A Winning Formula To Following Up With Leads

Follow Up

Even if you are the best salesperson in the world, you will not close 100% of your leads on the first call. That is an admirable goal to strive for, but in our decade plus of existence, we’ve never heard of it coming to fruition.

Therefore, a strategic and thoughtful follow up process is a must when it comes to lead generation. Sadly, following up can get in the way of your busy schedule, along with completing projects on time, calling new leads and managing your employees. But don’t fret! We have come up with the winning formula for following up.

The Importance of Following Up

53% of contractors make contact with a homeowner on the second call. From that stat alone, it should be apparent that contractors don’t always get in touch with a homeowner on the first attempt and even if they do, a sale is not always closed. Therefore, following up is a must.

Still not convinced? These three stats that show how important persistence really is.

  • 80% of leads do not close on the first call.
  • Making two calls instead of one increases the chances of contact by 87%.
  • 40% of leads eventually convert with long-term follow up.
Persistance

How to Follow Up

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again” said William Edward Hickson. While he may not have been talking about lead generation, it certainly fits.

Now that you know how vital following up is, it’s time to see how it’s done.

1. Call Right Away

Other than persistence, speed is the number one attribute of successful contractors who use lead generation. In fact, those who respond to leads in the first minute can improve conversion as much as 391%. Therefore, call the lead as soon as you receive it.

If you do not close the deal, move on to our next step.

2. Set a Follow Up Schedule

If you don’t have success at first, implement a follow-up routine. This is where you’ll reach out to the lead again. Maybe you didn’t get a chance to speak to the client the first time, or perhaps they weren’t quite ready to hire. Regardless, a simple call back may be all it takes to turn them into a paying customer. Especially if they are seem interested, try calling back within a day or two. If you don’t get ahold of them, you can try again four to five days out.

Of course, you don’t want to pester the potential client. Don’t  call every day or multiple times a day. Come up with a schedule of when to call back. Space out your calls. Mark them on your calendar. Make any notes you have from previous calls (if you contacted them). If they asked to be contacted next month, jot that down.

There are plenty of ways to stay organized.

Bonus Tip: Know what you are going to say if the machine picks up. You don’t want to sound like Mikey in the video below.

3. Do Not Call Repeatedly

This bears repeating.

Any contractor who signs up for lead generation spends their hard earned money on leads, but that does not mean you should abuse the information you receive. Therefore, do not take that Hickson quote literally and call multiple times in one day.

Homeowners do not like to be pestered three, four, or fives times a day. They have jobs. They have families. They have their own responsibilities. If they are serious about a home improvement project, they will call you back; that is, if you don’t harass them multiple times a day.

4. Think Long Term

There are homeowners who submit leads because they are looking for cost information. While they may not be interested in redoing their bathroom today, that doesn’t mean they won’t want to remodel come July. Therefore, never end a conversation with a homeowner on a bad note and always take extensive notes on each call.

I was recently reminded of a terrific lead generation success story of a pro who called an old lead six months after initially receiving the referral. He closed the sale and turned a $29 lead into a $40,000 job.

Conclusion

Lead generation is both an art and a science. Knowing the numbers prove that speed and persistence rule the game, but strategically being able to close the sale at the right time guarantees a winning formula.