Today I had a meeting with a business colleague. She’s not very active on social media, and relies mostly on word of mouth for her business – which we know is great. However…
As we know, word of mouth or “tagging” on social media is really the same thing, when it comes to recommending someone. Yesterday I saw someone was looking for a specific service, in the area this person works. As soon as I saw it, I recognized she’d be perfect to fulfill this person’s needs, and tagged her. Knowing she’s not that active on social media, I sent her a Whatsapp to check her FB and mentioned why. And left it at that.
Today when we met up, I asked her if she had responded to the person. She hadn’t. On the spot, we went into her social media, and she responded to the person. I “taught” her about social media etiquette – thanking the person for the tag and how to respond. Within less than 15 minutes of her responding to this new lead, she had this person scheduled as a new client for tomorrow.
So why am I writing about this? Not to get credit. Just to say that even though we are not glued to our social media (and shouldn’t be) to respond the moment we are tagged, if you’re serious about growing your business (or staying in business) DO check your feed and DO see and respond if you have been tagged. DON’T rely on only one source of gaining new leads. A lead can come from anywhere. YES, we need to “hang out” in the places where our potential clients (primary and secondary clients) hang out. And we can’t and don’t need to be on every platform and can’t be everywhere, all the time. It’s risky for your business to put your head in the sand and only rely on one lead source. Even if that source is good right now. Correct, social media is not for everyone. The fact you’re reading this means you’re active or semi-active on social media.
Of course this one lead could turn into a long-term loyal client with repeat business, who may also refer others, thus the possibility of exponential growth. Who knows which doors it could open or opportunities could arise, as a result of this initial contact. It costs a business a lot more to gain a new lead than a repeat lead. We all aim for repeat business and loyal clients.
Lead time response refers to how long it takes for you to respond to a client, or rather, a potential client, who has inquired about your business service or product. It also refers to your response time to someone who has tagged you, knowing you provide the service or product this person is looking for. Lead response also involves social etiquette, and how you respond. To both the person who referred you, as well as the person who is looking.
“The Five-Minute Rule” with B2B sales emphasizes that when we respond to leads in less than 5 minutes, our chances of engagement and conversion skyrockets. 74% of sales teams are surprisingly (or not) unable to meet this goal.
When tagged, thank or acknowledge the person, and respond either in the place where you were tagged, or even better, send the potential lead a private message, where relevant, if you’d like to pursue it. Correct we’re busy and may not be able to respond as quickly as we’d like to. I also have that from time to time, even though as a whole I’m usually complimented on my excellent service, which I’m a stickler for, and which for me is the ABC of running a business.
Many articles appear on the web about lead time response. Here’s an example:
Key Lead Response Time Statistics (https://www.servicebell.com/post/lead-response)
Here are the most important statistics about lead response time.
- The average lead response time is 47 hours.
- Just 27% of leads get contacted at all.
- The likelihood of reaching shoppers within five minutes is 10 times higher than if you were to let 10 minutes elapse.
- Businesses that respond within an hour are almost seven times more likely to have meaningful conversations with decision-makers.
- Fast responders win up to 50% of sales.
- Calling after 30 minutes is 21 times less effective.
- A 1-minute response time can lead to 391% more conversions.
- 82% of consumers expect responses within 10 minutes.
- Less than 25% of businesses respond to web leads via phone.
- Thursday is the best day to respond.
- Timing your emails right can increase conversions by 49%.
- 71% of clients have made purchases based on experience quality.
The lifeline of your business relies on leads. New and repeat leads. We work hard to get our leads. Don’t throw them away. Lead time and responding to leads with the correct etiquette (be it face to face, on a social media platform, or as an incoming message) when receiving an inquiry or referral could determine your business fate…
Lesley Kaplan is passionate about life and enhancing people & processes! As a Business Strategy, Branding & Goal-Achieving Coach, Consultant & Trainer, she enhances & empowers businesses, organizations & individuals in identifying, setting and achieving their goals, and in improving their results by “Building, Branding & Boosting”. She coaches and trains individuals and groups, both online and face-to-face, as well as organizes and facilitates monthly networking, business & development events and workshops. Lesley is the Founder & CEO of “L.A.K. Creations & Consulting” and “Build Your Biz with Lesley Kaplan”, and is in the process of writing two business books, to be published this year.