through your CRM system, for as soon as the lead is created, then try again in 10 minutes and again in 30. Successful salespeople use persistence to win more sales. While many businesses will stop following up over the weekend, contractors should absolutely keep the phones ringing over the weekend, too.

Utilize technology in lead response strategy

Modern sales teams are implementing call tracking software, email automation software, call recording and conversation analytics and more, to track and report on sales team performance. Additionally, to help interact with leads in real-time, a growing trend is for companies to install live chat on their websites. This empowers sales teams to chat with leads while they are on your site learning more about your products and services. Schedule appointments or create quotes through chat in order to truly satisfy an online customer’s needs.

Website best practices

In order to best serve potential customers, keep the company website easy to understand, with intuitive navigation. Additionally, Google now warns its browsers if a site doesn’t have a secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate. A prominent warning may affect how secure users feel on a website and may cause some visitors to leave a site. Over 50 percent of internet browsers worldwide are using Chrome 6, meaning this change may negatively impact a site’s bounce rate, and keep companies from generating online leads at all.

It’s also important to be mindful of the number of fields required to be filled out on a company contact form. The length of the form can be daunting to someone who does not want to share too much information, and it can be off-putting to the person who simply needs service for their home. Make the important fields required, like name, email address, and phone number. Other fields can be optional and left up to the lead to fill in or not.

Home services customers are expecting more out of their contractors than ever before. And with fierce competition among contractors in many industries, the customer has the advantage. Contractors in all industries must be prepared to offer nearly instantaneous responses in order to see the most value in marketing spend, increase sales, and not lose out on business to a competitor that more quickly and fully replies to a customer’s inquiry.

Marcia Barnes is the founder and CEO of Valve+Meter, a high-performance marketing agency focused on delivering growth to those who want it most, in the home services industry. The agency’s philosophy is simple: know your marketing cost per acquisition, commit to growth strategies, harness technology, test and scale, and make data driven decisions. To read more about the lead management gap in the home services industry, read the full study here.

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